Firearms Marketing

With the firearms industry coming off of eight record years of growth—traffic on your website may be dropping, sales may be slowing, and panic may be beginning to set in.

You may have clicked on this post because you’re looking to get into digital marketing and you’ve heard SEO may be the place to start.

Whatever best describes you, in this short and abbreviated post, I’ll explain the difference between SEO and firearm content marketing and why you can’t do one without the other.

SEO

SEO is a marketing discipline focused on growing visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results. (Source: Moz) By gaining visibility on search engines through organic (non-paid) results, your business can generate traffic, which in turn can equal sales. And with over 81% of all product searches beginning on the web, if you’re not showing up in search, your business may as well not exist.

Organic traffic in the firearms industry has a much higher rate of return because people searching are actively buying. This means their wallets are open and they are looking for a solution to their problem.

There are many factors involved in optimizing your website for search engines. Listed below are top ten must-dos to start. 

1. Your website must be mobile responsive.
2. Keywords that your prospects are searching for should be placed in the title tags of your website.
3. Make sure your images are optimized to their lowest file size to decrease page load times and that they are also named using your keywords.
4. An informative META description on your web page(s) that also include your keywords.
5. Writing content on every page of your website that contains those same keywords at least five times (or 0.8%) within a 600-word text block.
6. Having a well-designed page structure and code base where load hogging scripts are compressed and placed beneath the web page’s fold (the visible area of your website when it pulls up).
7. A fast server and content delivery network.
8. A good user interface that also contains your keywords in the main headings <h1>, <h2>, <h3> etc.
9. Keywords in your URLs when possible.
10. A good sitemap that can be read by Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others.

And that’s just ten. There are almost 200 other ranking factors that go into a well-optimized website.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. (Source: CMI)

SEO and content marketing is like a double-sided coin. Just like weight loss, you can’t just work out and expect to lose weight, you have to make smart eating decisions too— day after day, week after week, month after month to achieve your goals.

SEO and content marketing are somewhat similar.

You can’t gain and sustain ranked keywords without doing both SEO and content marketing—day after day, week after week, month after month to achieve your goals.

Here’s why. Google who controls over 60% of the entire planet’s traffic indicates you must create fresh and relevant content (Source: Google) for your site to attain and sustain keyword rankings.

Once again, ranked keywords = visibility = traffic = $$$.

When you optimize your website or are building a new one from the ground up—SEO is needed to start the fire where content is the fuel that keeps it going. Depending on how competitive the segment you play in (ARs, Outfitting, Concealed Carry, Optics, Safes, Lasers etc.) you may need more or less content to compete. Online dealers get this. Companies like Optics Planet, Brownells, and Lucky Gunner have large digital footprints and have been building content for years and in the process turned themselves into a brand which Google also seems to favor. 

Content marketing also helps to build backlinks, gives empowering information to social media followers and your email marketing subscribers, and attracts Influencers. Backlinks are important because they tell search engines that your site is more popular than your competitors hence, giving you higher rankings.

SEO and content are a double-sided coin. You can’t be successful with one without doing the other. They go together like gunpowder and brass, bows and arrows, turkey hunting and 12 gauges. If you hope to start building your own digital footprint through SEO and content for the future, the time to start is now.

Imagine knowing what email subject line always gets the highest open rate, what media buy offers the best value, and what combination of graphics, products, text, and CTAs produce the greatest results.

If you’re still skeptical on what you hear about artificial intelligence or AI for short, consider this post an introduction to help you understand what most are calling the “next industrial revolution.”

As more demands are put on marketers in the ultra-competitive firearms industry—an added advantage can mean the difference between who gets to market first and who doesn’t. We all know a great product goes a long way, but a great product with great marketing dominates.

We all know a great product goes a long way, but a great product with great marketing dominates.

For most of us, data can be a good thing—but it can also be a digital firearm marketer’s worse nightmare. With more and more data streaming in from social media, search engines, email marketing, automation, trade shows, banner ads, influencer platforms and others—data is or has become something of a curse. The term: “Paralysis by analysis” comes to mind.

That’s the irony with data-driven marketing. We have spreadsheets upon spreadsheets and dashboards upon dashboards—but do we really know what to do with it all? On any given day, you make a lot of small decisions that can have a significant impact on results:

• What time should I send my email newsletter?
• What topic should I write my next blog post on?
• Should it be a blog post, or should it actually be a video?
• What is a good social media post to grab attention?
• And for that CTA in the conclusion, what color will actually make people click?

Thankfully, all of these questions can now be answered by artificial intelligence. (Source: HubSpot)

What is AI?

“I’ll be back.”

Artificial intelligence first and foremost isn’t what you’ve been led to believe in the movies. It doesn’t mean we’ll be under the rule of evil sentient beings i.e. the Terminator—or an army of robots seeking to take over the world—not yet anyways. Titans like Elon Musk and others say its time to pump the brakes.

What it does mean is that man and machine will work together as a team.

Artificial intelligence is the “science of making machines smart,” says Demis Hassabis founder and CEO of AI company DeepMind (which was acquired by Google). At a basic level, “smart” means achieving a goal by mimicking human cognitive functions. That goal could be winning a board game, correctly identifying a cat in a photo, adeptly using data from sensors to drive a car or anything else a human can do.

There are many forms of AI already in existent. You might recognize a few already:

• Siri by Apple
• Maps by Apple
• Watson by IBM
• Einstein by Salesforce
• Alexa by Amazon
• Spotify Music Suggestions
• Facebook face/tag recognition

How AI will help you

How AI correctly can be applied to the firearms industry is the same for other industries. Companies with large eCommerce stores like Guns.com or Brownells.com may be the ones to benefit most from AI to help them analyze user data and trends. Apps like Optimizely, CrazyEgg and others are being used to track customer behavior, create segmentation and content that optimize website sales.

Other cutting edge manufacturers like Beretta who was one of the first to adopt marketing automation can adopt AI to analyze trends through their programs to send cross-sell and upsell email offers to their contacts at the right place and at the right time.

Tools like Databox can aggregate data from your entire Martech stack and give you a way to improve KPIs across the board based on accurate and definitive data that can be understood—and provide predicable analysis. Perhaps even a print ad in Guns and Ammo may be possible to be optimized by generative image AIs like Adobe Firefly. However, the word “guns” or “firearm” violates their terms and conditions. A harbinger of bans and restrictions to come.  

Business analytics by Databox combines data from multiple sources.

“AI is about automating known tasks without distraction. As humans, we get easily distracted. AI can operate without distractions and without wasting time, making AI teams more efficient,” says Digital Visionary, Kevin Kelly.

How AI can help you market more effectively

AI marketing assistants
If you’re looking to get started with AI, I recommend checking out ChatGPT, ChatSpot.ai, or turn on the Generative AI function in your Chrome Browser.

Here’s a recent inquiry I typed into Google’s search bar: What are the top articles on recoilweb.com? The results were interesting. This kind of research can help marketers and brands create more impactful content and strategies.  

“Your marketing assistant in the future might well be an app that provides advanced analytics information to guide advertising or content-creation efforts to drive traffic to your company’s website,” says Dave Burnett of AOK Marketing.

These apps—most in their beginning stages—will continue to get smarter over time. They will help you save time, make smarter investment/media buying decisions and increase and accelerate revenue.

AI-Powered Websites

Imagine a website you speak to, rather than typing in a search or clicking on the nav bar. A future prospect may visit Springfield Armory’s website, tell the site what they are looking for and then the site serves them three pistols for self-defense along with some videos and training articles—specifically designed and tailored to that known user’s interests.

This type of work is already taking place with companies like Unbounce and CodeWP where all you do is provide direction and the site designs itself.

AI-Powered Marketing Programs

Want to write and design an entire email marketing campaign? No problem, HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant can write you a landing page, email series and ad copy.

Campaign Assistant is HubSpot’s AI-powered tool that allows you to create landing page copy, marketing email copy, and ad copy for your next marketing campaign.

You provide information about your campaign, choose a tone of voice that resonates with your brand, and select which type of asset you want to generate, and the tool will produce either a landing page, email, or ad. 

Creating campaigns that used to take days can now be accomplished within hours. In the near future, I anticipate that marketing managers will have the ability to input an entire marketing plan, and AI will be capable of designing the copy, images, and assets (logo, website, emails and social media) all in a single automated process.

Better content through AI

Artificial intelligence platform Acrolinx uses a unique linguistic analytics engine to “read” all your content and provide immediate guidance to improve it. “Our technology is transforming how the world’s biggest brands create high-performing content,” says Dr. Andrew Bredenkamp, founder, and CEO. Other companies you should start becoming familiar with is Motiva, Albert, and BoomTrain.

Will AI take away our jobs?

• 300 million jobs worldwide could be disrupted by AI, according to Goldman Sachs.
• $17 trillion to $26 trillion will be added to the global economy by AI, according to McKinsey. 
• 83 million jobs worldwide will be lost over the next 5 years because of AI—and 69 million will be created—according to the World Economic Forum. (Resulting in a loss of 14 million jobs during this time.)

Whether or not these distrustful globalist organizations are correct — what you should be doing right now is learning all you can about AI. (Check out Paul Roetzer’s AI Marketing Institute.) How to use it, how it works and how you as a marketer or business owners will fit into the disruptive changes coming soon to our world, industry and marketing as a whole.

As you start to drink out of the fire hose that is AI, it’s important as industry marketers and business owners to think ahead about how we can continue to push the industry forward in terms of technology, attract customers, delight current customers, and how all this wraps into protecting our 2nd amendment rights. 

AI is on the brink of making significant impacts across various domains. Historically, regulated industries have shown a delay of 5-8 years in adopting new technologies, but this time, the lag might be shortened to just 1 year. Businesses and marketing teams that proactively take the lead will gain an advantage in what promises to be an intriguing future.

What do you think about AI and how will it effect our industry? Please comment below. 

This article was originally published in April of 2017.

If you had $5,000 or $30,000 dollars to spend on firearm marketing, where would you spend it?

Would you buy some banner ads? Redo your branding? Run an SEO campaign? Do a press release? Put it all on a print ad and let it ride? This is a tough question I get all the time. Most business owners in the outdoor, firearms, hunting and defense industries struggle with making a determination on what to do when they want to market that they usually just throw up their hands and land on attending a trade show—which doesn’t get them the reach and awareness they are really looking for (at scale) to grow their business.

The below infographic gives you a simple firearms and defense marketing strategy that has been implemented over a thousand times by some of the world’s top brands—and in most cases has quadrupled revenue and has provided a 3x to 6x return on investment within 6-9 months. By implementing this simple plan correctly, investing in the long term and committing to improvement, you’ll have a solid marketing program you can build off of for years to come.

By taking the time to clarify your message and figure out these aspects of your brand’s story, you will be able to transform your marketing, attract new customers and stand out in the crowded marketplace.

• Schedule a call with me, get a clear plan on how stand out in the crowded outdoor, hunting, defense and firearms marketplace

Sources:

1. Harvard Business Review: The Curse of Knowledge
2. Time: You Now Have A Shorter Lifespan than a Goldfish
3. Campaign Monitor: The New Rules of Email Marketing
4. INC: 84 Percent of People Trust Online Reviews As Much As Friends
5. StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message

There will eventually come a time in your firearm or hunting company’s history that you’ll discover opportunities to branch out into new product/service segments or into new categories all together.  

Brands take years and thousands of dollars to develop. The most effective and safest way for established brands to introduce new products and services without damaging their brand is by utilizing a practice called brand extension.

Brand extension leverages the equity and power of your current brand to penetrate new segments and categories faster and for less cost.

However, utilizing brand extension does come with some inherent risks. If the product doesn’t align or make sense with its parent brand, you may risk diluting your brand altogether. You also may end up alienating your current customers—leaving them wondering what it is you stand for. 

The golden rule in brand development is to be known for your one thing. You can read more about identifying your brand’s one thing here. But for this article’s purpose, your one thing must align with the new product or service you are introducing.

Below are a few simple rules with examples to consider when using brand extension to penetrate new customer segments or if you’re evaluating bringing a new product/service to an entirely new product category.

Ruger Pepper Spray

Rule #1. Do not dilute your current brand.

Brands that can successfully extend into a different product category have already established brand equity. If your company has yet to build brand equity, you will find leveraging an unknown brand is like starting from scratch. It is better to carefully extend by appealing to a segment of your current base while trying to reach new customers.

Industry example:
Ruger is using its name to sell a line of pepper spray products. Although this tactic seems somewhat strange from the manufacturer, I can see where this makes sense. Ruger has built its brand on reliability, you may recall their tagline “Another reliable firearm from Ruger.”  Their pepper spray may be reliable, but does it fall out of alignment with what the Ruger brand is known for: firearms? I would have suggested starting a new brand from scratch and subtly mentioning that it was manufactured by Ruger. This I feel would leave Ruger’s brand essence in tact while introducing a high-quality pepper spray while not confusing customers. 

Compare this to a brand like TASER, who is known for non-lethal self-defense products.  

Sig Sauer Silencers

Rule #2. Identify your brand’s core attributes.

You must know your buyer persona and brand’s core attributes (also known as brand values) in order to understand if your brand can successfully carry a new product into a new category. For example, if your attributes are classified as rugged and tactical, and you want to extend a new product to be smart and sleek, your new brand extension is going to be out of alignment with what the parent brand is known for.  

Try to tie the new product to the parent brand’s core attributes as much as possible. Utilize the dominant elements of your logo, imagery and color palette. The goal is to keep the branding recognizable while offering up a slight variation to signify the difference.

Industry example:
Sig Sauer introduced their line of suppressors back in 2013. This is an example of a firearms brand entering an entire new category (suppressors). Except this time it works pretty well. The ad and their website stays close and aligns with the main Sig brand making this extension work seamlessly. 

Rule #3. Make sense out of your reasoning.

There have been some grand out-of-industry brand extension failures over the years. If you’re unsure about extending your brand with a new product, go with your gut, if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Here are a few that failed to hit the mark:

Would you fly on Hooters air? Wings yes, flying… no. 

Rule #4. Decide if you are a House of Brands, Branded House or a Hybrid.

Are you a House of Brands or a Branded House? What’s the difference? Brand Architecture is an important consideration when introducing new products. A House of Brands relies on multiple brands while the parent brand sits in the background and mostly goes unnoticed. A Branded House is a corporation who runs multiple brands under the same name. A Hybrid is a combination of both. 

An example of a House of Brands is the Freedom Group. Freedom Group owns Remington, DPMS, Bushmaster, Barnes Bullets, Mountain Khakis, Tapco and others. For comparison, an out-of-industry example would be Proctor and Gamble (Tide, Vicks, Downey, Crest, etc.).

Browning Clothing Brands

An example of a Branded House would be Springfield Armory, Glock, and most other manufacturers. For comparison, an out-of-industry example would be FedEx (FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Services). 

An example of a Hybrid is Browning. Browning manufactures knives, guns, safes, clothing, ammunition, flashlights and more. They even license their brand out. Each category has their own individual brand with Browning’s brand intrinsically intertwined. For comparison, an out-of-industry example would be Coca-Cola.

Rule #5. Test it out with your customers before going all in.

Not sure if your brand extension will work? If you have a loyal customer base, a little transparency and getting your customers input on your plans can go a long way. Utilize a small test group or conduct a survey to test the new product and record the feedback for validation of your offering. Testing is always the smart thing to do first before going all in. 

In conclusion, extending your brand can be done, but it must be done with careful consideration. Make sure whatever you do doesn’t dilute your current brand that you’ve worked so hard to establish. Know your brand’s core attributes and make sense out of your reasoning. When designing your new branding—stay close to your brands’ look/feel and test it out on a small group of your most loyal customers with surveys. If you’re just starting out and you know that somewhere down the line you’ll be adding more products—take the time now to plan for how those products will be added into your brand architecture to save time and cost.

Most business owners, (marketers and executive directors) in the hunting, outdoor and firearms industry are tasked with a million things a day. Payroll you’ve got to make, the person you have to fire, the new person you have to hire, the CNC machine replacement, the sales team meeting at 4, the new product design project plan—plus you got to make plans for this weekend’s shoot.

When it comes to your branding, marketing or design—your thoughts immediately go into overdrive when you remember that one of your customers commented that your website did not pull up for them on their iPhone (because your company’s home page is not mobile-friendly). You’ve also seen a steady decline in online sales, most likely due to that old 4-step shopping cart you’re running. Your sales team needs new collateral that showcases the new product line and the packaging needs updating, plus you got to get ready for SHOT Show.

But where to start? The designer you used last time missed the mark. The design firm you called doesn’t work with hunting or firearm companies and there is no way you’re using Bob’s son again for the catalog. Choosing a marketing and branding firm can be a daunting and time-consuming process. You need someone you can trust. Someone who is responsive, trustworthy, reliable and knows what they’re doing. The problem is finding those people—the diamond in the rough—someone who meets your expectations and will get the job done right and prove that your investment was worth it.

If you’re looking for a new firearms or hunting marketing agency—here are 8 things that will help you choose the partner that solves your toughest business challenges.

1. Start by clearly defining the problem

Simple enough… but not so fast. We often times don’t go far enough to define what the problem actually is. A good marketing agency will get to the heart of your challenges and pain points to help you make the right decisions—not through a hard sell like a haggling car salesman—but someone who truly takes an interest in your business and cares about your success.

Do any of these problems sound familiar:

• Our message is confusing
• Our website isn’t generating sales
• Our brand image is out-dated
• We need a marketing plan to grow our business
• We need to reach the right customers

A good hunting and firearms marketing agency with years of experience will be able to get to the heart of the matter.

See this article: Do I Really Need A Brand Strategy?

2. Set goals

Be specific about your goals. Is it a revenue goal?  Can you really double sales in one year? The more defined your goals are the better the marketing agency will be to suggest strategies and approaches to achieve your goal. Use the SMART goal method to set specific benchmarks that will move your business forward.

3. Do they have a proven process?

Processes are important because they define a linear way of solving a problem and accomplishing an objective. Most marketing companies will follow some type of process. Make sure it is clearly defined so you know what to expect as you move through the project. The process should be easily found on the agency’s website or be communicated on the initial call.

4. Verify references

In today’s world, everyone is a skeptic. One way to make sure that the firm is ‘solid,’ is to see if they have a good set of testimonials. Look on Facebook, Google and other social networking sites to see if reviews exist. Check their case studies page to see past experiences and how they’ve helped other businesses with similar problems.

5. What do they specialize in?

Today’s best agencies are specialists in 2-4 areas like email, SEO, influencer or PR or an industry. They can offer traditional and digital services to meet your needs and know how outbound and inbound marketing methods fit together to offer you a range of solutions to achieve your goals. They want and desire to earn ‘trusted advisor’ status shedding the horrid ‘vendor’ designation. The most successful agencies desire and thrive on their client’s successes and truly show interest and passion about their service or product. Also be sure to check their certifications. HubSpot, Google, Email etc. certifications mean they’ve put in the time to deliver value.

6. Are they problem solvers?

What is the principal’s experience? Do they have a good track record in the industry and the business acumen required? There are a number of firms out there who lack true experience in solving real-world business problems. Ask for past examples or how they might approach your current marketing challenges.

7. Do they practice what they preach?

Does the marketing agency have a strong and identified brand? Are they themselves implementing the programs they are suggesting to you? It will be important that they understand the hunting, outdoor and firearms industry. This will save you time so you don’t have to teach them about the subtleties of our industry. Other industries are far more advanced in marketing and branding tactics than the hunting and firearms category, so knowing how your customers are reacting to other industry tactics and strategies is just as important because they will expect the same from you. Especially now that the industry has added over 5 million new gun owners.

8. Do you click with them?

80% of the time your intuition is the best way to choose a marketing agency. If you are compatible as people, you most likely will work well together—assuming everything else adds up. I’ve had many opportunities over the years to work with well-known brands but in the end, we just didn’t click. Business and marketing is all about people and relationships. Pick an agency you like and who you can work with.

In conclusion, a good hunting and firearms marketing agency will know how to get to the heart of the problem, help you set achievable goals, have a clearly defined process, good references and testimonials, a specialized service offering, are natural problem solvers, practice what they preach, and are people you like.

COVID-19 continues to upend entire industries like travel, hospitality, entertainment, events, restaurants, and education, to name a few (Source: McKinsey)—while the outdoor, hunting, firearms, and shooting sports industry has—and continues—to set new sales records. Multiplied by social unrest, riots, lawlessness in our cities and the upcoming election, we have yet to see the end of how high sales will go (that’s if the supply chain can keep up). 

It’s been an interesting experience because while the economy around us has spiraled out of control, our industry has not only survived the past 6 months—but has thrived. The only way I can describe it is like being in economic vertigo. Big pieces of the global economy are going one way, but our industry is going another (up). 

In this article, I wanted to point out a few brands that I’ve found worth mentioning (that you might not know about) in the times we find ourselves in. If you’re a business leader, director, or marketing/sales professional—the below examples will help you think through your offerings, marketing programs, and perhaps spot future trends.  

Photo Credit: Brenton USA

1. Brenton USA – Finding the Whitespace

Bartt Brenton, founder of Brenton USA hunts with ARs. After several years of not finding an AR suitable for hunting, he decided to design his own. Bartt, a former engineer at the world’s largest cyclotron at Michigan State University, brings a fresh approach to hunting with his Performance-Grade AR Hunting Rifles. Brenton approaches his rifles from a hunting perspective—rather than a tactical orientation. This approach means hunter specific controls, sizing, calibers (450 BM, 350 Legend, 6.5 Grendel, 6mm ARC etc.), and components designed for the hunter, not the warfighter. The AR provides the hunter with the latest in firearm design and gives hunters who have decades of experience a whole new hunting experience—and for those returning from overseas, a familiar platform to hunt with.  

Why is this remarkable? 

I find Brenton USA an excellent example of finding whitespace and growing in an extremely saturated market. 

Photo Credit: EasyExport

2. EasyExport – International Firearm Exports

Up until now, exporting firearms, parts, optics, accessories, and suppressors has been a tedious and risky proposition. EasyExport, founded by compliance and export attorney professional Jeff Grody, makes it easier for firearm manufacturers to tap international markets without the hassle of navigating the complexity of export regulations.

EasyExport enables U.S. sellers and lawful foreign purchasers of firearm products to do business easily and legally online by efficiently solving all the regulatory challenges. EasyExport’s interface allows e-commerce companies to vets and qualify approves oversea purchasers that who then seamlessly connect to sellers’ their websites to shop. After the purchase is complete, EasyExport clears the order for shipment after the purchaser has been approved.

Why is this remarkable? 
EasyExport solves a complex problem that allows firearm companies to tap the expanding and lucrative international market. EasyExport is currently in BETA with four customers: ETS, Volquartson, TANDEMKROSS and LaRue Tactical and is set to launch later this fall.

Photo Credit: Warrior Poet Society

3. Warrior Poet Society – Building a Community

John Lovell, former 2nd Battalion Army Ranger started like most YouTubers: reviewing products and providing shooting tips— but over time, John’s purpose turned into a movement—just as he intended.  

John’s Warrior Poet code: “Be a protector and lover of people” has attracted over 1 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. 

Social media giants and big tech continue to demonetize, throttle back and censor accounts that promote capitalism, the military, 2A values, and faith. Seeing the writing on the wall, John and his team launched the Warrior Poet Society Network (WPSN). The channel features content on firearm and personal defense training, leadership, family, and faith that subscribers can access through the website, app, Roku or Amazon Fire. 

Why is this remarkable? 

Eventually, YouTube, Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram will pull the plug on 2A content. They are quickly moving this direction already because it’s not a matter of if, but when. (Source: Bearing Arms). Several off-YouTube channels exist like Full30.com and GunStreamer.com, but none has attempted to create a branded community with such a defined purpose. I find this remarkable and refreshing. 

Photo Credit: TRACT Optics

4. TRACT Optics – Trailblazing E-commerce

COVID has changed consumer behavior forever, and according to new data, this means consumers are:

• Making fewer trips to the store
• Shopping more online
• Looking for deals more regularly
• Aligning with brands that share their values

Source: Valassis

Founded by two former employees of Nikon, TRACT Optics, set out to create high-performance optics without the high-retail markup. TRACT launched its online company back in 2015. TRACT utilizes a direct-to-consumer model that allows them to not only manufacture higher-quality performance-grade optics without high retail markup costs but also to deliver a personalized online brand experience. 

E-commerce sales have jumped over 42% from last year because of COVID and continue to increase. (Source: DigitalCommerce360) What we’re seeing is more brands shifting focus to online sales. To some companies surprise, COVID has changed opinions on e-commerce: “Hey, this e-commerce stuff works.”

For example, Daniel Defense launched a full e-commerce website early this year, where customers can order rifles direct. Glock announced last month that it is selling through Guns.com. When brands like DD and Glock make a move like this, you can be sure others are soon to follow. These types of tectonic shifts have the potential to change the entire dealer/distributor model forever. 

Why is this remarkable? 

There are an estimated 5 million+ new first-time gun owners as of this writing (Source: National Review). And we’re still a few weeks away from the election. 2020 will be the biggest sales year the firearms industry has ever seen. If big brands have forgone e-commerce in the past, you can be sure they’re talking about it now. TRACT was one of the early pioneers to step out of industry norms and trail-blaze what is now quickly becoming the new normal. 

Photo Credit: FalconStrike USA

5. FalconStrike – Innovation

For years, reducing recoil has been left to rubber pads and expensive contraptions built into stocks—until now. Martin Gaudet, founder, and inventor of the patented FalconStrike has come up with a way to reduce recoil through hydraulics in a compact and easy-to-install pad. As Baby Boomers and GenXers get older, FalconStrike helps more aging joints and the less stout deal with the punishing effects of recoil. The pad borrows its design from the aerospace industry where Martin’s systems have been used on aircraft and in the space program. This understanding has led to a drastic reduction in recoil energy, push back, muzzle rise, and felt recoil. All of these combined factors give shooters more accuracy, comfort, and more time shooting. 

Why is this remarkable? 

Recoil is a constant when it comes to shooting. Less of it is always a good thing. A softer, more comfortable shooting experience makes a better time for all when smaller calibers can’t be used.

6. True Velocity – Breaking the Mold

I always thought that if the industry could figure out how to mainstream caseless or rechargeable ammo—that it would set the industry on a course that resembles Star Wars. But for now, we’ll have to settle for True Velocity. True Velocity’s premium composite-cased ammunition made from polymer offers distinct advantages over conventional brass-cased munitions, including drastic weight reduction, heat signature elimination, and significantly improved accuracy. The casings are also 100% recyclable. 

Why is this remarkable? For decades ammunition has relied on brass casings, but now there seems to be an alternative. This kind of thinking will continue to push the ammo segments into new territory and give consumers a second option. The round has been reviewed and reported to be just as accurate if not better than its’ brass counterpart. How will this change the future of ammo? Right now, ammo backorders have been rumored to stretch out (for some brands) 2-3 years. Finding new ways to manufacture ammo is a problem that needs to be solved.

Photo Credit: Sig Sauer

7. Sig Sauer – Capitalizing on Customer Journey

One-way to quickly become a top 5 gun manufacturer (outside of winning a lucrative military contract) (Source: Shooting Industry) is through understanding how and when to add products to the customer journey. The thinking is if a customer trusts you for one purchase like a pistol, they will trust you for more, like a rifle, optic, and ammunition. And this is what SIG has done. SIGs’ loyal customer base has allowed the company to expand into electro-optics, ammunition, suppressors, and air guns that provide their customers with a “complete system.”

Why is this remarkable? 

Most firearm manufacturers get stuck in creating just one product—however, to expand and grow, it may be necessary to expand your offering into other segments as long as you can maintain your brand focus and profitability. 

8. MantisX – In-Home Shooting Practice

MantisX is a revolutionary shooting system that helps shooters improve their shooting precision. It can be used on pistols, rifles or shotguns (or bow)—dry fire or live fire. While attached to a pistol or rifle, MantisX analyzes your shooting mechanics, diagnoses issues, and coaches you on how to improve. With so many new shooters coming into the industry and the scarcity of ammo and firearm instructors, MantisX is a good way to practice shooting fundamentals and stay sharp until you can get back to the range.

Why is this remarkable? 

MantisX allows me and other experienced shooters the ability to save on ammo while keeping shooting skills sharp until ammo supplies get restocked. New shooters will also benefit. 

In conclusion, as the COVID era runs its course, we’re seeing many brands strengthen their position, launch products in uncertainty and pivot to new online opportunities—domestically and internationally. We have a few more months to go, but I concur… “What a crazy year it’s been!”  

What about you? What brands have stood out to you during this time? 

After a cold and windy Range Day, a ride in Glock’s submarine, Aquila’s mini-shells and a peek at Maxim Defense’ new gun—SHOT Show 2019 has left me wondering what the coming year holds.

After taking some time to think through my experiences and having a few discussions with clients and industry professionals—here are my top takeaways from a marketer’s perspective—on what I thought of this year’s largest shooting, hunting, and outdoor industry trade show and some marketing ideas for your consideration.

1. Increased International interest?

Clients and friends I talked to agree—there seemed to be an increased international interest this year. I saw and spoke to a lot more companies from Turkey, India, Scandinavia, Israel, and others than previous years. I was approached by a couple of European companies about expansion into the U.S. market. There are a few things that could be driving this, and I don’t want to speculate, but with more international brands entering the U.S. market, competition in 2019 and future years may get a bit tighter.

2. Brand communication shifts indicate where the market is moving.

Three exciting brand shifts that caught my attention belonged to Mossberg, Daniel Defense, and Springfield Armory.

Mossberg goes black.
A hunting brand long known for their shotguns looks to have finally completed their evolution into a tactical/self-defense brand with their new MC1sc 9mm Sub Compact pistol along with an entire booth and website redesign that aligns with their “Arm Yourself” campaign theme. They also traded their traditional blue and yellow color palette for black and yellow. This change is a total rebrand of the 100-year-old company.

Photo credit: Daniel Defense

Daniel Defense mixes in the country.
On the opposite end—Daniel Defense with the release of their new bolt gun moves to the middle between tactical and outdoor which signals a push to balance the brand between the two markets. A quick look at their website shows the Ambush models front and center. They incorporated a more apparent outdoor theme into this year’s catalog, which also indicates where the manufacturer’s head is on current trends.

Springfield focuses on being more real.
Springfield Armory’s catalog pictured models on location in Wyoming (my home State – Go Pokes!) riding four wheelers, camping, fishing, fending off bears and hunting. These look like regular folks which to me was a breath of fresh air in contrast to the often overused black tactical imagery. This kind of imagery also started popping up in some of Glock’s materials.

Photo credit: Springfield Armory

So what do these shifts in brand communication mean?

• Top brands are aware of the trends that point to a more humanistic approach
• Hunting is still essential, but self-defense is where the money is at
• Brands still struggle to walk the line between being a tactical and hunting company (or both)
• Younger marketing professionals are taking the reigns reflected in this year’s marketing materials
• Is “Tacticool” finally over?  🙂

4. “An Unprecedented Effort”

NSSF’s outgoing president Steve Santenni stated that “NSSF is embarking on an unprecedented effort to get out the positive messages about our industry across the country. Using all the tools available to us, we will fight the shaming and name calling being thrown against us, with the truth that we are a critical part of the solution.”

I applaud the NSSF for taking this on. But in order for this to work, NSSF must have a clear message, rally the involvement of manufacturers, dealers, and distributors, media, create a coalition of out-of-industry ‘gun friendly’ groups and then track and optimize this effort over time to ensure success.

Our industry is full of good, honest, hard-working regular people who follow the laws, pay their taxes and want to raise their families and live in peace—this must be emphasized. NRA’s “Safest Place” Campaign during the last Presidential election is an example of a step in the right direction. However, to win over the Millennials and grow our numbers (shooting and hunting) a more humanistic, trust-building, fact and value-based approach will be required—not another glossy PR campaign.

Here are a couple of ideas and a framework you can use to contribute to the effort:

1. Define your audience. What does your customer/audience want?
2. Who is the villain in your story (or the problem you are trying to solve)?
   Misinformation, government control, political agendas, anti-gun/anti-hunting sentiment, failed mental health programs?
3. How can you guide your customers/audience to the solution?
   Show the faces of real people in our communities (CCWs, LE, Vets, Pastors, Teachers, Firemen, Doctors, Moms, Dads, etc.) who are contributing to the desired solution. Tell the stories of how a firearm helped a family survive a home invasion. Or how Venison provides fresh organic field-to-plate protein to localvores. Show empathy and authority.
4. What is the plan to get your audience to the solution?
   What resources, events and actions need to be developed? How much will it cost?
5. What are the direct (community involvement, donate, sign up, call your senator) or transitional (downloadable educational materials, webinars, attend a speaking event)  calls to action?
6. Explain what success and failure looks like.
   Paint a person absent of the ability to protect him or herself—show what the difference would be.
7. Show people how they can transform into something better: safer, more confident, healthier, active etc.

I encourage you (Industry Marketers) to consider incorporating the positive attributes of not only your products but industry contributions into your advertising. We are the messengers that shape opinion, attitudes, and culture. It’s upon us to communicate the positive attributes of our products for conservation, self-defense and the Second Amendment—without compromise—in the best positive light. Don’t just say we support these efforts—show your audience why. Allow those messages to permeate into the mainstream in greater frequency. We are the rescuers, the conservationists, the warriors and the people who want to protect, who fight for the good of others. It’s high time to take back the public square of opinion and confront those who’ve tarnished our good name in a respectful tone with more focus and effort.

5. Looking forward

2019 will be another turbulent year for our industry. More virtue signaling, boycotts, anti-gun/hunting protests, rants, and the upcoming Democratic primaries and Presidential election will keep our industry on the front burner. This turbulence will affect sales, marketing budgets, trade show attendance and our ability to plan for the future.

Use your platform to spread far and wide the positive attributes of our industry and the good-willed people in it.

Those are my thoughts; I’d be curious to know yours? Please comment below…

Josh Claflin, Principal at Garrison Everest, helps companies in the outdoor, active, tech and firearms industry who are struggling to develop clear brand messaging and increase revenue through online channels. 

Follow @joshuajclaflin