A Step-By-Step Guide to Transforming Your Business With Text Messaging: Bike Shops
The bike industry is a special one.
If you are reading this, it’s because you got into this business for the love of the sport. Not only that, but you believe in the transformative power of the bicycle both as a mode of transportation and a form of exercise.
You love and breathe bikes – but running the business can feel like a never ending FTP test.
Between figuring out a strategy for managing the excess inventory you have on hand to finding, training and retaining staff, you might ask yourself – is this the right time to introduce a new communication channel?
You’re convinced it’s the right choice because you’ve read about how Specialized scaled to 90+ bike shops with text messaging or about how the folks at BikeSource Charlotte made an $8,000 sale in 8 minutes.
But you still have some questions 🧐– well this blog post will give you all the answers you are looking for.
#1 Managing a New Communication Channel
It’s a fair assumption to think that introducing a new communication channel can be more work for you and your team.
But the beauty of text messaging is that it will actually reduce how much time you and your team spend on emails and phone calls.
Even beyond replacing other communication channels, text messaging will begin to change your workflows at the shop because it will create opportunities for change that you might not be thinking about at the moment.
While email excels in delivering detailed information, it falls short on immediacy and engagement.
And although phone calls provide the opportunity for a personalized interaction, they are inconvenient for both parties and inefficient if you aren’t able to reach the customer the first time around.
For most, having a full voicemail or not even setting up is almost a badge of honor, making it an unreliable place to leave important information they are waiting for about their bike.
You will either end up leaving a voicemail that the customer will probably not listen to or resort to a different form of communication.
Text messaging doesn’t become just another communication tool you have to manage, it will actually reduce and potentially remove the need to use phone and emails (for certain tasks at least).
Especially when it comes to phone calls – you often have no choice but to stop and go answer the phone.
Imagine all the time saved and how much your mechanics will appreciate not having their work interrupted with yet another phone call asking for an update.
For a mechanic, an interruption is not only a matter of inconvenience, but it is also a liability.
Picture this: your mechanic is in the middle of tightening a crucial bolt, the phone rings, they get distracted, and this potential mishap can lead to a serious safety issue.
#2 Text Messaging Across Generations
How will each generation respond to text messaging?
Let’s take a look at a few considerations when we think of what it would look like when a bike shop introduces text messaging in an environment where employees and customers across generations are interacting with each other.
Brand Tone
Text messaging offers a unique advantage to bike shops.
Not only is a bike shop filled with customers and staff from different generations, but there’s also a vibrant blend of diverse personality types, individuals from different backgrounds, and even those who speak a language different from our own.
This means that at any given moment, when the phone rings or when a mechanic needs to send out an email or leave a voicemail, there is a chance that the tone of your team member is not the same as your brand.
With text messaging you have full control over the tone of each interaction with message templates and after-hour message automations.
You might think to yourself – well, my team won’t be answering every message with a template, so how do I have full control over the tone of every interaction?
Well the beauty of text messaging is the paper trail that it leaves behind. It creates a perfect training opportunity thus giving you more control over your brand tone, versus things that are said over the phone once and can never be traced back (we will cover this topic in the next section).
This allows you to create a cohesive brand and effectively reflect the company's personality in your communication style.
And even though text messaging has been around for 30 years, there’s a newness to text messaging when it comes to the relationship customers have with businesses. Most people are used to text messaging their friends and family.
Which means the very ability for customers to be able to communicate with you via text message will further reinforce a positive and engaging brand experience – and set you apart from competitors.
Training
Speaking of different age groups, when it comes to training your employees, it’s not only about the training they get when they first start. Training can be and should be an ongoing process.
A key benefit of text messaging is that you will always have a record of every interaction between your employees and customers.
Not only is that beneficial from a business perspective because you can protect yourself in a situation where a customer potentially denies approving a repair, but it also gives you insight into how your employees are speaking to your customers.
Text messaging becomes a training tool, where you will have tangible examples of situations where you can show your team how they could have interacted differently. And in other cases, it also gives you the ability to give credit where credit is due.
Here’s what Rachael (Market Manager) from Specialized Austin had to say about this topic:
“Text messaging is a coaching opportunity with the staff.
It shows the sales process and you get to see the EQ (emotional intelligence) in that conversation, and often you want to mirror how the customer is communicating.
It also teaches you text etiquette, and you get to see the nuts and bolts of the sales process because it's all there, right. Kimmi (General Manager) can go back and look at things and coach the team. Kimmi is running the store, and can only be in one place at one time.
But if the conversation happened on the phone, then you just don’t know how the conversation went. There’s just so much more coaching opportunity with the text thread.”
Dive into this interview we did with the Specialized Austin team How Specialized Scaled To 90+ Bike Shops With Ikeono.
#3 Text Messaging and Customer Relationships
At Ikeono we have been intentional about every decision we make and we take security seriously.
We have specifically focused on enabling businesses to use conversational text messaging via their own business phone number.
The idea is to help businesses build real genuine relationships with their customers while also recognizing the importance of maintaining profitability and sustainability.
This means bike shops can introduce a new method of communication using a phone number their customers already trust.
Customers might already have your phone number saved, and if they don’t then they are only one Google search away from verifying your business.
This offers a truly unique experience compared to the automated, robotic text messages customers often receive from big-box retailers and companies like Amazon.
PRO TIP: Employees should not be asked to text customers from their personal phone numbers. Not only is this a security concern but what often happens is that a relationship is built and when that employee leaves, then that relationship leaves with them.
#4 Effective Response Management
Alright, you have implemented text messaging with Ikeono, and you have also introduced text-based webchat, customers now have 2 new channels to reach out to you, how quickly do you need to answer them all?
No Such Thing as Too Many Questions
When bike shops are considering implementing text messaging, it sometimes feels like a double-edge sword.
On one hand there’s concerns around getting too many questions from customers because they have opened a new communication channel and on the other they are concerned about over-communicating on this new channel.
The reality is customers who have numerous questions will inevitably find a way to ask them, regardless of the communication channel.
This way, with text messaging you will actually have a convenient and efficient method to handle these inquiries.
It is also difficult to over-communicate with bike enthusiasts, they are deeply passionate about their bikes and eager for detailed communication. If consumers care about tracking pizza on an app, they certainly care about every single detail of their bike.
Embracing text messaging can enhance customer satisfaction and engagement, catering to their enthusiasm and need for information.
All the Tools You Will Gain
An interesting shift that happens when bike shops start using text messaging…
they gain access to a variety of tools during interactions that weren't available before.
You will find yourself having many light bulb moments 💡.
For example, a mechanic is working on a bike and notices a gash on the back tire, now instead of picking up the phone and attempting to reach the customer to get approval on the added repair, the mechanic has the option to handle everything without any major interruptions or playing phone tag.
For bike shops using Lightspeed, the mechanic actually doesn’t even have to leave the work order screen they likely already have open.
Thanks to the browser extension, you can easily create a new quote, text it to the customer and wait for a response – this way the bike shop has a record of everything that was said and the customer can respond when it is convenient for them.
Not only will you have access to tools like Ikeono’s Lightspeed POS integration but that conversation can also be followed by a secure payment link so that any parts that need to be ordered are paid for.
Once the repair is done, you can then automatically send a Google or Facebook review request.
#5 What Do Customers Think of Text Messaging?
Besides the convenience of text messaging, the reality is that customers want to talk to you, they want a relationship with their local bike shop, and text messaging checks off all of these boxes.
Independent bike dealers are one of the most important parts of the equation when it comes to the relationship cyclists have with the sport.
Take into consideration what happened with Kona Bicycles. By taking the IBD out and devaluing the relationship of IBDs and their customers
taking the IBD out of the equation, and a few other questionable business decisions, the brand took a major hit.
The relationship between IBDs and cyclists is sacred, hence the original founders of Kona are choosing to buy back the brand and rebuild their relationship with IBDs.
As an IBD, what better way to build a relationship with riders than becoming the bike shop they can send a text message to?
Ready to Start Texting Your Riders?
Interestingly, 54% of consumers (across all ages) wish they could text the businesses they engage with.
Despite this demand, only 13% of companies provide texting as a communication option.
This shortfall isn't due to implementation challenges but usually from concerns about managing an additional communication channel or the misconception that only the younger customers want to text and the older customers won’t.
The fact is, most businesses are up and running with text messaging in about 20 minutes, and most customers, irrespective of their age, prefer using SMS for interactions.