New ideas...

[Jeremi]

Hey everyone,

I am interested in your opinions on marketing... Mtn Biking

I work for a LBS and want to get through to more of the Mountain Bike community.

Things I've come up with are free Demo rides at various trails rather than riding the parking lots.

Setting up individual demos for those who can't make specified times.

Putting our name on the MORC site of course. Possiblely sponsering MOCA

PLEASE HELP, all input is appreciated.:geek:

[gopherhockey]

Becoming a MORC sponsor is a good place to start. Most LBSs do that, plus they give discounts to MORC (MOCA etc.) members off merch. I tend to recommend and talk about MORC sponsors more in the forums and with others based on the fact that they give back to the riding community through their donations. (however large or small)

Demo rides are good and provide the community with a good service. Just honor the trails you are holding these at - get a permit, even clear it with those that work on the trails... and be ready to cancel if the weather turns. Nothing makes a shop look worse than holding a demo out on a muddy trail. (at least thats how I feel)

MORC has events from time to time - races, or our annual meeting/party this fall. Perhaps doing something to get your LBS's name involved would get the word out - even if its something simple like giving away some stuff. There are also events like IMBA trail schools that can be sponsored that get your name out to not only riders but land managers etc.

I like Doug's idea of having free classes. He held classes last year at a shop he worked for and I think it got the word out pretty quickly about the shop and about Doug's support and abilities.

[Shickdawg]

If you haven't already, scan through this thread: http://www.morcmtb.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9338

It's a number of the members here discussing their "dream shop". Obviously a number of these suggests are pipe dreams, and possibly unrealistic, but it gives you a flavor of what people are looking for.

[homebrewbiker]

Hey everyone,

I am interested in your opinions on marketing... Mtn Biking

I work for a LBS and want to get through to more of the Mountain Bike community.

Things I've come up with are free Demo rides at various trails rather than riding the parking lots.

Setting up individual demos for those who can't make specified times.

Putting our name on the MORC site of course. Possiblely sponsering MOCA

PLEASE HELP, all input is appreciated.:geek:
Free demos are fine but make sure you show up when you say you will unlike a local (NOW) bike store. I called in the morning and they said they would be doing the demo if the weather cleared up, and said they would call me if it did not happen. Well the weather cleared up and I did not get a call back and I fought traffic to get to Lebanon at 6 pm, and they were not there. I called them up and they said they were not doing the demo after all because someone called in sick. That upset me enough that I bought a different bike somewhere else (and I found a deal). Never make promises you can't keep.

[jkalla]

I don't think bike shops in general do a good job of promoting biking in general. I guess they figure that since you bought a bike that you knew where to go ride it and how to do so responsibly. When I think back to my first mountain bike purchase - the shop was like - "Enjoy your bike - come back when you need it fixed or want to buy another one." If it wasn't for friends - and organizations like MORC - I wouldn't have ridden half the trails that I have - I didn't know where to go. Some shops sponsor weekly group rides - but they aren't necesarrily for beginner riders. I went to one once a long time ago and the guy took off without waiting for us. I guess he didn't want to sacrifice his training schedule for our sake.

I think bike shops should pay for a MORC membership when you buy a bike. MORC is doing a lot of their marketing for them. Not necesarrily brand name marketing - but marketing the sport in general. How many people have been more likely to buy a new bike because of the improvements in our local trails?

[thebionicman]

I think bike shops should pay for a MORC membership when you buy a bike. MORC is doing a lot of their marketing for them. Not necesarrily brand name marketing - but marketing the sport in general. How many people have been more likely to buy a new bike because of the improvements in our local trails?
It would also go along way if the shops would give some kind of lessons for mountain bike riding. Just look at the damage the Dream I is taking because people don't realize that they need to use there FRONT brake and not skid into the corners.

[nigel]

I think bike shops should pay for a MORC membership when you buy a bike. MORC is doing a lot of their marketing for them. Not necesarrily brand name marketing - but marketing the sport in general. How many people have been more likely to buy a new bike because of the improvements in our local trails?
Considering that mtn bike sales are not that high of a shops % of total sales i think not. Not that shops should not take more of a role in the cycling community as a whole anyways, but most of the bikes shops sell are mom and pop hybrid bikes, thats why they dont pay much attention to say just mtn or road, and thats why many have a "family" feel, because thats where most of a shops money comes from.

D

[thebionicman]

I just would think it would be nice to see the LBS steer people that are really interested in mountain biking towards MORC. I lived up here for two years before I came across the website. I know we are working on that more with posters for the bike shops.

[nigel]

I used to push MORC all the time when people were looking at mtn bikes, but i also offered to take people out on group rides when they were interested in riding or new to riding as well. I also did the same thing for road bikes, mentioned MCF and offered rides. It does take a lot of personal time and effort to do things like that, and believe it or not it drives sales up! (some of the big shops should try it, it works!) But a lot of shops dont give that personal touch, they just wanna make money and not work on return customers and creating a great atmosphere for everyone, or they dont properly train the staff how to soft sell and hard sell by reading the customer. Alot of times, most shop staff have not a clue how to sell properly nor can they problem solve or answer "quick fire" comparitive qustions on the fly that come oh so often..... i could go on but, i did what i could when i was in the shop scene, and damn i miss it!

D

[axebiker]

Free demos are fine but make sure you show up when you say you will unlike a local (NOW) bike store. I called in the morning and they said they would be doing the demo if the weather cleared up, and said they would call me if it did not happen. Well the weather cleared up and I did not get a call back and I fought traffic to get to Lebanon at 6 pm, and they were not there. I called them up and they said they were not doing the demo after all because someone called in sick. That upset me enough that I bought a different bike somewhere else (and I found a deal). Never make promises you can't keep.
I think Jeremi works for NOW...:confused:

[noise_is_life]

Free demos are fine but make sure you show up when you say you will unlike a local (NOW) bike store. I called in the morning and they said they would be doing the demo if the weather cleared up, and said they would call me if it did not happen. Well the weather cleared up and I did not get a call back and I fought traffic to get to Lebanon at 6 pm, and they were not there. I called them up and they said they were not doing the demo after all because someone called in sick. That upset me enough that I bought a different bike somewhere else (and I found a deal). Never make promises you can't keep. Didn't you say that after they screwed up on the Wed. night demo that they then offered to let you take a bike for a weekend demo?

[axebiker]

I just would think it would be nice to see the LBS steer people that are really interested in mountain biking towards MORC. I lived up here for two years before I came across the website. I know we are working on that more with posters for the bike shops.
I hear ya! I've been riding MTB since the late 80's, and I didn't know about this site. I'm reallt a roadie in dirty clothes, but all the same...:p I know that NOW was doing the Leb rides, but I haven't bought a MTB since 2001, so I really haven't been up-to-date. Not to mention, I don't have enough time to train on the road, so I certainly don't have much more time for the trail. :geek:

Anywhoo...

[axebiker]

Didn't you say that after they screwed up on the Wed. night demo that they then offered to let you take a bike for a weekend demo?
Good point - the guys at NOW will go out of their way to try to make things happen for you. I ride with the Shoreview bunch on road rides on Thursdays (although not lately - dang!!), and they have always been more than accomodating. One of the better LBS's in my opinion. I wish I had more money/storage space to buy stuff from them!

[homebrewbiker]

Didn't you say that after they screwed up on the Wed. night demo that they then offered to let you take a bike for a weekend demo?I found a deal on the bike I ended up getting at a different shop. If that had not worked up I probably would have scheduled a weekend demo. However, had the original NOW demo worked out I probably would not have called the other shop in the first place. Little misfires like these can be costly to a business, as, I think, my case demonstrates.

[noise_is_life]

I found a deal on the bike I ended up getting at a different shop. If that had not worked up I probably would have scheduled a weekend demo. However, had the original NOW demo worked out I probably would not have called the other shop in the first place. Little misfires like these can be costly to a business, as, I think, my case demonstrates.
So what did you end up getting?

[homebrewbiker]

So what did you end up getting?A Giant VT 2. It was a 2003 so I got a decent deal. I acutally posted a question about it vs the Jamis XLT series and most thought this was a similar bike with some better components.