stihl

[Larry]

Three years ago I got to spend 3 days at a local but high powered influencer company working on a non profit web site (I was the picture guy).  During my time there I learned a lot.  Data collection and analyzing was state of the art.  I couldn't believe the number of people and resources used to accomplish the task.  Results were over the top.  Actually a bit scary.  A influencer with 50,000 followers or more is a gold mine.  Face it, the average person wants an average chainsaw and will gladly be a follower, no thought required. 

INFLUENCERS DRIVE ROI, AND WE CAN PROVE IT.

The very first item you see on their website. 

[ehp]

YellowHammer , when your 500i does not pick up the fuel when you first start it and you got to keep hitting the trigger to get it to pick up its rpms , just hit the primer ball another 3 to 5 times and it will run like normal, the engine has not ran long enough for the injector to get fuel pressure so it bogs until it gets fuel pressure , I have found most 500i are not the same , some take 5 or 6 primers with the ball to where some take 15 primers with the ball to get them started in the morning but once started they work great . If you get a 500i when you first start in in the morning and its idles fine but just sits there and stumbles and misses bad, just shut it off and prime it another 5 times and start it and it will be fine , Its all about the injector getting fuel pressure 

[Spike60]

I am afraid that they probably see "us" as the remnants of a niche market whose time has passed. The "future" is selling solar powered robotic lawn mowers over the internet. Sadly, they are probably right. How many 20 somethings are manually felling timber or cutting firewood? As we age out, we aren't going to be replaced. Best we can hope for is that they let us wither away in peace and that a few 2 cycle engines wielded by a handful of 70 somethings probably isn't going to doom the planet.

Agree, and we here on FF as an audience likely have some limitations from a marketing person's perspective. The age you mention is one. And I suspect our group, while consistent, is somewhat unchanging in Stihl's view. Many of the members are loyal Stihl users, and that will not change. The rest of us that run Husky, Echo or whatever, are just as unlikely to change. Most of us identify with whatever brand we run, and tend to stick with it. It may be nice to have a company like Stihl "support" the site. But marketing needs to generate new business, and I don't know how much potential exists in this situation.

[thecfarm]

I can't think of a 20 year old that owns a chain saw.
I had one at 20 and used it here a lot. 
Seem like everyone wants a house with 250 square feet and neighbors to fight with. 

[Bindian]

No offense Doc!  When I bought my five acres, all I could afford was a push mower.  The place was mostly wooded, which at the time was a plus with a push mower.  A friend bought a new Cub Cadet "cub" tractor to mow with and told me I could have her 10hp rear engine Snapper.  It wasn't running and I put a new carb on it and mowed for years with it.  It had that sliding ratio trans on it.

Over the years I rebuilt that "great man mower's" trans and drive axle not once but twice.  Used it until I could afford a Hustler Fastrac that I still have going on 17 years now.  The Snapper parts guy, over the years, sold me Hustler, my Mahindra, my 29 foot gooseneck, my two Stihl saws, a Stihl heavy duty weedeater, and a Stihl pole saw.

 I wanted to buy a cordless Stihl chainsaw, but he told me when I need it for pole knotching, to give him a week notice and I could borrow his "loaner".
He now co owns the business and sharpens my chains for free and sales me at wholesale.  I take him 6 foot long SYP half logs for chain saw checkouts.  When we see each other, we first talk about our kids (he has 3 girls) , then business.

So it is sad to hear we lost Stihl as a sponsor.  When I was little and learning stuff from Dad, he had a Poulan chainsaw.  Didn't take me long to learn it was a throwaway saw.  Now I only buy stuff that I can fix with parts I can buy.  Which reminds me, the instrument cluster for my Mahindra has been discontinued.  Oh well!
           hugs,  Brandi