Five Tips for Electric Bike Businesses

[EdBike]

Five thoughts I had to help electric bike businesses grow and prosper.

Consider Large (or Larger) Profit Margins

There seems to be a running joke that no one’s making any money (as in ‘real money’). This is bad for the industry for two reasons.

It means you can’t grow, support advertising costs, support potential franchisees and develop new products. It’s bad news for investment which will drive the industry forwards - it’s you guys who’ll be paying for it! ;-)
It means you’ll erase your chances of getting investment. If you can’t offer a compelling return on investment, you’ll squander your chances of getting any interest, and if you still do it’ll be at far less favourable terms especially since investors generally don’t have majority shares in companies so they’ll only get a fraction of your actual profits. Those of you who watch Dragon’s Den, they say no to even the best ideas over the numbers.

No one likes higher prices, but once people are convinced that an electric bike is for them, it’s a question of ‘what’ not ‘if’. If price rises really annoy you, then consider offering something extra like a half-price second battery, training sessions or a bike lock. Something with a high-value utility for the customer.

Marketing, Guerilla Marketing.

Guerilla Marketing comes from the term ‘Guerilla Warfare’. Think of the conflicts in Afganhanistan. Army’s aren’t meeting on a giant battlefield any more. Small fire-fights in dispersed, localized positions are the norm instead. It’s not the battle of the Somme; it’s improvized explosive devices in front of a troop vehicle.

Similarly your marketing doesn’t have to be an all-out assault on tv, press and national magazines. Consider the niche media, which is easier to get into. Your local paper is crying out for stories (give them news). Why not grab a billboard slot beside the most heavily congested roads in town? Or get on a drivetime radio show?

I recommend you buy and take a look at the Jay Conrad Levinson who wrote the book on Guerilla Marketing: Guerrilla Marketing: Amazon.co.uk: Jay Conrad Levinson: Books (it’s less than £10!)

And remember to follow up! Capture every leads email address you can and send them autoresponder emails with useful information educating them about the benefits of electric bikes and suggest times for them to come and see your shop. For those on a budget, you can have up to 1000 subscribers now for free with MailChimp. It’s really easy to use too: Email Marketing and Email List Manager | MailChimp

Don’t Advertise Where Your Competitors Advertise

At least just because they are. Trade shows, online banner ads, magazines... This ‘follow-the-leader’ strategy isn’t a strategy. It leads to an epidemic where the dumb get dumber following each others mistakes. You don’t know if your competitors are making any money, so why does that make it okay to stalk their ads with your own?

Test your own ads. Measure results so you can improve, then make your own judgement calls.

Get Them Trying Before Buying

Selling something complicated like an electric bike is difficult enough as it is. The industry folks on these forums all seem pretty astute guys; wouldn’t you rather have people coming into your shops? And you all know what it’s like when someone first gets on an electric bike - ‘the smile’ is contagious!

It’s easier to ‘sell’ a free ride at your shop than an electric bike, and it’s easier to sell an electric bike to a person smiling from ear-to-ear stood right in front of you.. And if they’re not convinced, let people try it out afterwards. Experiment offering a free trial of something useful like two weeks where they can take an electric bike home and use it, and charge their cards a couple of weeks later.

Yes, it’s daring and you will have to manage it well - but be selective and this could work like gangbusters!

Share Customer Leads!

No seriously! There’s an ago-old marketing story. Back when mail order suddenly became popular and the door-to-door salesmen went out the door (haha), the Europeans and Americans did their marketing very differently. The Europeans, fearing the competition and wanting to selfishly capture as much of the market as possible didn’t share their leads. The Americans did, and prospered. The mail order industry collapsed in Europe whilst the Americans thrived...

Why? If there are hundreds of different buying funnels, hundreds of different people advertising (the same or different things - it’s confusing) then people can only capture a smaller slice of the cake. And they’ve still got to nurture each lead to the point of sale. Smaller numbers of sales funnels mean sellers can grab a larger slice of the pie. This is why selling on Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces generally works well for businesses just starting up.

The online buying experience with something like an electric bike sucks compared with the up-close and personal thing. You don’t buy cars and houses online for the very same reason.

Halfords, Evans Cycles and major national cycling retailers aren’t stocking loads of electric bikes (yet) and they can’t offer the “I know the guy who made this. Phone me up with any problems” service you guys can.

The key to the current electric bike distribution is having local retailers. If someone is clearly outside of your area, and you know (deep in your heart) that you probably can’t offer the awesome quality service that you can to someone closer to your shop(s) then refer them to another trusted electric bike business.

You can offer each other a pay-per-lead fee, or a commission on each sale or pay each other in back rubs - however you like ;-)

What else would you recommend to electric bikes businesses?

[OTH]

What else would I recommend?

That's easy. Make electric bikes look as much like mainstream bikes as possible.

Having seen the enthusiasm for Wispers on this site, I was tempted to try one recently. Yes, I had the grin as I tried it - but that's because I knew noone was looking.

If I took one home, I'd know my sons would be weeping inside, even if they managed to hold back their derision. Earlier this year, I planned to buy a Trek Madone. How can I turn up with something that looks like a two-wheeled praying mantis?

I mean no offense, Wisper owners. I may yet join you.

But, if the industry want to grow significantly, it's got to appeal to the general public. And, whether we like it or not, image matters these days.

[EdBike]

But, if the industry want to grow significantly, it's got to appeal to the general public. And, whether we like it or not, image matters these days.

When mobile phones first became mainstream they were designed to look just like phones... Then Apple came along and completely changed the whole mix. Now, everyone's trying to emulate a touchscreen display with 3G internet and a whole host of 'iphonic' (yes, I just made up a word there ) features. Home phones still look the same, but mobile is a whole different world.

What would happen if 'the Apple' of electric bikes arrived with a completely different look, new functionality and a fun-kay design?

The gadget geeks might adapt it, but would the mainstream? What do you reckon?

[jbond]

That's easy. Make electric bikes look as much like mainstream bikes as possible.

I'd second that and change it slightly. Make them work well as bicycles first. It's mildly annoying to spend > £1k on an electric bike and then want to upgrade the brakes, forks, tyres, rims, cranks, gearset and so on. I'm not looking for top of the range items but I don't want real budget items either.

[NRG]

You can spend 2K+ and still need to change pedals / mudguards etc!

Re the OP, I think this falls at the first hurdle. E-bikes are a niche product in the UK and raising cost will kill an already fragile industry. Costs need to be driven down IMHO, especially with regard to the biggest component headache that cripples E-Bikes from the outset: The battery. Or at the very least the 'cost' to the customer should be made more bearable IE: Battery leased replacement scheme. This may prove impossible in which case E-Bike will always be niche and not make any 'money'...

As for design, there seems precious little other than frame shape, geometry and colour. The majority of bikes come with standard off the shelf components of varying quality offering no real design differentiating. I think the push bike matured many many years ago, this desire to always re-invent be modern and funky is on the whole doomed from the start.

Sure, there are already some neat designer style bikes around but if anything screams more loudly than a normal E-Bike then its an E-Bike with 'styling'! You want to be discrete? Sorry, look elsewhere....also very often with these designer bikes the ride quality or some other ride experience is badly compromised. Bikes are simple things that have one function in life and they do it very well, adding iPhone functionality just screws things up and for no obvious benefit.

I've not found Email marketing to work, people are numb to 'spam' emails. They end up in the junk filter, are not read, get deleted and become annoying...even for focussed email blasts.

I think most shop based outlets for E-Bikes do offer try before you buy, its something every one on this board recommends to all newcomers, the unfortunate reality is the dealer base is not there, I know of only two locations to try out a Kalkoff for instance. Not everybody can make the journey or wait for the next show (and have limited exposure to a test), however, Wisper at least is good in this respect. I don't know what the answer to this is, maybe increase the penetration in to Halfords?

Anyhow thats just my 2p's worth.....

[CeeGee]

Anyhow thats just my 2p's worth.....

I think that is worth at least 5p. I fully agree with everything you said.

As for raising the prices: if Wisper were to add £200 to their price, it wouldn't make them a better bike - it would make them one that more people couldn't afford. There is no question of "what" not "if". Strangely, not everybody has large amounts of money to throw away on a whim.

On the subject of targeted emails: if Wisper had got my email address before I bought one and they had started sending unsolicited publicity material my reaction would have been the same as I have for any other company that cold calls me on the phone or email: straight on my ignore list and I refuse to have any dealings with that company.

Colin

(I use Wisper here because when I was upgrading I found them to be the sort of company I like to deal with and hopefully would never resort to the suggestions made in the OP)

[Mussels]

When mobile phones first became mainstream they were designed to look just like phones... Then Apple came along and completely changed the whole mix. Now, everyone's trying to emulate a touchscreen display with 3G internet and a whole host of 'iphonic' (yes, I just made up a word there ) features. Home phones still look the same, but mobile is a whole different world.

What would happen if 'the Apple' of electric bikes arrived with a completely different look, new functionality and a fun-kay design?

The gadget geeks might adapt it, but would the mainstream? What do you reckon?

Interesting how you remember mobile phone development, the iPhone has never been cutting edge technology. Apple took something that already existed (including the name, they stole it from Cisco) and made it simple and pretty.
Maybe that's the answer for eBikes, make them simple, pretty and stick an erroneous capital letter in the name.

[NRG]

Ironically, given the products name, its the one function the iPhone is not very good at. There are better handsets available that perform their primary function much better......or.....maybe that's the point... it's not the prime function of an iPhone

[tillson]

I agree with NRG, the OP failed at the first point raised. Any significant increase in price would seriously harm sales.

My bike cost about £1500 and with Cycle Scheme discounts, I eventually paid about £1200. Having used it regularly for over two years now, I can say it is good and was worth the outlay. But don't lets get carried away, these ebikes aren't £2000 + good.

If I needed a new bike, which I don't because not much has changed in the last 30 months, I would be willing to pay about the same again. But however much smoke the manufacturers and retailers try to blow up your @r$e, ebikes essentially remain the same, a push bike, a motor and a massively expensive (to you) battery which can at best be described as, "flakey". Even though, if I raided the local orphanage collection box, I could afford one of the new Super Duper Bikes, I wouldn't buy one. They simply are not worth the money and any attempt to increase prices further will damage a very minority market.

Really, the reverse should be happening. I think ebikes have the potential to become a massive market and prices should fall enough to be attractive to the public at large. How this is achieved is a tad more difficult and would require brave financial investment. It's probably not the best climate for that at the moment.!

[flecc]

The style of bike varies by country, the bikes that the Dutch, Danes and to some extent the Germans like is very different from that which appeals in Britain. That's because they are cycling countries, Britain isn't, it's a fashion market.

The British e-bike market is far too small to design for, even for one manufacturer, let alone the number of manufacturers out there, so the design by most manufacturers is increasingly biased to the preferences of the main markets.

As for the rest of the marketing points, I doubt they matter much in a Britain where cycling will probably never be mainstream again in our lifetimes and the majority of the public won't contemplate any kind of bike as transport.
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