And do bikers like your business?
I believe that the key to the future of the internet and our planet lies in tying together local businesses with the people that will actually be using their services. Bicyclists tend to be people with this same kind of thought process - we don't buy from the big box stores with huge parking lots and no bike racks. We buy from the corner store 5 blocks away.
For business owners, mplsbikelove.com will be offering the ability to open up an account with more feautures than are available for individual members:
You can start out with a simple one page listing with your location, description, some photos, and the ability for members to comment and rate your business. Find out exactly what cyclists love about your establishment, and what you can do to attract more of our business.
Having your listing in our database also puts you on the map, literally. We are going to be creating a mapping database very similar to Public Earth but containing much more detailed information about the Minneapolis area. It's going to be tied in with Cyclopath, too, so you will be able to offer cyclists directions right to your door.
There are already groups of riders forming clubs on the forum that simply search out new and interesting restaurants and bars.
Wouldn't it be great if they could find YOUR business as they're trying to decide on a meeting spot or destination?
For bike shops, think of how cool it could be if a forum member on a ride in an unfamiliar area with a mechanical problem could bring up a community map and get directions right to your door?
For all business accounts, we will be offering a discount on creating your listing if you offer a deal or incentive for donating forum members. If you're a bike shop, maybe that's 5-10% off orders. If you're a coffee shop, maybe that's a free scone with a coffee purchase.
Really, this could be almost anything. The main idea here is that by offering an incentive only to paid forum members, it not only drives members to your business because of the deal, but it also encourages members to donate in order to be able to recieve the disounts.
I think that a lot of the people who will end up with listings on the site will quickly find that they absolutely love how easy it is to update their content and want to add on more. We'll be offering a full slew of features that you can add on to your account. Need to sell stuff? We can add in ecommerce. Want a blog? We can do that. Custom layout and graphics? Totally possible. Want your own domain name and the ability to update your bikelove, facebook, twitter and personal site all in one place? That would be cool, it would just take a bit of time to set up :)
This page is still just kind of a stub, these are some of the ideas I'm kicking around. The business listings section should be workable by the end of the year, though the map functionality will come in later. As with all features that are going into the site, it kind of depends on which features people actually want to buy in for.