| It's here! Our first issue of the new What's in Store, where I interview e-commerce businesses and report back to you to tell their stories. First up: Brother Moto! | | | I've never driven a motorcycle before, but when I visited Brother Moto, they let me try on a helmet. | | | Brother Moto is a coworking motorcycle garage with an upscale coffee shop and retail store built in. In addition to their retail space, they also have an e-commerce store where they not only sell a line of branded apparel, but they also allow customers to manage their garage memberships online. | | | It is definitely a unique business, but for Bobby and Jared, it made sense. | | | Brother Moto makes money via merchandise and coffee sales, of course, but the heart of the business is the garage. Garage members pay monthly fees that grant them access to the space, and there are package upgrades, too, that offer more and more perks depending on the level purchased. | | | And apparently these perks are amazing, because even though the shop has been closed while they've been relocating, more than half of their members have stayed on during the almost year-long break. This is because Bobby and Jared make the memberships worth it to keep the momentum going. | | | Members get discounts on parts and merch and invitations to exclusive events, and they are always the first to know what's happening at Brother Moto. Plus, they can manage every aspect of their memberships online, from upgrading their accounts to ordering parts at their own convenience. This works to the store's advantage, too, because it keeps member's eyes on the website, driving traffic to their e-commerce offerings. | | "By allowing our members to sign up and manage their own accounts online, we put the control in their hands," says Jared.
Bobby and Jared know the value of rewarding customers, especially while they're under construction. | | Of course, working overtime to surprise and delight customers can lead to some questionable business decisions. Once, Bobby decided to overnight tons of inventory to a pop-up event they were working without realizing just how many attendees there were going to be. When they crunched the numbers after the event and calculated shipping fees, they discovered they'd actually lost money.
Oops.
That is so something I would do, though. | | | And really, when you focus on the big picture, Oops Moments (TM) like this have a way of fading into the background. It all comes back to your customers and the people who root for you with purchases and repeat business. | | | Brother Moto has some seriously loyal customers, and it's because Bobby and Jared deliver an experience that engages and motivates members to keep coming back for more. | | | Check out this video we filmed of my visit! | | | | |
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