I’m proud to introduce Part 2 of The Cannata Report’s 40th Annual Dealer Survey—the findings of which mark one of the most significant developments in the history of our survey. This year, we revamped and streamlined it based on feedback from key partners and a number of dealers who have consistently participated over the past decade, if not longer. Our goal was simple: make the survey more user-friendly and better reflect a rapidly changing industry. I’m pleased to share that many respondents confirmed we achieved that goal, noting that the new format took them nearly half the time to complete compared to last year.
Among the most notable improvements was the expansion of our lines of questioning related to new and emerging areas of business beyond the traditional. By sharpening our focus on MPS, production print, document management, VoIP, and managed IT services, we gained a clearer view of how dealers are pursuing growth in revenue streams that are both profitable and sustainable. These insights offer a clearer picture of how the dealer channel continues to evolve. Most notably, we were able to show these key lines of business (in addition to the core business of the sale and service of A3 and A4 MFPs) juxtaposed with the percentage of overall annual revenue.
The Cannata Report President & CEO CJ Cannata
Receiving feedback that open-ended questions yield the most valuable data and insights, we continued asking dealers to qualify their ratings of their primary A3, A4, and leasing partners in their own words, and focused more on those comments in our analysis. Similarly, we introduced an open-ended question about dealers’ top concerns, replacing a multiple-choice question that had been used in years past. The candor of the responses provided insights that will benefit our survey partners, the dealer community, and our broader audience as we strive to deliver reporting that supports the entire channel’s mutual success. The resulting qualitative data is significantly more valuable.
The Cannata Report’s Streamlined Survey
To further streamline our Annual Dealer Survey, we narrowed the scope of our questions about A3 and A4 partners to each respondent’s top two and reduced the number of leasing company evaluations from four partners to two. We are confident these refinements in no way compromise the depth or integrity of our findings.
For the first time in the history of our Annual Dealer Survey, The Cannata Report worked with a statistical analysis firm to assist with the tabulation and presentation of the data, resulting in what we hope is a more concise, accessible analysis, using a cleaner, more modern format that showcases the most essential data with engaging graphics and charts.
Finally, our survey has generated a wealth of data that will continue to fuel future reporting and guide our editorial direction. The insights we have gained are invaluable as we track the evolution of the dealer channel, and remain committed to covering the trends, technologies, and business strategies that matter most to dealers.
Regards,
CJ
