Environment
There is no secret the retail industry is in the process of being disrupted. The landscape has shifted dramatically over the past 5 years. Paddle sports and activity based retail shops are now competing with giants like Costco and Amazon.
You = David
Them = Goliath
You Can Compete
However, there is hope. Brick and mortar shops, when done well, can still prove to be very successful. Ranging from local shops like Next Adventure in Portland, Oregon. Or - to large big box retailers like Target. These shops share at least 3 successful traits in developing a loyal customer base and nurturing late adopters to shop.
- Customer service and expertise: delivering value the customer cannot get online.
- An in-store or onsite experience
- Connection to the brand.
Building Customer Loyalty
In retail, the absolute gold customer is the repeat purchaser, what researchers often call "Enthusiasts". These are the dream customers. They have a passion in the product category you are offering, they visit often, and they want the latest and greatest toy as soon as it comes out. There tends to be a lifecycle to an enthusiast...they aren't necessarily born die hard kayakers (or insert passion point here). They hear about it from a friend or see someone kayaking, then they might watch some videos on it or read about it and ask around, then they try it out. Maybe they like it and buy some used gear. You see the progression.
So, how do you find these "Enthusiasts"?
Clearly, there are a number of ways to acquire customer information. Advertising, social media, reward programs, you can purchase customer lists. There is one more that may not be as intuitive. Offer a tour or activity related to the gear you sell.
By offering rentals, tours, lessons, or other activities, you can capture that client in the very early stages of their interest and nurture them to the loyalist or enthusiast. Ideally, the life cycle starts with a person who is interested in kayaking because you’ve reached them on an aligned sales channel - maybe something like Groupon. That person then rents from your shop and has a great experience. After trying a few options, they purchase a beginner level kayak. Wanting to develop their skills they take a few lessons or a class. After they’ve developed their skills they then graduate to a better kayak, which is again purchased from your shop, along with the other gear they’ve been acquiring. Feeling confident in the sport they are now joining group paddles or sending their friends and family over to start that process themselves.
Your customer has now built the connection to your brand and trusts your guidance during that journey – increasing the value and potential revenue in each customer.
Offering an activity-based component to your business is also great for organic marketing. Let your clients market for you by posting about trips, classes, and more on their social media channels. Posting about a new board isn’t likely to include your brand, but experiences often do. Beginners want to talk about about the fun thing they did that weekend. The ones getting close to being advanced want to post about the classes they did to show off their skills.
Rentals: Loss Leaders or Revenue Builders?
Although our focus here is to discuss the power of your rental program when it comes to developing lifelong customers, let’s talk through revenue from your rental business as well.
The Flybook Can Help
Our system is designed to put the data you need right at your fingertips. Through our smart waiver system you acquire basic information like names, emails, phone numbers, and birthdays to use for retargeting and understanding who your customers are. In the same system, you can also analyze your purchasing metrics alongside your rental data. Look at trends and correlations between rental type, rental date, brands, and rental history to help make informed decisions for your business.
Your Unique Role
Retailers have distinct opportunities when it comes to generating revenue in the activities space, more so than just a strictly tour or rental business. First, you have the relationships in place for purchasing the gear, having a facility, and having staff to facilitate these offerings. The revenue upside is much mightier as well because you’re not just looking at revenue from the activities, but how they can be used to support retail purchases. Lastly, you have the opportunity to create a much richer relationship with that client as you feed them into the funnel and can be involved in every step of their progression in the sport. Being in the paddlesports industry itself also has it’s advantages because you have that clearly defined “enthusiast” that doesn’t exist in many other activity industries. You’re not creating a zipline, or a Segway rental company. People might enjoy them a few times on vacation but they don’t necessarily “progress” in the sport, look for ways to improve, and for the most part aren’t going to purchase one on their own. Because your customers, whether retail or activity, are most often genuinely interested and invested in the sport you’re offering, you’re able to develop a closer relationship with them as they progress...and rentals and activities can play a huge role in that journey.
Want to learn more, we want to help! Contact us today.