Workstand Blog

The riding season is upon us - the sales floor is busier than ever as shoppers gear up for warm-weather cycling adventures. Online marketing is a crucial part of ensuring that shoppers find your website and make their way into the store. We’ve compiled a list of useful tips to balance out maintaining a high-quality website with the demanding season. Keep reading to learn about how the Workstand team can help you crush it this summer.

Your guide to summer ecommerce success

1. Focus on the basics

Knowing your customer base is the first step to a great summer marketing plan. Sometimes, less is more when it comes to merchandising your products. If you’re in a hilly region, promote mountain bikes on your homepage; bike shops in urban areas might prioritize commuter gear or e-bikes. Recommend gear to pair with the bikes you’re selling the most of, and let your online shopping cart do the rest.

2. Plan out content ahead of time

If you have a sense of how the summer usually goes on the sales floor, make note of it and select the content you want to use ahead of time. Having a few pieces of content scheduled for each month of the summer takes the guesswork out of curating your homepage every four weeks. Here’s an example of a content calendar for summer:

3. Optimize your homepage for the riding season

Most cyclists have the same goal for the summer: get out and ride. Period. Make it easy for your shoppers to find the bikes and gear they want on your homepage. A clean, organized layout with great calls-to-action takes the guesswork out of shopping for cycling products. Our summer Homepage Takeover does just that, so your customers can spend more time in the saddle.

4. Make online shopping easy for customers

Having your cart turned on and enabling an in-store pickup method is the best way to turn visitors into customers. Setting up an easy-to-use payment method like Stripe plus financing options gives shoppers the flexibility they’re looking for when buying products online.

5. Drive in-store traffic with Google Local Shopping

These days, shoppers look to Google first for products they want. With Google Local Shopping ads, it’s easier than ever to promote your inventory to cyclists near you who want to purchase a bike and start riding immediately. Google Local makes getting your products listed at the top of search results a breeze. Get in touch today to set up your Google feed!

6. Promote summer events to your shoppers

If your shop hosts group rides and events throughout the summer, be sure to highlight them on your website. Take advantage of the email addresses you’ve collected from customers and send out marketing emails with event details.

7. “Set and forget” customer communication

When you don’t have time to plan out email campaigns, you can still keep in touch with customers by sending out automated emails they’ve made a purchase. Setting up a campaign with Workstand IQ is a simple way to provide the “personal touch” your shoppers love with no additional work on your end.

8. Lean on brand campaigns

Many of the big names in the cycling industry collaborate with Workstand on marketing campaigns like sales and new bike launches. Check your inbox for opt-in information and get free, high-quality content from brands installed on your website for free.

9. Engage shoppers on social media

Connect with your cycling community on social media. It’s a great way to let shoppers know that your bike shop is a friendly, welcoming place for all kinds of riders, and including product links in posts will drive traffic back to your website. Talk about a good deal!

10. Leave it to us

There are plenty of ways you can take the pressure off when it comes to summertime marketing. If you’re still feeling slammed, let the Workstand team help. Whether you opt for free library pages or want to upgrade to SEO-rich premium content, we have everything you need to get your site ready for summer.