CONFESSIONS OF A CUSTOMER

By Eric Anderson

BOUTIQUE BUSINESS

The Art Of The Powersports Retailer

Shoppers are changing their habits faster than retailers. Are you keeping up? Or are you still in denial of such change? Techno-innovation may be accelerating, but in my opinion the Internet, social media and Costco only make it easier for customers to buy more… of the wrong stuff! It’s still your job as a retailer to enlighten us locally on what we should own, Mr.

Dealer, because we truly don’t know oftentimes until it’s too late.

If we don’t know the correct question to ask Mr. Google, we’re screwed by being trapped inside our own blissful circle of ignorance and fake, self-fulfilling, algorithm-driven pop-up pablum. And since we don’t visit your destination dealership (enough) to ask dumb questions as often as we used to, the old enlightenment process is more difficult for you to deliver in old-fashioned ways. It’s time to rethink how to reach out and influence us as to what we really need.

Commodities are things all people know about, thus shopping for them will always remain price driven. But since our powersports industry offers discretionary and recreational products, it still comes down to a differentiating shopping experience… which can be either digital or face-to-face. All too often we as customers realize our cyberspace-driven mistake only after we buy something too small, too big, too cheap, too expensive, too heavy, too slow or one that does not fit.

We’ve all done it… and regret not knowing how to properly research the purchase by ourselves. The most powerful search engine on the planet is still uselessly stupid unless you know the right questions to ask it. I just re-learned this fact buying a customized laptop computer from a local shop which asked me the right questions vs. the Best Buy across town who only wanted to hawk what was on their shelf now. I never knew the It is a fact — smaller retail stores encourage humans to interact more with each other. It sounds old-fashioned to talk “small and local,” but it is becoming popular again. Wayne and Garth are even appearing in “Eat Local” TV ads by Uber Eats. Party on! Now, how can we encourage customers to “Shop Local” at your store instead of the mega-motorsports store across the state or BigBadBobs.com? One word: BOUTIQUE!

The term “boutique store” is not just a snooty French word for a pretentious clothing or coffee retailer. Webster’s describes the use of this adjective: of, designating, or characteristic of a small, exclusive producer or business. Perhaps we have all been trying to grow up and be BIG… while the customers lately want the smaller retail experience for non-commodity products?

Things are coming full circle now that we realize what a pain megaretail and e-comm outlets are for getting customer assistance. Online isn’t our only option — micro-retailers are becoming the new rage. Don’t think it’s happening in powersports? Have you looked at used motorcycle sales between private parties lately? Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and Cycle Trader are making anyone with a machine and gear in their garage into their own ranked micro-retailer.

If you do not think micro, someone else will — like your own customers. Stem that tide locally by helping customers in your area make better choices inside your store. Begin offering Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) machines with some sort of 21-point safety inspection and aftermarket warranty included in the price — something a driveway-to-driveway “as is” sale will never include. Give customers assurance and confidence to “shop local” in your social media posts —two very sought-after entities in this post-recession, mid-pandemic world. It also gives you more profit.

Big Box Retailers (BBR) are well known for their lack of customer service and poor shopping experience, but equally well known for great prices on, well, commodities. Perhaps it would be simpler for you all to study what BBRs do… and then do the opposite. Take some lessons from the food and beverage industry. Big chains are struggling in the face of poor-quality food, increased obesity and a colorless eating environment, yet smaller local grocers, family-owned breweries and organic restaurant retailers are flourishing (COVID closures excepted).

Consumers are changing and smaller businesses can accommodate these changes much faster than the juggernauts of retail. Similarly, boutique brands like Benelli, Triumph and Ducati have been revealing knobby-tired scrambler-class machines for years while the Big 4 Japanese have not sniffed the trend yet. Do you see the small/big metaphor… which equally applies to retail stores as the products themselves? Think smaller in order to become more popular.

Becoming a boutique store doesn’t mean you need to speak with a French accent or serve tea with your little finger in the air. Nobody is asking you to focus on pretentious hipsters either — that’s a passing fad, not a long term trend. “Shopping” — an

THE ART OF THE MOTORCYCLE

Another trend you need to realize is the portrayal of art in and around various local boutique businesses. It adds value to the experience and further differentiates you from plain-wrap commodity suppliers. Not only is art portrayed in such businesses, their product for sale also approaches an art form mostly in the way they are elegantly displayed— chocolates, jewelry, espressos, apparel. The economy and conveniences of technology influence shopping, but do not fundamentally change the ultimate emotional value propositions: hunt, acquire, celebrate. If it’s worth their time, people will visit your store. If you don’t show them the value, in advance, they won’t come. Can you re-brand yourself as more of a specialty store like coaches and fitness instructors have relabeled themselves as “personal trainers?”

Get personal — become a boutique — then spread the word!

The Guggenheim Museum’s most popular ticket-selling exhibit in all of its history was “Art of the Motorcycle.” Even men’s magazines are still showing motorcycles as technical art. Vintage bikes are selling through Bonham Auctions as vintage art. So, are you treating your modern machines and associated gear like futuristic art… or like “racked and stacked” commodities?

Change the way you exhibit your fleet of products from a “storeroom” and convert your dealership to more of a “showroom” for a smaller quantity, but higher quality experience. More space = more value… like a gallery instead of a warehouse. If you are not a BBR yourself, then stop mimicking the BBR warehouse shopping experience! Evolve and upgrade to become more of an interpretive experience center. See — Hear —Touch —Experience — Buy. Numbers 3 and 4 are impossible for the Internet and e-comm retailers to deliver, so capitalize where they are weak.

Trend forecaster and futurist, Martha Beck states, “We are entering the age of micro entrepreneurs.” Micro-breweries are thriving at the expense of macro breweries like AnheuserBusch. Local coffee roasters, tea shops and even bone broth bars (yes, there is such a thing)… are thriving in the presence of mega-monsters like Starbucks.

These food and beverage examples are hopping on the “go local” trend because many Americans are much more concerned with what we put in our bodies than ever before… and we love the personal shopping experience of these smaller, boutique businesses over the Dark Side’s corporate overlords.

Check out http://thelab.com/ — LAB stands for “Little American Business.” This business in southern California is also self-nicknamed the Anti-Mall. Could you also make your business more approachable for families and newcomers? Enlighten us, please, by further encouraging our visit to your store--an event to be remembered and ultimately shared with friends.

Do you have a “custom experience” which you could offer over and above the local “cookie-cutter competition? There was a time when mom-and-pop” stores grew into superstores… and now the trend is somewhat reversing itself back to a smaller and more intimate experience. The Big Retailers will remain in place while the smaller, more local businesses begin to leverage their ability to provide something more unique. The real message here is to first think smaller… because it will lead to eventually becoming bigger.