PUBLIC Bikes launched in 2010 to design, manufacture, and sell a collection of elegant city bikes for everyday transportation. “Over the years, we’ve expanded our main product line to include kids’ bikes, city road bikes, and even electric bikes to address different customer riding needs,” says Dan Nguyen-Tan, Founding Executive and Chief Operating Officer. “Our mission is not just to encourage more people to bike, but to support efforts that make our cities and neighborhoods more livable and friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists. We’re big proponents of good urban and public space design that prioritizes people, not just cars.” The company’s unofficial motto is “Ride a bike. Smile more.” As Dan says, “When people ask us why they should bike again or more often, the answer is really simple. ‘You’ll smile more. You’ll be happier. You’ll feel like a kid again.’ Who doesn’t want to feel that way?”
“Most customers, even if they’re not buying online, are doing their research online.”
Dan Nguyen-Tan, Founding Executive & COO
The company primarily sells online, but also operates retail stores in Santa Monica, Seattle, and San Francisco, and sells through a network of national bike shop dealers. A strong web presence is vitally important to support all of PUBLIC’s sales channels. They began using AdWords, Google’s advertising program, soon after the company began. “It’s important for us to constantly get in front of new customers,” Dan says. “One of the best ways to reach new customers is through AdWords.” Google products now represent the majority of PUBLIC’s digital marketing. Google represents almost 48% of PUBLIC’s online traffic, and 53% of the company’s online revenue comes from using Google products. The company also relies on Google Shopping, and constantly uses Google Analytics to track and monitor traffic, conversions, and performance. “We’re a scrappy, entrepreneurial team with a limited marketing budget. We can’t afford to waste dollars, so everything we consistently spend money on, like AdWords, we do so because we are seeing results,” Dan says.
PUBLIC Bikes has 36 employees.
PUBLIC continues to grow sales each year. “The best part of our business is that the rewards are visible to us every day through the customers we see riding our bikes, whether in person or through social media,” Dan says. “On a beautiful weekend day riding through Golden Gate Park, or on my weekday commute, I’ll see dozens of our customers all riding their PUBLIC bikes. It makes our team feel good that our products enrich people’s lives and how they experience their world.”
For more information on the PUBLIC BIKES case study, visit https://economicimpact.google.com.
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