Posted by Gary Ares
Let us review several important points covered in Part 1;
- we are in the worst of economic times
- it does not appear recovery is likely during 2010
- there is a serious shortage of people who know about the ebike category.
It should be clear to even the most ambitious of us that we are powerless to affect points 1 & 2. That leaves us with the easy work…just rustle up some humans and scream at them until they buy our stuff!!! Sound familiar? Maybe like watching TV or listening to the radio? We are all quite familiar with interrupt driven marketing, and many of us have become pretty good at avoiding. We'll call this "outbound marketing", as it is worth remembering, and a term to be explored a bit further in another post.
The good news is we know millions of people are searching the web, every day, for many reasons. We also know they are not swayed by the traditional marketing tactics just mentioned, but instead can vaporize our best intentions to gain their attention in a single click. More good news is there are many very astute people who know exactly how to overcome this problem, and are quite willing to help us. It all starts with knowing who your customer is or could be.
Here is a list of questions which should give us a good start at better understanding the core issue we are facing --- no buyers. Let’s begin with a list of the top obstacles to the Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) industry’s growth in the United States;
1- A very small number of people know about ebikes and associated LEV products.
2- A very large number of people need to be engaged (remember this one)
3- We must develop a thorough understanding of their personal characteristics, often called a persona, so we know;
a. who to seek out?
b. what problem(s) are we solving for them?
c. where do we find them?
d. when are they most likely to be interested (trigger event)?
4- How do we go about getting to these people, and what do we do when we find them?
If there is something missing, please feel free to use the comments section to inform us. If you’re saying, “Oh this is simple…I already know this”, then please stick around, because we need your help.
You might notice I left out what could develop into a diner sized menu of additional issues, concerns, and reasonable arguments that can include;
- people have been burnt by inferior products in the past and now they’re gun shy
- the big box stores are getting into the game
- the independent shops still have a bad taste in their mouths from past experiences with defective products, poor service, and empty promises
- the prices must come down, because people just won’t pay that much
- people are afraid to ride on the streets
- there are too many distracted drivers
- theft
- repairs and warranty issues
- the bikes lack proper brakes
- the battery is too expensive to replace
- some ebikes only go 10 miles on a charge
- we get no respect – cars get it all
A large portion of these points can be considered as welcomed objections, because at least you now have someone to speak with (to me objections = opportunities). Will there always be cheap products on the market – you betcha! Could the large, mostly informal, stores damage the value and make it a price point event only - look at their track record. If you’re thinking the IBDs (independent bicycle dealers) are the answer, it's quite unlikely; maybe a few, but on their conditions. There’s more, but this is a blog, not a book, so it’s time to focus – focus on what the primary objective is going to be, or at least let’s get close;
Determine the personas of the people we want to engage, figure out where they are, go to where they gather on the internet, listen and learn more about their needs, casually and politely wait for an opportunity to enter into their conversation.
Sound somewhat familiar? Maybe like just about any other social interaction were we might mingle, listen, and then ease ourselves into an interaction with one or many. If it’s a forum or blog we’ll treat it somewhat differently than a short Twitter. Just remember, it's NOT about you or your product, it is about them. Listen.
Now would be a good time to jot a note for yourself, if you’re interested in becoming part of what the very famous author and serial marketer, Seth Godin, would call a “Tribe”. The note might have one or more words, like “Persona”, “Ebike-Who, What, where…”, or whatever works for you.
Identifying the buyer’s persona is very important in order to pinpoint who you intend to market to, which in this case comes before selling. Give it some thought, write down some notes, and let’s meet back here again.
This is not going to be an over night event. Instead, because the retail, wholesale, and manufacturers need the business, we may even have to share ideas, collaborate, and work for the whole until the industry gets moving, We’re shooting for what’s called a “viral” or “positive epidemic” proportions of awareness that can be created according to the book “The Tipping Point” .
In order for this concept to take hold it will require support and input from you and others. There is no doubt we can attain great success by utilizing the power of the internet and the ability to reach many, but we must be prepared.
Please return, and tell others in the LEV industry about our goal.
Posted by Gary Ares
I remember, in the fall of 2008, how the US electric bike industry was projected to grow quite well during 2009 - exciting. Certainly, no one was forecasting it would even come close to the millions sold in China, but it was supposed to be a healthy increase from around 170,000 to possibly as many as 250,000 ebikes.
Insiders, like a small number of brick & mortar shops, as well as e-commerce operations, selling ebikes and conversion kits were immediately captivated by the prospect of increased sales.
Some of them had been in business for a decade or 
longer, and had paid their dues, couldn’t wait for their boat to float in the rising tide.
Many others who became aware of a new market opportunity, given the rise in ebike sales, saw “green”. I wouldn’t doubt words like “let’s open up a shop, and sell a bunch of ebikes! It can’t be that difficult?” could be heard. So, plop, plop, plop, up go the stores and websites like the first day of fishing season. All with their bright shinny ebikes, scooters, motorcycles, and many new ideas in between. All dreaming of the big catch.
Through the fall of and winter of 2008 a few new manufacturers & distributors began presenting their green modern urban designs with high power, longer range, better than the next guy electric powered transportation products. Even though there were some who arrived with “also-ran” wares (cheap always sells), the overwhelming majority of vendors showed their commitment to quality and service.
With all the new, and in many eyes expensive, ebikes, e-scooters, and e-motorcycle products available and ready for delivery, hopes ran high through the spring, then summer, and finally fall seasons of 2009. The outcome, you ask?
What is the sound of one hand clapping? About the same as the sound of the money that did not flow. It would appear that the end users for these products did not receive the memo about all of the wonderful Light Electric Vehicles (LEV) products here waiting for them to purchase.
Here we are, in the early parts of 2010, and there have been a few articles about ebikes in the NY Times, USA Today and other notable sources. A few multi-billion dollar companies have entered the game with their ebike products and deserve recognition for their courage in the face of the lackluster economic projections for the coming year. Additionally, let’s not overlook the big box stores who have entered the fray to meet the needs of their customers.
Let us review a few important points before moving on; 1) the entire country, the world for that matter, is in the middle of an economic meltdown; 2) recovery is reported to be some time beyond 2010; 3) people are simply not aware of ebikes.
It’s is pretty clear to me that the industry on its own cannot affect #s 1 & 2. Then, #3 begs the question - what can be done to increase people’s knowledge and awareness of Light Electric Vehicles (LEV), and in particular ebikes?
The unfortunate answer, recently given by one important guiding voice for the industry states we simply “don’t need to do anything”, because “interest will come, no matter what the industry does”. I suggest we take a more pro-active approach and actually do something about it.
The “Tipping Point”, as author Malcolm Gladwell suggests, won’t happen by itself, or even with the help of the likes of Best Buy, Sears, or REI. It might be nudged with a few kind words from Mister Obama, Oprah, or maybe even the Great Yellow Hope – Lance Armstrong himself, but in the end it’ll only bounce the needle off zero only to return.
If the LEV industry continues on its current path it can expect to receive the same, if not worst, results. The good news is despite the 3 points made above, there are new marketing methods available to all businesses that can be put to use so as to positively affect the financial outcome for 2010.
The solution, I believe, rests mainly on the industry to develop itself. Right now there are no shortage of “E”bikes, scooters, motorcycles, trikes, velomobiles or other Light Electric Vehicles. There is, and will continue to be, a shortage of people to buy and ride them unless changes are made in how we approach the challenge of attracting people to the industry.
I’ll leave you with good news. There are a number of solutions. It’s my hope that this blog series will destroy the idea of “sit and they will come”, and instead present ideas and methodologies that can be implemented with minimal cost. You can shape your own business destiny, and that of the industry, despite the economy and lack of people who even know the category exists ( and, is in stock, with operators waiting your call, email, tweet, or text!).
This is the first of a series of posts meant to be informative and stimulate actions. Please sign up for Email notifications of future series posts.
Posted by Gary Ares
If you have been wracking your brain for the right "code" to unlock the door to more business - your fortune has just changed for the better. The code has been imperceptibly morphing so it has been difficult to notice the changes. Don't despair, because the map to increase sales generated by your website is about to be laid before you.
More good news... others who have followed this map, some call them pioneers, have found the path to be well marked, and did indeed lead to sales. However, it took courage for them, as it will for you, but if what strategies you had that worked in the past no longer have effect, there is reason for hope and exuberance.
In clear and simple terms think of the letters "PUSH" as the old code that worked well for many businesses. This was interruption based and funnel-fed to us through TV, radio, newsprint, and let's not forget those wonderful phone calls during dinner from telemarketers.
Technology has provided us with great inventions, which provided relief from the growing number of messages we are bombarded with from the time we wake up to our clock radio. Think about how often you rely upon voice mail, email, TIVO to allow you to skip TV commercials, and those wonderful pop-up blockers. We are now very adept at hiding the code from those who'd like to market and sell to us. Well, so are the people you are trying to reach.
A proven solution to increasing you website's ability to generate traffic, and more importantly sales, will need a slightly different code. Yes, again, good news....the code is simply the opposite than what you used to know and use - it's "PULL".
Next, we'll need to prepare for the journey, for our view of outbound, interruption driven, marketing and sales must change. Our new mantra should be inbound, relationship centric, to earn the trust of the buyer, and then provide a clear and transparent means of them allowing you to sell them a product or service. Before you tear up the map, it would benefit you to do some research in the topic of Web 2.0 and Sales 2.0 for starters.
Now, the critical part, finding and implementing each letter, in stages, will open the door to increased sales only so much. In order to gain the full access to real and sustainable business growth the business person, a.k.a. Web 2.0 adventurer, will need to acquire the additional letters from which come the benefits of each.
OK, now that you are prepared, let's begin with trying to solve the immediate problem with increasing sales to your business using the website you've been paying for. The quickest path, read instant-gratification, to more site visitors and maybe sales is buying paid search advertising, which many refer to as pay-per-click. It is widely used, much to the delight of Google and other companies in the same business.
Some things to consider; the paid ads will get more people showing up at your site, but then what? How will you convert them to perform the action you paid money to get them to your site for in the first place - like buying? The second important point is though the method is proven to work well as soon as it stops so does the traffic.
The better strategy and method to gain improvement, and longer lasting results is to make sure your site well prepared to be found. The facts are that the majority of people searching for your product or service will not go beyond the first page of search results. For those still thinking about the instant fix of paid search, the research also shows two key points only 25% of searchers will click on an ad.
It is acceptable to combine paid search while working on enhancing the foundation of the website. This way, when the decision is made to discontinue the paid path, the organic seeds will have taken root. Remember, the goal is to get increased sales, while containing costs.
Having a guide for this trip will be well worth the price, because the work will require specialized knowledge. The objective is to utilize a well informed source who can help you to understand the current state of your site, define the steps to correct its deficiencies, and to fix it, while providing the tools for continuous improvement.
Now, it is time to start the trek, but you will need more knowledge in order to continue making the best decisions for your business. Remember, the code didn't change overnight, and it did so right in front of all of us.
The scope of the solution is beyond this single post. You did learn several important points and hopefully are now more aware of what the problem was, how things have changed, and a good idea of how to continue on a path of long term growth and prosperity for your business.
Posted by Gary Ares
Recently, I happened to find a well done business blog post , which made me stop to grab a paper and pencil to jot down several of my thoughts that support the original title "Why Businesses Must Blog". First of all the word must, taken literally, could sound a bit strong, but the evidence on tangible benefits for your business are more compelling than ever.
This list was developed, pretty much on the fly, and could probably be lengthened with a little more thought, but for now it'll do just fine. It might even be a good idea to somehow bookmark this post, as well as the link above from YMarketing.com for that day when you might be heard to voice "ah ha", or may a simple "hummmm", and have the urge to share your treasure trove of knowledge with a friend.
A few more reasons to support how business blogs are beneficial;
- Every post is like another free advertisement that, over time, will substantially build your web presence; if you add 2 posts a week, then over a year's time there will be about 100 more opportunities for views to find your business.
- Leverage every chance you can to convert a visitor into a customer with a "call-to-action" on each post. These can be links or even a button or graphic to promote an other's in your industry, an event, a white paper, register for a trial of your product or service, and the list goes on.
- Develop a network which can be utilized to gather and share helpful information, and attract new or even repeat buyers to your site. This is where the term Social Media comes in with names like Twitter, Facebook, and Linked-In. Take them like a golf game - one stroke at a time.
- Attract people who have an immediate need, and others who can be developed with a lead nurturing system. Either way, your helpfulness and ability to attract the right kind of persona, with the skillful use of keywords, will target more qualified eyes to read your business blog.
- People love to share their thoughts, and even become ambassadors for your cause, product or service. Build a following of people who can't wait for your writings, so they too can share their enthusiasm and ideas. For those who cringe at the idea of a defamatory comment being posted...read on....
- The internet has broken down many barriers of communication a long time ago, so the idea of controlling what is being said about your business is just that, " a thought", but far from reality. In a nutshell, the benefit greatly outweighs the risk; a great opportunity to better understand what is actually being said about your business. If something needs to be addressed, then your blog could serve as the main PR launching pad as well. Your readers will appreciate your courage and commitment to ethical business in addressing issues.
There are more many reasons to blog for business than not, and if you are interested in developing a truly business worthy means of low cost communications to enhance your web presence, please continue digging. Some excellent resources for gathering relevant Web 2.0 knowledge are;
David Meerman Scott, Seth Godin, Bernie Borges, the executive team of Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, and Dan Ronken. Oh, and please return here to VeloRep for more thoughts and ideas to help grow your business and career.
Posted by Gary Ares
In this post, we will briefly cover business reasons for blogging, how to best approach it, and then some tips on getting started. Granted, there's a lot to learn about Social Media, but today is only about Blogging for Business.
Blogging ( a.k.a. Web Log) is a growing segment of the Web 2.0 world widely referred to as Social Media. Before we're tempted to get too complicated, let's simply understand both Social Media it as people conversing online. Blogging is just one of many ways to conduct a conversation. Simple enough.
Notice the word "converse" in the paragraph above that implies a two-way dialog. Yes, in a blog the writer gets to express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and you the reader most often get a chance to comment - WOW! Now you can tell people all of the nice things that you've had bottled up for years, or at least let's hope they're nice.
What is the scope of the blogosphere you ask? Is it worth my attention? In 2009, a little less than half of the active internet users regularly read one or more blogs. The good news is the forecast for growth is about 10% during the next 4 - 5 years. As for people who actually do the blogging, the number is relatively low as a percentage, 13%, but again will grow to around 17% in the same period.
Here's another way to view the proportions of the blogosphere; today there are about 100Million blog readers, and that's expected to grow to a bit over 125million by 2013. All of this material will be generated by somewhere around 32Million people today, and will grow to just under 40Million.
Now, here's what blogging means for your business. First of all let's start with the word FREE. Well, almost because it will take time to write a blog, and TIME IS MONEY. However, the rewards are the significant profits derived from the increased number of visitors to your site, and the related conversions to sales. Next, imagine that every blog post you offer out to the internet world can be searched and found by thousands, or hundreds-of-thousands of readers, and it stays there forever.
Let's review the FREE advertising leader. Consider this...in most cases each blog post is considered as a separate piece of information, or page on your website; like having multiple ads in the same periodical. Do the math; 2 posts a week will give you 100 more chances to have visitors find you site. Please forgive this à BUT WAIT, THERE"S MORE! You work doesn't vaporize every year, it has an additive effect, and after 2 years you have many more chances to be found during a search (sorry, no knives or slam-choppers included with this offer).
As important as increased revenues from a significant up-tic in visitors and conversions to sales are, it must not be forgotten as to how these people arrived...your blog post. The most beneficial thing to remember is to share ideas that are relevant to the people you are attempting to attract - in a word, helpful. Here's one way of many to begin blogging;
- 1) Think about who your potential customers/clients are, and what kind of information, game, survey, test, or imagery would be attractive to them.
- 2) Make a simple list of general topics, maybe 5 to start, and then write down your best guess at what words a person would type into a search engine (Google?); these will be called keywords as they are referred to in Google-speak. Better yet, try doing a search for several words yourself and see what results come up, and then hone your ideas.
- 3) Use this knowledge to find a few blogs that might be of interest to your prospects. Visit them, and do what's commonly called "listening", to other bloggers. For now, just get the feel for how they engage their readers, and if they're not interesting just move on to the next one, and repeat.
- 4) At this point it may be a good time to write an article about what your prospects what to read - not about your products or company - to address something of interest to them. Try to find your own "voice" or tone, and focus on how your information can be of help to your prospective reader.
- 5) If you are like the majority of people, you might want to write a few blog posts, and let them "age" a bit before actually sending them out to the world. This can give you more time for review and to possibly improve your post. If this method doesn't appeal to you, then do a good spell check on it, and get ready to post it.
Finally, as with anything you want to show off in public, just take your time so as to project the image appropriate to your business. There is no specific time-line for blogging at the beginning, and it's actually a good, if not best, practice to work your way into this new Social Media world. I will be working on more ideas and advise on blogging for business on a regular basis, so please drop by often. Oh, and please leave a comment, ideas, or correction if necessary.
Posted by Gary Ares
Imagine the earth's crust shifting and bumping, with continents moving in slow motion, like you might see on a Discovery Channel special. This is what has happened to the human community, and in particular the Sales and Marketing world, somewhat in parallel with the maturation of the internet. Just a whole lot quicker.
If you missed this monumental event, it's not too late because we are now in the next phase of an ever changing virtual world and it's called Web 2.0. Or, if you'd prefer in this case, Sales 2.0.
This concept is critically important to understand and embrace if you own or run a revenue generating area of a business. Why, because the good 'Ol-boy nostalgia centric network is being replaced with new rules.
Today, we'll explore the term efficiency as it applies to this new landscape. Instead of calling what we do today in sales as broken, useless, or other names which may be completely appropriate, we'll use the more gentile and acceptable term of inefficient. Here is a word that can be easily embraced, thought about, and eventually replaced with practices to increase sales.
The trick here is the continent of sales is not where we thought it was, but has shifted, so our dated ideas of revitalizing this area will no longer work as they did in the past.
I believe efficiency is an excellent word because it partners well with measurement, quantification, or at least the question of "how", as in how efficient. Additionally, the end result of applied improvements are usually beneficial.
To this end, let us use the automobile as an example of a platform into which we place a motor to make it move. The gas engine is somewhere in the vicinity of 25 - 30% efficient at performing work. The electric motor, on the other hand, is often in excess of 75% efficient at performing the tasks of pushing & pulling.
The good news is electric vehicles, bikes, scooters, motorcycles and cars, are all ready and able to eliminate our reliance on the gas burning automobile. A good example of efficiency triumphing over what has worked for decades but, as many view it today, was never a really good idea.
The same can be said for the world of interrupt driven sales where the number of cold calls (read interruptions) a salesperson was able to inflict on the unsuspecting person who answered the phone was a measure of their success.
Consider that people have become pretty good at blocking the advertising hits, like wonder woman with the bracelet, but we generally call it TIVO (imagine a giant 8 track device recording all your TV programs). Instant messaging - not phone calls. Email - not discussion. Blogging - not advertising, news programs, and news papers.
Here is where we must unapologetically point out that people do not want to be interrupted...we're done. The overwhelming majority of us/them are saturated with over 3,000 daily hits for our attention. Again, we're done.
Finally, you ask, what's the answer? Tell me, so I can call my sales force and redirect them before they hit the iceberg!
In a word, permission. Please try to remember this word, because it is one of several that constitute the new 2.0 environment.
To be efficient we must gain permission to enter into another person's world, otherwise selling will be as rewarding as pushing a rope. I believe the more open & transparent my approach is, the better chance I have to be allowed to continue with the conversation.
Don't worry, the solution is not as painful as you might think.
Some take-aways;
- interrupt-driven sales and marketing techniques are NOT the way of the future
- permission and trust are the new guide words
- efficient is good
- effective is better
- together, they are devastatingly excellent
- Sales 2.0 methods are more efficient and effective at developing a relationship with a prospect which lead to a sale (much faster and with better returns than the old methods)
Please return here to the VeloRep blog as we'll continue to develop ways to not only survive, but to reinvent our business persona and build a true following of supporters.
I look forward to hearing your ideas and welcome your comments.