Tactical How-To Ideas To Grow Your Business Part 2

This is the second in our multi-part series of articles published through the Bike Profits Newsletter focusing on practical How-To ideas needed to implement the changes you make in your retail store strategies, policies and process to grow your business. 

Five ways to grow your business and three over-arching changes: We have laid out the five ways to grow your business, and the three over-arching changes that you will have to adopt to make the five ways work most effectively for your business in the article: "What Does Growing Your Business Mean?"  If you have not read this article, and want a copy contact me and I will E-mail a copy to you.   

76.9 million Baby Boomers represent an immediate opportunity.  We discussed the huge and immediate opportunity that baby boomers, and in particular women, between the ages of 44 and 62 represent for the bike shop owners in the U.S. who are willing to make a few low-risk changes and reach out and introduce themselves and the joy, health enhancement and just plain fun of cycling to this large group of new customers.

Each bike shop can make itself relevant in its own market space.  We also pointed out that each individual bike shop has the ability to make itself relevant and greatly raise awareness and importance in its local market space - and do so within its current and available budget, and without any help from the national brands.

If you have not read "Tactical How-To Ideas To Grow Your Business Part 1," just let me know and I will E-mail a copy to you. 

Following Are The Second Series Of Tactical How-To Ideas To Implement Strategy And Grow Your Business:

• The sea of wheels!

One of the biggest things that has been pointed out as being intimidating to baby boomers and other non-enthusiast adults about the typical bike shop is...the sea of wheels! 

Starting about 12 to 15-years ago we as an industry started to institute a practice that has turned out to be a major impediment to bike shops being able to grow their businesses outside of the core enthusiast cyclist clientele. 

Bike brands started telling dealers that consumers wanted to see an in-depth inventory of bicycles displayed up-front on display floors, and a variety of double and triple deck display racks and stands were introduced to accommodate this new display philosophy...that just happened to meet the bicycle brands need to get more inventory moved from their warehouses to dealers stores. 

Dating terms, anticipation and all manner of early buy programs supported the migration of more inventory down stream to retailers...I know because I was working for a bicycle brand back then, and we helped make this happen.

What we didn't realize was the detrimental impact the resulting typical bike shop display of a "sea of wheels" would have on casual, infrequent and non-cyclists who were shopping for a bicycle. 

The consumer research we have already referenced that has been conducted by Shimano, and the industry and specialty bicycle channel research that has been conducted by the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA) has pointed out, and confirmed that we have actually intimidated and turned-off a whole bunch of consumers, including baby boomer generation women, who are reluctant, or flat won't shop for a bicycle at a bike shop. 

Couple this with the other issues we touched on in previous articles, and we have either a continuing problem...or a very viable opportunity!

Make it easy to shop your store and simple to purchase a bicycle!  You, your managers and your staff need to back away and rethink your store display of bicycles and your merchandise selection from the view point of the shoppers you want to attract to grow your business. 

This can be baby boomers, and it can also be any age group or generation because if they are not already hard-core enthusiasts who shop your store regularly...they are going to want your store to be easy to shop, and they are also going to want you to be simple and easy - and down right enjoyable to do business with!     

After you have taken a critical look at the outside of your store, the entrance, created a neutral zone, added some flowers and green growing things, eliminated any clutter and created wide aisles with a clear path or paths, and implemented your in store sign program...you can get down to the business of changing your merchandise selection, and creating life style displays.

Merchandise selection:  Sears had, and may still have, a merchandise selection philosophy that they described as "good, better, best."  The Sears bicycle buyer from the bicycle boom through the late ‘80s was a good friend, and we met regularly for lunch or dinner to discuss the U.S. bicycle business and market.  He impressed me with the viability of the good, better, best merchandising philosophy for his business. 

I didn't think much about this until several successful bike shop owners that we have developed case studies with told me they had found simplifying their bicycle model selection within a category had helped to increase sales, average transaction value and inventory turns. 

Their successful merchandise selection policy includes telling their brand sales reps that they will only stock models that create logical spreads at retail between models in a category.  As an example, $75 to $100 retail price point separation between models in the Hybrid or Comfort product categories.  The objective of this merchandise selection policy is seven fold.

1.      Create logical and easily differentiated retail price point values between each model in a category to make it easier for staff, both full time and part time, to understand, learn about and present the differences in value to shoppers, and support up-selling.

2.      Make it much simpler, and hopefully easy for shoppers to understand the differences in the value of each model, at each price point that is displayed, supported by your in store sign program.

3.      Increase the average value of bicycle sales transactions.

4.      Increase close rates (the number of customers that actually purchase a bicycle after shopping your store). 

5.      Simplify and improve the efficiency of store forecasting and purchasing of bicycles.

6.      Increase bicycle inventory turn rate.

7.      Make it easier and more enjoyable for shoppers and customers to do business with your store!

When I asked about the reaction of the reps, sales managers and bicycle brands to this change in merchandise selection policy, the dealers told me that the change was welcomed, and even more so when the reps and sales managers figured out that the retailers would actually end up selling more units, and at higher average value. 

To be clear, there was some reported push back, but even the top tier bicycle brands eventually recognized that the retailer objectives for this new merchandise selection policy worked to their advantage as well.

At this point you are probably asking what changing your merchandise selection policy has to do with the sea of wheels! 

Some, or maybe all of you have figured out that simplifying your bicycle merchandise selection has some great advantages for your business, including simplifying the display of bicycles on your sales floor.

Reduce the number of bicycles on display.  With a reduced and simplified spread of models you can reduce the number of bicycles on display, and begin to develop lifestyle displays that allow shoppers, and your staff to easily and comfortably walk through the model selection you are offering.

Introduce lifestyle displays.  We recommend you reduce the number of double and triple deck display racks, and increase the number of bicycle models that are displayed in George Garner style shadow boxes or on raised platforms with mannequins displaying the ideal clothing for the category, for example Hybrid or Comfort, and with the bicycle model equipped with all of the accessories recommended for full enjoyment of bicycling lifestyle displayed.  Here again, good signs are essential along with good lighting.

 Lifestyle displays, and in particular raised platforms with room for mannequins and accessories like trailers take up floor space, so you may have room for a limited number of lifestyle displays.  If this is the case, rotate the model categories between the most popular and those that you want to attract attention to.  Also, if space is limited - display either the highest priced or "best" model or the middle price, or "better" model depending on your overall retail process. 

• Hire customer service naturals (CSNs) that are the target consumer market - or properly position the CSNs you already have.

Middle age women are just as intimidated by a young, fit athletic women, as they are by a young, fit athletic male sales associate...and in particular if they are not a customer service professional - that is a sales associate who's personality and natural tendencies are all about serving shoppers. 

Here is a tactical point to keep in mind - we like people that are like us.  Middle age women relate better to other middle age women, and so on. 

This does not mean that a customer service professional of any age, gender or ethnicity can't develop a customer relationship with any shopper, no matter what age, gender or ethnicity, but until your sales staff is populated by customer service professionals you can adopt a staffing tactic that includes hiring sales associates who represent the target market by age, gender and ethnicity. 

You want to hire smart, and work toward educating an outward facing staff of customer service professionals, but keep the...people like people like them tactic in mind as you staff up to attract and make welcome baby boomers and women.

• A Greeter is another tactic that can make shoppers feel welcome in your store, particularly on a busy weekend.

Not all stores are of a size to use a greeter full time, but the tactic can work on a part time basis as well. 

A greeter is a staff member who knows the store, its staff and its retail process well enough to greet and direct shoppers to the area within the store that will best address their needs, and the sales associate that will best listen to their wants and needs, and craft an individual solution for them. 

I have told many bike shop owners that my ideal greeter is "Mom!"  A middle age to senior (55+) women who is a customer service natural, and who you train to know your shop and your staff...who "greets" shoppers as they transition out of the neutral zone at the entrance of your store, and asks how they are feeling today...and what she can do to assist them.  A greeter's role is to listen carefully, and direct shoppers to the place and / or person in the store that can be of best assistance to their needs. 

Now, "Mom" can be "Pop" or a young person for that matter...but it is the natural desire to serve and an outgoing personality that is happy and cheerful, and willing to help that is the key.  The point of the tactic is to use a greeter to enhance the greeting itself, and make shoppers comfortable in your store as early in the shopping experience as possible.

Greeter, or traffic director is often the best role for the owner, or the owner's wife or husband if she, or he is involved in the business.

What do I still want you to do tomorrow?

Write it down!  Whatever nugget or nuggets you get from this article are not going to be of help in growing your business if you don't write them down - along with how you are going to make them happen for your business.

Share it!  Share what you have written down with your managers and staff, explain why you think making the required change or changes is important to growing the business, listen for positive feedback, and ask for support to make it happen.

Take action to make it happen!  Take what you have written down, and with the help and support of your managers and staff...make it happen as soon as possible for the benefit of your business and your whole organization!