How to Build Brand Loyalty

If your brand boasts a lifespan that’s longer than a decade, you probably know how difficult it can be to stay relevant over time.

Having specialized in hand-built, high performance bicycles for the past 34 years, Moots Cycles is one brand that understands this obstacle. Through innovation and a commitment to quality, Moots has remained a coveted bicycle brand that people can depend on.

To find out what it takes to create a brand that people strive to be part of, Brandfolder chatted with Cathy Wiedemer and Jon Cariveau at Moots about how the company builds customer loyalty.

What’s the story behind the Moots brand name?

Our name comes from the name of the alligator named Mr. Moots. He was our founder’s imaginary friend that went on all sorts of adventures…biking, hiking, skiing, and mountain climbing. He found himself in our founder’s high school newspaper as The Adventures of Mr. Moots. From week to week, he would be doing things outside.

__Moots specializes in customized, hand-built bicycles. How does such personalization build brand loyalty amongst your customers? __

Our brand, our location, and our level of quality in all that we build carries through to our customer service and inviting those customers to come visit us in person. Even if they haven’t bought a Moots yet, we will spend time with customers so that when they are ready, they choose Moots because of the interaction we’ve provided. We also schedule a large number of dealer visits that a customer can attend, to demo a bike or talk through what they are thinking about their new Moots.

If they can’t come visit us, they can submit photos/essays in our online gallery. We carry a strong presence on our social feeds and interact with our community 24/7. Also, we only use in-house sales reps, which means that they come straight from our facility in Steamboat. They’re able to talk through any aspect of the way we manufacture our products, which really helps bring the customer very close to our brand.

Since Moots began making bicycles in 1981, they have been known for their innovation in the industry. Can you talk about how this commitment has helped you stand out from other brands in your industry?

In the early years (1981-1991) we built in steel, which at the time was the material of choice. In 1991 we switched to titanium, and we have stuck to that material ever since. This commitment to the material means we don’t spend time chasing fads or materials we aren’t experts on. We innovate by riding (a lot!) and putting what we learn from our customers back into our products. Another piece that has kept us innovated is that we source only US made materials. The US materials are, by far, the best quality you can start with, leading to the best processes for building each bike.

As environmental consciousness increases, biking is more popular and accessible than ever before. How does Moots fit into this growing bicycle culture?

We would love for everyone to buy a Moots, but for the most part, we want to see more people on bikes for more than just fitness. If you’re running errands and you leave the car at home, the fitness will follow. For us, we commute year round and have a commute program where you earn a dollar a day each time you ride to work. Usually this goes towards your parts or account, or you can donate it to charity. It can become a point of pride to commute the most in the worst weather.

Locally, we participate in two bicycle rodeo days with elementary schools, teaching how to ride bikes and how to ride them responsibly. We also support our local development program through the Steamboat Springs Winter Sport Club. We are active in our local trail club, and our Bike Town initiative which strives to better bike lanes and trails, and make Steamboat a destination for the cycling community.

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