Around the Workstand

We have a lot to get to this week that should help manage your website so let's get to it.  Also, snack talk ended up extending this episode, sorry (not). Welcome back after a long weekend - Juneteenth  As a company, we’re donating to Black Girls Code https://wearebgc.org/ Provide black girls with computer programming and technology education  Migrate to GA4 reminder Migration guide for begin...

From our founding in 1999 until 2011, SmartEtailing worked primarily with local bicycle retailers. In 2011, we added a feature called Supplier Sync and began working with brands and suppliers to allow local retailers to display warehouse inventory on their own, local websites. Supplier Fulfillment - aka drop shipping - soon followed allowing merchants to send orders from their websites to supplier...

After a week off, we're back with 10-Minute Tuesday and we have a lot to get to so let's go! Having trouble getting folks who bought bikes over the past few years back in your store?  How are you marketing to them/continuing to deliver customer service? Automated, relevant, actionable outreach Brands and Supplier Services MAP protection, Supplier Sync, Supplier Fulfillment, Buy Local Now...

We hope everyone's Memorial Day weekend went well. Happy Tuesday?? What day is it??  There will be no 10-Minute Tuesday next week. We'll see you on June 13th! Lil post-holiday website maintenance Summer content, school’s out, gear up for your next adventure, sale items World Bicycle Relief - Pedal to empower https://www.pedaltoempower.com/fundraisers/smartetailing2023 https://libpreview2...

Happy Tuesday! The unofficial start of summer kicks off this weekend - is your website ready?  Direct mail webinar w/ NBDA and the Bike Coop coming up June 6th https://nbda.com/events/#!event/2023/6/6/direct-mail-marketing-a-winning-summer-strategy Speaking of the Bike Coop - we worked together to create free website content for Bike Coop members to promote their Freedom to Ride financing  Simply...

Suzie and Mark, the sidetrack wonders, attempt to get back on track with 10-Minute Tuesday not being more (or at least not much more) than 10 actual minutes.  Friday is National Bike to Work Day!  Share you plans with your customers Staff tips on commuting Post on social Square POS integration   Latest blog posts Social media by Julie PeopleForBikes Report takeaways from Ryan Tech tip: catalog pag...

Plan ahead for Memorial Day weekend  Fun marketing idea - promote your service appointment openings email main topic, sub topic and maybe weekly social post Google Local Inventory Ads We can handle the setup We can help with ads Use Supplier Sync and Fulfillment to broaden your offering and delegate some of your fulfillment to your suppliers Suppliers are very interested in how merchants interact...

Happy National Bike Month!  How are you celebrating? Sweet Library Content - Content > Page Editor > Library Pages Even Sweeter Premium Content Package - email mark.s@smartetailing.com to sign up for this package Capitalize on service department success Based on People for Bikes reports this remains a bright spot in the industry right now - up 10% in February Think about how many people boug...

National Bike Month is coming up!  The bestest National Bike Month premium content Library content - Seasonal Content > Spring > National Bike Month 2023 Square POS integration  Free to SmartEtailing and Square users Windows application Help center: https://www.smartetailing.com/help/square-pos-integration   DISCOUNTS - Make it happen or we will and soon! More sale prices… Custom prices vs p...

HLC opens a new distribution center in Texas which is now available as an option in your site manager settings - Settings > Suppliers > Supplier Sync Our Supplier Fulfillment/drop-ship partners are up to 5 US suppliers - Trek, Specialized, QBP,  J&B, and HLC and 2 Canadian suppliers, Live to Play Sports and HLC. Are you taking advantage of those? We got quite a few responses to our elect...

We're sending out an Electric Bike Survey to find out more about the brands that matter to our merchants. Please fill it out so that we can better serve your business needs. Beyond the electric bike pages you'll find in the Page Library, we also build Premium Content pages. Here are a couple related to electric bikes. Get Charged Up Everything You Need to Know About Electric Bikes Learn...

There is a lot going on this week in the SmartEtailing world. Let's get to it! TrekFest extended Our team took care of installs based on a list we received from Trek Updated landing page live in the page library - Sales and Promotions folder  How To: Holiday Library Content - find, preview, and install holiday content - this works for any library content in Page Editor Santa Cruz factory sale...

J&B Drop Shipping is live! If you don't already have a SmartEtailing website, use this form to get started with a special promotion. If you have a SmartEtailing website but are NOT at the Professional package level, email Client Success to upgrade to Pro, it's required to use J&B Drop Shipping.  Already at Pro? There is no additional cost to enable J&B Drop Shipping. Fill out...

Paid Google Ads are perhaps the most effective way to reach new customers and engage existing customers expressing the intent to purchase. We have our own three-person team in our marketing agency who manage paid ads campaigns for SmartEtailing retailers. The leader of that team, Matt Viara, joins Up Next today to talk about his work and how Google Local Inventory ads can be a game changer for loc...

Google Ads is often a key strategy for bicycle retailers with sales growth goals. We have our own three-person team in our marketing agency who manage paid ads campaigns for SmartEtailing retailers. The leader of that team, Matt Viara, joins Up Next today to talk about his work and how Google Local Inventory ads can be a game changer for local retailers. Spring Sales continue to show strong result...

We talked about the return, of sorts, of rental bike fleets and mentioned our Integrations page . You'll find rental management apps and much more there. Automated emails can turn existing customers into repeat buyers more often with less effort. What is in your POS system that isn't on your website? Use the ' Download Mapping Report ' function in your POS Sync Settings. Buy Lo...

Having good payment options for your customers at checkout can increase conversions. Start with WePay and add PayPal and Klarna for maximum versatility. Catalog health matters and it starts with good POS Sync management . Let Supplier Sync do its thing rather than manually importing catalog items whenever possible. Be sure to email your questions to podcast@workstand.com . We read all emails sent,...

We've got an excellent direct mail program going and it's seeing success. We are working with the Bike Coop and NBDA so if you're interested in using direct mail to grow your sales, reach out to your agency rep (if you're using our Maintenance, Marketing, or Partner level marketing programs) or email Lauren Webb to get started. Trek, Specialized, Santa Cruz, and Cannondale all...

Shipping Methods  can become complicated. Let us know if you need help configuring yours. Changes to Discount methods are coming so take a few minutes and get your Discounts migrated . Learn more about using new Discounts . Spring sales are coming. Learn more about using Supplier Promotions . Be sure to email your questions to podcast@workstand.com . We read all emails sent, and we look forward to...

Happy Valentine's Day! We released an enhancement to Orders and Quotes that allow for internal notes to be added. You can see the updated options for both customer-facing and internal notes in any order and as you create new quotes. The Discounts function has been updated and we're reaching out to those who have not migrated to the new Discounts tool asking them to do so by March 15th. D...

There is a lot going on this week! Internal links on ecommerce websites can be effective in helping your customers find what they want and in helping search engines see the value you are providing to shoppers. It isn't uncommon for an ecommerce website to have hundreds or even thousands of pages when catalog pages are included. Internal links can make it easier for shoppers to see all that yo...

We've got some great tips for email marketing, using our pre-designed library content, handling returns and refunds, and making changes to your SmartEtailing account options. Happy Tuesday! If you send out regular or even sporadic email newsletters, it's a good idea to send a test email first to yourself to see exactly how that email will appear to your customers on both desktop and mobi...

There was an issue with WePay payment processing yesterday. It's been resolved but it brought up a thought about having a backup option available. As suppliers have more inventory in their warehouses, drop shipping, what we call Supplier Fulfillment becomes an even more valuable feature. If you work with Trek, Specialized, HLC, or QBP in the US or LTP Sports or HLC in Canada, and aren't...

We have had a couple of unusual topics come up this last week Lightspeed POS connection - when connecting or if access is revoked and needs to be reconnected, remember the user who connects must have the admin role which is different from owner or any other role. WePay - we had a couple of requests to un-refund refunds that were issued - there is no way to do that. If you refund an incorrect amoun...

Services have been a popular topic early in 2023. If services matter to our 2023 plans, promote them on your website. Further, whatever goals come from your planning for the year, be sure to address website and social content to support them because most people will meet your website before meeting you. Our  January Marketing Blog  might be helpful too. Let us know how we can help. Want to talk ab...