Chris Writes.

This started as a very small, very simple idea. Yet, with free time and inspiration, sometimes strange things happen.

I noted recently that there are very few bike shops that are taking advantage of free Social Media marketing that’s available to them. This is stuff that ANY bike shop can and should do, and in times of scaled back marketing budgets, the practicality of it makes it extra sensible. However, if you’ve never used it before, it can be rather intimidating.

My basic premise: Because Social Media can make bike shops easier to find, can improve tribal connections with a shop’s communities, and can help shops build their online reputations, every bike shop should:

1. have an active presence on Facebook
2. actively use Twitter
3. find ways to use cycling-specific social media like the Specialized Riders Club and Plus3 Network

So in my spare time (seriously!), I made a little how-to guide that walks you through the steps to get it done, with lots of pictures and examples.  It should take an hour or two to get started, depending on how savvy you are, and how easily you get sucked into awesome projects that will benefit your business at zero cost. It requires no programming skills, no advanced design skills, and no money.  And it’s all here, free, for any bike shop that wants it.  Download it here.

In tough economic times, it’s your tribe of dedicated friends and followers that will get you through it.  And you need them just as they need you to be there for them when their bike needs service, or when they need new tires. If this can help even one bike shop weather the downturn, then I figure I’ve done something good.

And for those who follow these sorts of things: I’ve released this under a creative commons share-alike license, so you can share this with anyone, and you can even make changes to it, but any derivitave works must also be released under the same CC license.

Enjoy, and happy Christmas!

I’ve recently found myself curious about the idea and process of finding retailers on the internet. It’s rather mundane on the surface, I admit. But I think we’re all missing something.

Search for “Dealer Locator” on google and the top 3 results are car companies: Toyota, Ford, and VW, in that order. And they all help you find dealers that sell EXACTLY THE SAME PRODUCT LINE.  It doesn’t much matter to me which one I go to, they’re largely the same.

As a bicycle guy, I found myself thinking that if I were a newbie rider, or even an experienced cyclist, when I search for a Specialized (or Trek, or Giant, or Cannondale, etc) dealer in the Bay Area, I am stunned by the options.  There are lots of dealers close enough to me to drive to, and guaranteed they all have DIFFERENT STUFF TO SELL, some fantastic shops even specialize (please pardon the pun) in selling only mountain bikes, for example – great shop, but not so useful if I need bar tape. Much like picking a doctor from the blue cross website, a dealer locator provides little-to-no contextual knowledge of the shop – they are all supposed to be “the same”.  And I know for certain they’re not, yet I’m forced to call each one on the list, or worse, drive around and visit each one.

So here’s the point: I’m going to theorize that the dealer location element of a manufacturer’s website, especially in the bike business, is probably the most important feature of the website, bar none.  And I think we’re totally missing a massive opportunity to rethink how this could work.

You can look at your moblie phone and call it a phone.  Or you could call it a communication device, accepting that it also sends/recieves email, text messages, photos, and streaming video.  You could look at your dealer locator link and call it a dealer locator, or you could call it a relationship development device.

I wonder what the ultimate solution looks like. I have some guesses I’m working on, though at this point, they’re purely theoretical.