6 Tips to Boost Your Bike Shop’s Revenue in 2021

As we navigate through 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reshape the cycling market, offering unprecedented opportunities for bike shops. With digital transformation, a thriving second-hand market, and the surge in electric bike popularity, there’s never been a better time to capitalize on these trends. Whether you’re looking to attract new customers or enhance your services, here are six actionable tips to boost your bike shop’s revenue.

Professionalize Your Workshop Services

Enhancing your workshop services is crucial for boosting revenue. Start by digitalizing your management tools to:

Enhance the quality of your offers and planning: Your technical team should provide accurate repair timelines by having a clear view of the workshop’s workload and a detailed customer repair history. Comprehensive tracking will offer insights into your technicians’ productivity and the overall performance of the workshop, including peak and off-peak periods and seasonality.

Implement automated reminders: Using an automated reminder and follow-up system for bicycle maintenance can drive workshop revenue by offering online appointment booking.

Support your technicians: Providing your team with established guidelines and checklists ensures that your workshop becomes more efficient and productive, while also offering higher service quality.

Offer Multi-Day Bike Trials

In France, the average budget allocated to cycling is significantly increasing. Electric bikes are becoming more popular, and the market is driven by government incentives (for purchases, repairs, etc.). To boost your bike shop’s revenue, offer your customers the opportunity to test your products over several days. With higher budgets required to purchase bikes, customers will appreciate being able to confirm the quality of the bikes before making a financial commitment.

Moreover, thorough tracking of these trials will help you understand your customers better and gauge their preferences. This will enable you to monitor the tested products and collect valuable feedback. It also helps you to keep an eye on potential misuse and assess product wear by maintaining a history of the number of tests each bike undergoes.

Imagine a customer hesitant about purchasing a high-end electric bike. By offering a multi-day trial, you give them the chance to experience the bike’s benefits firsthand, significantly increasing the likelihood of a sale. This strategy not only reassures customers but also leverages the current boom in the electric bike market.

Develop Second-Hand Sales

The second-hand market offers a promising opportunity to boost your bike shop’s revenue. Incorporate the repair and resale of used bikes into your business to attract new customers. Additionally, you can adopt a consignment model by providing a platform for customers to sell bikes through your shop, facilitating private sales.

Invest in Online Sales and Appointments

Ready to take your bike shop online? Developing an e-commerce site is a powerful way to reach a broader audience and boost sales. This additional sales channel will attract a different and broader customer base. Accessible anytime and anywhere, your e-commerce site will help you manage inventory, maintain service continuity for seasonal products, and boost sales.

Related article: 5 Tips to Boost the Profitability of Your Sporting Goods Stores

In addition to increasing your revenue, your e-commerce site will strengthen your market position and retain loyal customers beyond your physical store. Online appointment booking can also boost your workshop’s revenue.

Enhance Your Visibility and Reputation

Effective communication, especially online, is crucial for increasing your bike shop’s visibility, building your reputation in your area, and consequently boosting revenue. Invest in Google Ads, SMS campaigns, or social media marketing, and engage with relevant topics for you and your customers. Here are some examples:

• Highlight your “tech” trends to attract professional customers looking for quality equipment.
• Focus on new products related to weather or seasonality (e.g., promoting safety gear like lights when days get shorter).
• Offer discounts or promotions on bike accessories or equipment.
• Tip: Partner with local bike clubs to obtain member contact details and target them in your SMS or email campaigns (in compliance with GDPR).

Understand Your Customers

A thorough understanding of your customer base is crucial for your business’s performance. Successful bike shops often have the right inventory, driven by a deep knowledge of customer habits and expectations. This helps in making informed purchasing decisions and managing stock effectively.

Digitalizing your processes provides real-time tracking of deliveries, orders, inventory, and outstanding items, especially in the current context. Your store staff can have visibility on your products and offer well-informed advice to customers.

To increase your bike shop’s revenue in 2021, consider these six key trends:

1. Professionalize your workshop to better manage technician schedules and tasks, ensuring team productivity.
2. Offer multi-day product trials to reassure customers and capitalize on the electric bike market boom.
3. Develop second-hand sales to attract new customers and facilitate private sales.
4. Invest in e-commerce to add a new sales channel and expand workshop activities.
5. Enhance your visibility through effective communication campaigns.
6. Understand and know your customers to maintain the right inventory and enable your staff to provide better customer service.