There's been some interesting discussions and questions lately concerning how best to promote our idea and the CycleCharge scheme to businesses. More specifically how to approach businesses and what to say to them. Obviously this is very much a learning curve for everyone but I've written this promoting guide in the hope it may answer some questions or provide some approaches people can try.
CycleCharge as a concept could be summarised as being a community and business partnership. It should probably also be stressed that CycleCharge is also non-profit. The benefits are numerous, but could be summarised as being both social and environmental, both of which benefits businesses.
The social benefits
Businesses are really just social organisations that revolve around people. So it might help to think of CycleCharge as a social group that provides a social link to businesses. If you like, a way of enabling businesses to form a relationship with CycleCharge members. Obviously the nature of this relationship and its importance to the business in commercial terms will vary depending on the type of business. Consider this though.. where a business such as a hotel, guest house or bicycle shop is a supporter of the scheme, that could be a key factor in where electric bike owners decide to make significant value purchases.
Many owners are using e-bikes as a cheaper and healthier way to commute to work. Growing numbers of retired members of society see them as a more economical way to get around while keeping fit. Obviously at the moment e-bikes are not a mainstream item which everyone has like cars, but that could well change in the future. At the very least, the market for e-bikes is likely to continue steadily growing as cars become increasingly expensive to own and run. Government policy may also change towards promoting e-bikes and other eco-friendly transport. So businesses by supporting the scheme might be viewed as really just adapting to meet the needs of a changing consumer society, and may be even facilitating that change. If public charging becomes widely available, then more people are likely to appreciate the benefits of using an e-bike.
The environmental benefit
It doesn't take much explanation or persuasion to see that electric bikes are a better form of personal transportation from an environmental prospective compared to cars and motorcycles. You can certainly promote them as being a green eco friendly form of transport that is conducive towards Co2 reduction. No-doubt many businesses are aware of climate change issues and the need to reduce or offset the negative environmental costs of business. So CycleCharge could be considered another way businesses can do that and help the environment. Obviously some smaller business owners may be sceptical about environmental issues, but most people can see the more immediate practical benefits of reducing road congestion, cleaner air and less noise etc. And while not an environment benefit, less money spent on running a car, means more money available in peoples pockets to spend on other things!
Other benefits
CycleCharge aims to be a progressive scheme that will probably provide even more clearer benefits to businesses as time goes by and the scheme attracts more members. The Charge Point Directory [1] on the website is already a place where businesses can advertise and promote themselves freely. As the website evolves and improves, this combined with the upcoming "charge point map" will facilitate better and easier promotion for businesses which should eventually spill over onto mobile-devices and other Websites/outlets.
Business types and operating cost
For almost every type of business, the cost of charging batteries as we know is very small in terms of electricity and time compared to the social benefit of having new relationships with potentially paying customers (environmental benefits aside). For some businesses this may be less clear though, for example, businesses such as small cafés where people might spend less money, so space and time is a valuable commodity with a higher turnover of customers. These types of businesses may take more persuading on the social/business benefits, unless they support the environmental benefits. For these types of businesses, you could put more emphasis on top-up charging and stress that businesses can, if they wish, restrict usage to top-up charging only for a fixed duration if they want to.."the 30 minute top-up charge" - buy lunch, charge your battery, approach. They can use the Charge Point Directory to advertise this to members.
Business operating concerns
The main uncertainty is likely to be about the electricity cost which can easily be addressed with our 10p per charge example [2]. Also the reassurance that the scheme is managed and will not create a rapid demand influx for charging on individual businesses. As has been discussed, probably more common usage will be shorter top-up charging which will cost much less than 10p and less time spent on businesses premises. Longer charging cycles might be more common to businesses where the customer is spending longer amounts of time with the business, for example a hotel. But even so, at 10-20p for a full charge cycle and a few minutes plugging the charger in once or twice during a customers visit, is not going to affect a businesses costs or profitability!
Other concerns might be health and safety and more practical issues like where to charge. There's no reason why a comparison can't be made to charging laptop computers here (which may businesses will readily allow these days) as many e-bike batteries are similar from a safety prospective. Essentially all they need is a free socket out back somewhere where batteries can be left safely to charge.
Although we can offer guidance to businesses on handling and charging batteries (with the Charge Point Info Sheet) [3] it's really up to individual businesses how they want to carry out charging. Our Charge Log Sheet [4] on a clipboard is a good simple way of managing charging so that the business can monitor how long to charge for and when to remove batteries from charge. It also provides a record for businesses to see how much electricity is costing and how much charging they're doing, and to whom.
Some businesses might be concerned about the insurance side of things and the risk of customers property getting damaged or going missing on their premises. The simple way to address that concern is to explain that CycleCharge is membership-driven and members accept responsibility and liability for any loss or damage. That is indicated by the membership card each member carries with them and presents before charging (showing them your membership card maybe helpful here so they can see the scheme is properly run and managed). All businesses are required by law to have public liability insurance anyway which covers against major accidents and damages.
Promoting the scheme
The website obviously touches on these issues and benefits and is the main resource businesses can use to find out more about the scheme. The leaflet flyers [5] are really intended then to introduce the website as much as the scheme itself.
Probably the easiest way to promote the scheme is by just handing out leaflets and letting businesses have a read then answering any questions they have (if you have time). Anything you're unsure about just refer them to the website as a means of finding further info or getting in contact. If you can assist businesses in the process of registering, great, but obviously that could be time consuming so you might just want to distribute a few leaflets and not have any direct contact with businesses. You could perhaps write or print your telephone number on the leaflets if you're happy to act as a contact point. This might make some businesses more inclined to join up perhaps.
If you can't (or don't want to) print and handout leaflets or visit businesses in person, then there's other ways you can promote the scheme if you want to. For example you could make a list of e-mail addresses of local businesses and introduce yourself to them as a CycleCharge member volunteer by e-mail [6] and use links to the PDF leaflet. Or you could write to your local newspaper or post on local interest forums etc.
A good approach for promoting the scheme to any businesses who might be unsure or have concerns is to tell them joining is free and without any obligations. They can join and leave at any time and are also welcome to join on a trial basis to see how it goes and even set their own usage terms (with the exception of charging fees of course). A business shouldn't take much persuading if you can get the main points across. If they do, then probably not worth pushing it. Try other types of businesses if you find one type not receptive.
Finally, let me close by saying that members are free to promote the scheme however they like. Remember CycleCharge is yours. It belongs to you, the members. Although having a centralised approach with downloadable leaflets etc is easier to administer, there's no reason why you can't get creative and make your own leaflets [7] (or any other type of media, including videos) to promote the scheme. Perhaps you could tailor your promotion to a specific industry you work in, or perhaps to a social group you're involved with? Feel free to experiment and explore different approaches and angles. And if you have any good ideas or results, share them!
[Written at 5.30am on my laptop!]
CycleCharge as a concept could be summarised as being a community and business partnership. It should probably also be stressed that CycleCharge is also non-profit. The benefits are numerous, but could be summarised as being both social and environmental, both of which benefits businesses.
The social benefits
Businesses are really just social organisations that revolve around people. So it might help to think of CycleCharge as a social group that provides a social link to businesses. If you like, a way of enabling businesses to form a relationship with CycleCharge members. Obviously the nature of this relationship and its importance to the business in commercial terms will vary depending on the type of business. Consider this though.. where a business such as a hotel, guest house or bicycle shop is a supporter of the scheme, that could be a key factor in where electric bike owners decide to make significant value purchases.
Many owners are using e-bikes as a cheaper and healthier way to commute to work. Growing numbers of retired members of society see them as a more economical way to get around while keeping fit. Obviously at the moment e-bikes are not a mainstream item which everyone has like cars, but that could well change in the future. At the very least, the market for e-bikes is likely to continue steadily growing as cars become increasingly expensive to own and run. Government policy may also change towards promoting e-bikes and other eco-friendly transport. So businesses by supporting the scheme might be viewed as really just adapting to meet the needs of a changing consumer society, and may be even facilitating that change. If public charging becomes widely available, then more people are likely to appreciate the benefits of using an e-bike.
The environmental benefit
It doesn't take much explanation or persuasion to see that electric bikes are a better form of personal transportation from an environmental prospective compared to cars and motorcycles. You can certainly promote them as being a green eco friendly form of transport that is conducive towards Co2 reduction. No-doubt many businesses are aware of climate change issues and the need to reduce or offset the negative environmental costs of business. So CycleCharge could be considered another way businesses can do that and help the environment. Obviously some smaller business owners may be sceptical about environmental issues, but most people can see the more immediate practical benefits of reducing road congestion, cleaner air and less noise etc. And while not an environment benefit, less money spent on running a car, means more money available in peoples pockets to spend on other things!
Other benefits
CycleCharge aims to be a progressive scheme that will probably provide even more clearer benefits to businesses as time goes by and the scheme attracts more members. The Charge Point Directory [1] on the website is already a place where businesses can advertise and promote themselves freely. As the website evolves and improves, this combined with the upcoming "charge point map" will facilitate better and easier promotion for businesses which should eventually spill over onto mobile-devices and other Websites/outlets.
Business types and operating cost
For almost every type of business, the cost of charging batteries as we know is very small in terms of electricity and time compared to the social benefit of having new relationships with potentially paying customers (environmental benefits aside). For some businesses this may be less clear though, for example, businesses such as small cafés where people might spend less money, so space and time is a valuable commodity with a higher turnover of customers. These types of businesses may take more persuading on the social/business benefits, unless they support the environmental benefits. For these types of businesses, you could put more emphasis on top-up charging and stress that businesses can, if they wish, restrict usage to top-up charging only for a fixed duration if they want to.."the 30 minute top-up charge" - buy lunch, charge your battery, approach. They can use the Charge Point Directory to advertise this to members.
Business operating concerns
The main uncertainty is likely to be about the electricity cost which can easily be addressed with our 10p per charge example [2]. Also the reassurance that the scheme is managed and will not create a rapid demand influx for charging on individual businesses. As has been discussed, probably more common usage will be shorter top-up charging which will cost much less than 10p and less time spent on businesses premises. Longer charging cycles might be more common to businesses where the customer is spending longer amounts of time with the business, for example a hotel. But even so, at 10-20p for a full charge cycle and a few minutes plugging the charger in once or twice during a customers visit, is not going to affect a businesses costs or profitability!
Other concerns might be health and safety and more practical issues like where to charge. There's no reason why a comparison can't be made to charging laptop computers here (which may businesses will readily allow these days) as many e-bike batteries are similar from a safety prospective. Essentially all they need is a free socket out back somewhere where batteries can be left safely to charge.
Although we can offer guidance to businesses on handling and charging batteries (with the Charge Point Info Sheet) [3] it's really up to individual businesses how they want to carry out charging. Our Charge Log Sheet [4] on a clipboard is a good simple way of managing charging so that the business can monitor how long to charge for and when to remove batteries from charge. It also provides a record for businesses to see how much electricity is costing and how much charging they're doing, and to whom.
Some businesses might be concerned about the insurance side of things and the risk of customers property getting damaged or going missing on their premises. The simple way to address that concern is to explain that CycleCharge is membership-driven and members accept responsibility and liability for any loss or damage. That is indicated by the membership card each member carries with them and presents before charging (showing them your membership card maybe helpful here so they can see the scheme is properly run and managed). All businesses are required by law to have public liability insurance anyway which covers against major accidents and damages.
Promoting the scheme
The website obviously touches on these issues and benefits and is the main resource businesses can use to find out more about the scheme. The leaflet flyers [5] are really intended then to introduce the website as much as the scheme itself.
Probably the easiest way to promote the scheme is by just handing out leaflets and letting businesses have a read then answering any questions they have (if you have time). Anything you're unsure about just refer them to the website as a means of finding further info or getting in contact. If you can assist businesses in the process of registering, great, but obviously that could be time consuming so you might just want to distribute a few leaflets and not have any direct contact with businesses. You could perhaps write or print your telephone number on the leaflets if you're happy to act as a contact point. This might make some businesses more inclined to join up perhaps.
If you can't (or don't want to) print and handout leaflets or visit businesses in person, then there's other ways you can promote the scheme if you want to. For example you could make a list of e-mail addresses of local businesses and introduce yourself to them as a CycleCharge member volunteer by e-mail [6] and use links to the PDF leaflet. Or you could write to your local newspaper or post on local interest forums etc.
A good approach for promoting the scheme to any businesses who might be unsure or have concerns is to tell them joining is free and without any obligations. They can join and leave at any time and are also welcome to join on a trial basis to see how it goes and even set their own usage terms (with the exception of charging fees of course). A business shouldn't take much persuading if you can get the main points across. If they do, then probably not worth pushing it. Try other types of businesses if you find one type not receptive.
Finally, let me close by saying that members are free to promote the scheme however they like. Remember CycleCharge is yours. It belongs to you, the members. Although having a centralised approach with downloadable leaflets etc is easier to administer, there's no reason why you can't get creative and make your own leaflets [7] (or any other type of media, including videos) to promote the scheme. Perhaps you could tailor your promotion to a specific industry you work in, or perhaps to a social group you're involved with? Feel free to experiment and explore different approaches and angles. And if you have any good ideas or results, share them!
[Written at 5.30am on my laptop!]
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