John Deere Commercial Mowing customers and prospects have a few new things to consider when making mower purchases. The equipment manufacturer rolled out a new online Product Selector Tool and expanded its Mulch On Demand (MOD) mower deck offering to its 2014 QuikTrak stand-on commercial mowers. It also made a few updates to its GreenFleet loyalty rewards program.
The Product Selector Tool narrows down Deere’s 44 mower offerings for contractors with questions and filters to determine specifications, including operator position, tasks, cutting width, fuel preference and discharge preference. The tool sorts though all John Deere commercial mowing machines to provide a recommendation for the best mower options for the user.
“The inspiration for the product selector tool really comes from the interaction you see at the dealership with customers,” said Steve Wilhelmi, John Deere tactical marketing manager, during an April 17 press conference. “The salesperson is going through a series of qualifying questions to narrow down the options in the same way.”
Deere worked with internal groups, equipment dealers and customers to develop this offering, he said.
Mulch On Demand expansion
The Mulch On Demand deck has been rolled out to the 2014 QuikTrak lineup, which includes the 652R MOD and 652R EFI MOD models. MOD previously was available only in the John Deere ZTrak line.
The MOD deck allows an operator to switch between mulching and side discharging without leaving the mower. The QuikTrak MOD can be converted from a wide-open-side-discharge mode to a full-chambered mulching mode or any position in-between by holding down an electric switch located on the dash.
“(The stand-on segment) is going to continue to be more and more important,” Wilhelmi said. “We’re seeing customers coming down from a Z to fit more mowers on trailer, become more productive or even save some money. And we’re also seeing it from the bottom up: Customers using walk-behinds with a sulky will pay more to be 20 percent to 30 percent more efficient with a stand-on.”
Finally, Wilhelmi introduced several updates to the GreenFleet loyalty rewards program, which Deere overhauled last year.
“We really enhanced the program to make it easier and to make it more widespread,” he said, noting it’s easier than ever to become a member. John Deere also published the discounts to its Commercial Worksite Products, which were previously undisclosed, and added the 5 series tractors to the program. Up next is the addition of golf products.
Photo: John Deere
