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1. THE BEGINNING
This innovation came to life when…
I was looking for a road bike for myself and started researching online for what bikes are suitable for a short female.
It was a challenge to find unbiased user reviews and I had to make numerous calls and check out many websites to gather information, pricing and availability.
I wanted to save time and money by being able to access all necessary information on one website — browse product and brand information; compare specs and prices from multiple stores; read user reviews; and find the vendor closest to me with stock or click through to buy from an online store.
2. WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
BikeRoar is a bicycle product information site that helps cyclists find the right products and get the best price.
It does this by…
- Browse over 40,000 products & 4,000 retailers
- Compare specs & prices
- Read User/Editor reviews
- Using GeoIP technology, connect to the closest vendor with one click.
3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
There is no one singular source for product/brand information and price comparison on such a large range of bicycle products (40,000). Major brands are not available online and it’s hard to find the pricing and availability from the local bike shops on Google. GeoIP technology makes it easy to find the pricing and availability from local shops.
The benefits to the customer/end-user include…
Save time and money by having all of your resources in one place; GeoIP technology connects cyclists with the nearest bike shops, online stores, and private sellers, anywhere in the world; unbiased reviews and articles assist with buying decisions.
4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
There are sites that have local bike shop pricing on bikes, but no parts and nothing from online stores. There are price comparison sites but only for online stores and not from local bike shops.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
Getprice/eBay — Popular brands that are only sold at select bike shops are not listed.
BikeExchange — Mainly bike pricing from bike shops and has very limited bike parts availability from shops. Doesn’t list anything from online stores.
5. TARGET MARKET
This innovation is made for…
Target Customer:
- Frequent & Occasional Riders: males & females age 25-55
- Bicycle retailers
- Cycling Tour Operators
- Manufacturers
- Advertisers
Size of the market: 77 billion
6. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
It is available for sale through…
- Consumers — directly from www.bikeroar.com
- Bike shops — National bicycle parts wholesaler sells the bike shop platform to the retailers
- Cycling Tour Operator — through our own sales reps
- Manufacturers/Advertisers/Classifieds — through our own sales reps
Our marketing strategy is…
Software was developed for cyclists to write reviews at Test Ride Days on the iPad at events organised by manufacturers. Acts as an inventory managment software with the scan of QR code on the camera.
SEM, SEO, Social Media, Original Articles, PR, Contests, Cycling Club Promotions, Free Classifieds and Shop listings, Partnerships, Viral Videos, Trade Shows, Apps, Loyalty programs, Referrals.
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FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.