December 7, 2004 – Women and their supporters gathered in Las Vegas at the Interbike trade show in October for the fourth Yoplait Women’s Cycling Summit Conference. This edition of the Yoplait Summits focused on bike industry sponsorships and making bike shops welcoming to women. The full proceedings can be found at http://www.WomenCyclists.com The bicycle industry plays key roles in supporting and developing women’s cycling. Although many of the industry’s leaders have a personal passion for the sport, these sponsorships must support the company’s business goals, a fact that many cyclists seem to miss.

Sampling: Product sampling is a key strategy that helps to support a sponsor’s goals. Riders who use the products and share them with others become ambassadors for their sponsors. Sampling at events can be particularly effective, but teams should talk to the event organizers before setting up shop.

Logo Placement: Many cyclists believe that logo placement is a significant benefit that they can offer to their sponsors, but this is seldom the case. Logo placements on team uniforms and web sites are important symbols of respect and appreciation, but they rarely result in sales, which is the ultimate goal of the sponsorship.

Athlete Appearances: Appearances by a team’s athletes can do a lot to promote the team’s sponsors. Offering skills clinics or leading rides are great examples. In contrast, winning races does little for a team’s sponsors, since most events get no media and very few spectators.

Stay In Touch!: Most sponsors hear from teams once a year: when it’s time to ask for more of the same. Occasional E mails or a Christmas card can help teams stand out from the pack.

Participants at past Yoplait Summits have reported that women often find bike shops to be intimidating. Staffs that are composed exclusively of men rarely understand the needs and perspectives of women and are more concerned about gear ratios than creating a positive shopping experience.

Potential Market: While many shop owners feel that women cyclists are not a large market, shops that make the effort to be woman-friendly find that more than half of their customers are women. And women are very desirable customers since they are very loyal and spread the word when they’re pleased with a shop.

Environment Is Everything: The environment is crucial to creating a woman-friendly shop. Shops that are dirty or tolerate crude language from the staff can forget about selling to women. Woman-friendly shops are clean, have attractive displays and a staff that truly listens.

Have Women on the Staff: Having women on the sales floor can be a huge help in marketing to women. Women customers are often more comfortable working with female staff. Female staffers are also usually much more interested in merchandising than are men, particularly when it comes to women’s merchandise. And women are much more likely to notice things that would affect women’s shopping experiences.

Women’s Rides and Clinics: A shop can also attract female customers by sponsoring or organizing women’s programs, rides or clubs. This advertises the shop’s commitment to women and gives them direct contact with current or potential female customers.