What would you want In a bike shop

[ianMember]

Just a general question to everyone, what would you like to see your local bike shop to carry
What sort of stuff do you need all the time but find it hard to get
Cheers HB

[Damien BonoraMember]

Hey HB,
You need EVERYTHING in a bike shop :laugh:
I tell my local dealer all the time….. ” You cant sell what you havent got”

You need to carry as much gear as you can, try to do deals getting it on consignment so the dealer doesn’t pay for it until they sell it.
Blokes wont wait for something these days, they can just go down the road or get it on Ebay, so you need to have what they want
Need to be open longer hours too, even if it means not opening as early but staying open later in the evening, pay some kid to open Sunday morning so you can call in on the way to a ride and pick up a spare plug and lever etc. cause you cant sell stuff when you are shut either.

Sorry I am a bit passionate about this because the shops whinge about people buying off the net but then the mostly give a 2nd rate service and wonder why people aren’t buying. Plus I love to spend money on my bikes, I am sure no one has noticed :whistle:

Heaps of Tyres, Tubes, Spark plugs, Levers, chains and sprockets, oils, washes, tools etc that people will grab cause they are there.
Take a look at what Ballards does and have some non essential but trick bits there, but if you are going to promote them make sure you have them.
Nothing is more frustrating than going out of your way to go somewhere and buy something out of their add / catalogue and they dont have one :angry:
Not only to suit the bikes that the dealer sells either…. why limit your market?

If you do need to order something in make sure you keep the customer informed via email or text, it only takes a few seconds but will get you a good wrap to all his mates

I still buy as much as I can off my preferred local guy, and he doesn’t sell the bike that I ride, cause I think he is a top bloke and he always looks after me, so it would help if you are a top bloke too

Being an Old Bull I am sure you would be

[craig evansMember]

truth and honesty ,if you havnt got something and say you can, make sure you can and don’t make excusses why you cant after the customer has had to chase you, and a happy go lucky attitude and even a saugage sizzle day with heaps of discounts and as much stock as possiable like tr said

[DarrenMember]

I agree with TR, stock levels are important … it would be a fine line between TOO much and NOT ENOUGH though; so picking the needs and tastes of the local market would be important for things like Styles and Sizes (gear), and “what sells” for all the other stuff like parts, tyres etc etc

For the bikes, at LEAST have the ones in stock that you know will sell; when I bought my 300 there wasn’t even one on the floor, not a single two-stroke on the floor, the ‘salesperson’ (on a Sunday morning) said to me “the 300 is basically the same as that FE450, just two stoke” …. WTF! I went to another dealer, on another day after phoning first, to make sure they had one in stock and to get a ‘real’ salesperson.

For me it’s imperative too that it be displayed well, nothing worse than cool gear that’s just shoved on a dusty shelf or in a glass cabinet that doubles as the front counter which is covered in papers, brochures etc; ‘Display is King’ in retail. Also, get really knowledgable on the products you sell, be prepared to recommend and be confident in the recommendation. Make sure anyone you hire is the same, or that you take the time to skill them up. Again, nothing worse than coming into a shop and have some kid say “Umm, dunno? I only work 4 hours a week here …. You’d have to come back and ask the boss” (or something like that).

From day one “know your customer”, by that I mean be prepared to gather their basic details in a database, even if it’s Microsoft Excel to start with. Build on this over time with more details, what/when they’ve purchased etc and plan for email-blasts with Updates, Product Releases, New Models or even a basic NewsLetter which contains all previously mentioned. There are very easy and low cost marketing/email automation tools such as MailChimp which can do this, there are more powerful ones also that can track activity after you hit “Send” also but that can come later … you just need to get ‘technically’ comfortable with your database and the marketing tool to get started “engaging with you customers”.

I could go on forever on this subject But I’ll spare you …. :whistle:

[ianMember]

Great info keep it coming, but what specific products would you need. ?? That seem to be used a lot but hard to get

[JohnMember]

huskybloke wrote:

Great info keep it coming, but what specific products would you need. ?? That seem to be used a lot but hard to get

-Powerbands, in all the cool colours

– Common sense, though not used a lot but needed all the time :whistle:

[ianMember]

jtb2879 wrote:

huskybloke wrote:

Great info keep it coming, but what specific products would you need. ?? That seem to be used a lot but hard to get

-Powerbands, in all the cool colours

– Common sense, though not used a lot but needed all the time :whistle:

Would u like some V8 juice to go with that powerband and anyway if your hanging around with my brother those 2 strokes would probably scare you anyway

[DarrenMember]

huskybloke wrote:

Great info keep it coming, but what specific products would you need. ?? That seem to be used a lot but hard to get

That’s where your challenge will be because (almost) nothing is hard to get these days with Internet shopping … BUT there are definitely things that people have less confidence in buying off the net. Helmets, Boots, Body Armour, Neck Braces (and others) because they MUST fit perfectly. Plus, if you’re (mostly) price competitive with online then you run less risk of just being the “try it it on and by somewhere else” type of showroom.

There’s definitely the essentials as well like oils, grease, tools, spark plugs, replacement filters. Also there’s the impulse purchases items like Power Parts; Pipe Guards, Disc Guards etc … the “bling”, those are items that people may not ‘know’ to look for on the Net so if they see it in your store they’ll have an “I want it now” moment. Have a look at a site like Ballard’s or Slaven’s … These are both big concerns but some of the ‘cool’ stuff they have could be worth sourcing and stocking.

You could also strike a wholesale deal with one of the graphics companies, one of them is a site sponsor and did the cool OBT sticker kit that was in a thread recently and local?? Anyway, be good to offer to order and source race plate backgrounds and numbers, their name/nickname on the plate etc maybe??

Other thing is definitely the parts specific to the brand(s) you’ll be selling, nothing worse than dealer that doesn’t have (or takes ages to source) the parts for the bike you bought from them in the first place!

[Ossie RichardsMember]

Gloves in all sizes.

The amount of times I have gone in and found a glove I like but they don’t have it in my size. Probably better to stock a smaller range of gloves, that you would recommend, each with all sizes than a stack of different gloves with half of them missing medium and large sizes.

Helmets are similar but obviously expensive to stock too many unless, as TB mentioned, you can arrange consignment.

I reckon you could reduce the number of helmets you need to keep simply by realising there are only two types of head. Square and round. Find a brand that makes helmets for the square heads and one for round heads (both of which you are prepared to recommend). Concentrate on those.

And for an extra 2 cents worth: It is easier to sell (read convince someone to buy) if you personally believe it is the right product. Helps you sleep at nigh as well.

Tractor

[Damien BonoraMember]

Hi again HB,
Sorry about my earlier rant but as I said I am passionate about this subject.
If I didn’t have such a good job I would have my own shop cause I love bikes.

I just thought of something else, now I know not everybody is the same but…….

Customer Service has to be your top priority.
I have quite often paid more and bought things from my preferred local dealer because as I said earlier I think he is a good bloke.
I recently bought a helmet and knowingly paid $53 dollars more than what I could have got it for elsewhere (about 10 mins difference in travel time) but was only to happy to do so.

This guy is only a small shop but takes the time to find out what you like, knows exactly who you are when you walk in, asks have you been riding lately, asks about your family etc and generally delivers a personal service.

I often go in on a Saturday morning just for a chat, even if I don’t particularly need anything I’ll walk out with a tyre or hat or DVD or something just because I was there and want to support them.

Once you sell some bikes and get a database going, email your customers on a weekly or fortnightly basis to see how there bike is going, are they happy with the suspension settings? etc etc.
Offer to have them bring it in and have your mechanic check the sag and play with clickers for free, maybe you should try this tyre etc, while they are there I bet they buy something

Organise some trail rides locally if you can, they wont wear them out if they are sitting in the garage

This thread will go on forever, you are going to get sick of hearing from me :laugh:

[Jeffrey SmithMember]

You better get your mate to sign up Ian, this thread will end up with too much info for you to be able to pass it all on at this rate.

[DarrenMember]

Ooooo, one more thing, EASY sale …. (best quality) UHD tubes for every enduro bike you sell!

Nobody wants punctures with the paper-thin standard tubes!

[Damien BonoraMember]

I got more just gotta get my breath back first :laugh:

[DarrenMember]

Trailraider wrote:

I got more just gotta get my breath back first :laugh:

I think you and I went to the same school of “customer service expectations” 😆 😆 Or maybe you’re a Virgo like me (insert: anal retentive nightmare) ? :whistle: :pinch:

I’ve got LOTS more as well!! :woohoo:

[Matt BakerMember]

huskybloke wrote:

Just a general question to everyone, what would you like to see your local bike shop to carry
What sort of stuff do you need all the time but find it hard to get
Cheers HB

Bikes

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