Boulder, CO — Website and marketing provider SmartEtailing has hired Chris Bishop as Marketing Agency Manager. Bishop will lead the 20 person in-house marketing team that provides custom website design, website maintenance, and marketing for hundreds of bike shops in the US and Canada.
Chris comes to SmartEtailing with over a decade of bicycle retail operations experience. He owned and operated the Trek Bicycle Stores of Columbus, a successful three store retailer in Ohio, for 11 years before selling in 2016. Previously, Chris worked with motorsports retailers on behalf of Honda and Polaris.
"I've always had a passion for marketing," shares Bishop. "It was a key part of my success with the Trek Stores. Columbus is a super competitive market and we put a ton of energy into our website, email marketing, social media, events, and in-store experience. I'm excited to apply my ideas to a company with the scale of SmartEtailing."
Brand building is a particular strength for Chris. "We had extra storeroom space at one of our bike shops so we started our own coffee roaster called Backroom Coffee Roasters, created a brand, and built up a pretty good business selling through local grocery stores and coffee shops. I think branding is a major opportunity for bike shops."
SmartEtailing President Ryan Atkinson expressed confidence that Bishop can help retailers grow. "Chris' hands-on understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing our retail clients makes him the perfect fit for our company. We want to align all of our marketing efforts with the business needs of our clients to make sure we are increasing sales for local retailers."
Chris will focus on leveraging the rapidly improving SmartEtailing website software to attract more buyers for local retailers. Major initiatives for 2019 will include implementation of new online merchandising strategies and launching new local Google advertising for bicycle retailers.
Chris has relocated to Colorado with his wife and three children. He went to college in Fort Collins and is excited to be back near the mountains.
