Navigating the Changing Landscape of Bike Retailing
People buy from people
What struck me most about the buying experience of my first bike back in ’97, was the enthusiasm – the passion that sales person Amanda, shared about the bike, but also about the family business, of which, she was second generation.
I bought into them, as much as I did my Yamaha. I never once felt like I was being ‘sold’ the bike. And with my YZF600R Thundercat a distant memory, I still continued to buy into them - as recently as the last couple of months for service work.
And yet today, as I write, they’re gone…. 70+ years of trading from the same location, supporting generations of bike enthusiasts and that’s it… empty premises as a sad reminder of what was.
As the reminiscing passed, it got me thinking about how this business was forced to close after all this time. It’s likely I’ll never know, but my final thoughts were, that clearly, a long-established family business, loyal customers and a good reputation is no guarantee you’ll weather every storm.
I wondered whether an ever-evolving market was a factor? What was their understanding of the market? Knowing whether the market favours a buyer or seller, could impact purchase decisions and the adopted pricing strategy. On this basis, could they identify and understand fluctuations in the marketplace, to enable a proactive approach?
A digital forecourt should enable you to be open for business 24/7, all year round.
I also wondered if, in an increasingly digital marketplace, just what the focus on their digital forecourt might have been? On the face of it, their physical ‘forecourt’ certainly hit the spot – a great display, presented beautifully, in a sociable, relaxed space.
And that’s great. Here’s the point though; I view more bikes digitally, than I do physically – either because I’m looking in my spare time, or because mates are sharing bikes that have caught their attention too.
Like many others I suspect, my ‘spare time’ is at night, when the business is closed and not just confined to the biking ‘season’, as such. Darkness, wind, rain and freezing temperatures won’t stop me picking up my smartphone and searching online….. A digital forecourt should enable a bike retailer to be open for business 24/7, all year round.
Did a potential buyer visiting their digital forecourt, gather all they needed to take that next step in the buying journey?
Might a buyer have scrolled past their bike to a competitors’ machine because the quality of the initial imagery wasn’t good? Did the Attention Grabber do just that?
If the buyer did open up the advert, did the image reel serve the bike well? If a video was available, did it add value to the imagery, rather than simply act as a scrolling montage?
When a buyer looked to understand more about the bike, did the description reflect a retailer with a passion for retailing bikes? Every bike – particularly used - is unique in some way, so was that reflected in a description to convince a buyer that this ‘is the one’?
And finally, with their interest locked into a particular bike, could the buyer make an informed decision based upon what was presented to them? If they did then look to engage with the retailer remotely, could the process be described as ‘easy’, with a timely, engaged response?
Improve profitability with our on-demand content
It can be tough out there. Here at Auto Trader, we’re always looking to help you navigate your way through the process of bringing these wonderful machines to market – sharing your passion for bikes and bike retailing.
You won’t be too surprised that I’d recommend you look at the wealth of bike content available through our Insight Academy. It’s here that you’ll find a number of videos, designed to be consumed in bite size sessions.
In the meantime, as it looks like my old Yamaha was road-legal up until fairly recently, I’m off to trawl a well-known bike platform, to see if I might be able to re-acquaint myself with it!
