Best Practices
The Less-Lethal...
Less-lethal products, like pepper spray, are unlikely to result in serious harm or death to the person they are used against. They aren’t as sexy as guns,...
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How Firearm...
Creating a welcoming store isn’t difficult but understanding you want to invite men and women of all ages, ethnicities and skill levels means you should...
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Suppressors:...
What a difference a few years makes in the world of suppressors. Sales of these sound-dampening devices are soaring with customers emptying store shelves...
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Unlocking AI’s...
AI is still learning, and it isn’t perfect. With a few tweaks in learning how to speak to AI, the best results are a well-written prompt away.
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“You” Is The...
August Vander Ley is a master of good public relations. He does not boast, he does not preach, he does not shout and he does not talk down to his customers.
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Can AI Train For...
AI is increasingly involved in many aspects of our lives, for better or for worse. Can it be used to predict how a shooter will perform in training?...
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Build Community...
Women continue to be a buying force in the industry, but the majority of our peers can’t seem to figure out how to market properly to women — and if we...
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7 Things I’ve...
With any successful business, you must constantly evolve to stay relevant, but even the most innovative strategies might not be enough to take your business...
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4 Tips To...
Shooting ranges are at an increased risk of being inspected due to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) National Emphasis...
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Staying The...
Since the start of the pandemic, industry-leading headlines have highlighted both the growth of target shooting participation and, simultaneously, the...
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Become Part Of...
Oftentimes, when we think of “community” we envision our surrounding neighborhoods, schools, police and fire departments, libraries, city halls and —...
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How to Maximize...
If you’ve been creating Instagram Reels and seeing good results — you’re not alone. Whether you stumbled upon Reels and enjoy them, or you see...
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It’s Possible:...
It should come as no surprise the digital marketing sector has continued to experience rapid growth.
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Friendly...
Twice a month, dozens of customers gather on the range at Nashville Armory for a bit of friendly competition.
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Be A Better...
Even before the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, our freedoms and your livelihood were at risk from constant attacks on the Second Amendment.
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Buying, Selling...
We’ve done a lot of speculating these past couple of years over the eventual fate of all those guns gobbled up by first-time buyers. How many of them,...
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Getting More Out...
Selling guns online isn’t new. Many retailers have their own websites where they list guns and gun parts, and GunBroker.com has been hosting firearms...
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Using Email To...
Online marketing trends come and go. While it makes sense for the firearms industry to have a presence on popular social media platforms, the competition is...
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Getting The...
In a survey of A Girl & A Gun members, 76% of the 6,300 respondents said they enjoy shooting with members of their family, and 4% reported their entire...
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7 Ways Your...
We all know our Second Amendment freedoms are actively under attack. You’re seeing evidence of it in your shop right now as you’ve likely experienced...
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Target “Your...
One thing I hear regularly in interactions with retailers right after a large market surge is “I’m not seeing my customers as much as I used to.”...
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Getting By...
When Shad Biltz and his wife decided to open their own gun shop five years ago in Largo, Fla., one of their goals was to offer training.
“It’s just the...
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6 Questions To...
Hiring a marketing agency is one of those things you need to get right, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses with limited resources.
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Value In Knowing...
We all know them. The glossy infomercials advertising products that seem too good to be true. The little red “As Seen on TV” graphic is likely intended...
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Going Vintage?
Take a moment and think. When a customer walks into a gun store, what do they gravitate to? For me, unless I’m in search of something specific, I give the...
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Risks In Getting...
During a recent trip into the mountains of northern Georgia, I came across a small gun shop perched on the side of a busy street. What stood out the most...
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7 Low-Cost...
It’s no secret small- and medium-sized businesses often require both the owner and employees to wear multiple hats in order to create value and serve...
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Boost Knife...
All successful firearms dealers know the value of secondary sales, but selling cutlery is often overlooked when seeking these valuable added dollars to...
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Learn From The...
Everyone tends to be (or should be) somewhat cautious in new surroundings. For the new firearms owner, a gun shop can be an overwhelming and scary place....
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Tap Into Your ...
No business escaped the trials and tribulations of forced closures and customer panic last year. It was a painful and uncertain time. On the other hand, it...
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Welcoming...
Our industry needs youth if we’re going to survive into the next generation. Some retailers have added kids’ areas to their stores so parents can bring...
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When There’s...
It’s no secret there’s a shortage of ammunition and firearms. Sustained record sales and an unprecedented increase in first-time gun buyers created a...
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On The Range
Another chance, let’s make the most of it. Our industry has more new blood coming in than ever before, are you taking full advantage of it? This is...
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Get Your 2021...
Some of you will be glad to turn the calendar over from 2020 to 2021. Without question, it’s been a unique and challenging year marked mainly by the
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5 Ways To Know...
Without question: Getting customers from potential to paying is one of the goals of business.
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V-I-D-E-O...
Over the past few years, marketing with video has erupted in popularity. And rightly so due to, in no small part, the excellent video recording and editing...
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5 Ways To Engage...
Every now and then something happens in society that gets people thinking about the safety of themselves and loved ones, as well as what they’re going to...
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Reopening In The...
The four Ps of marketing — Product, Price, Promotion and Place — always demand thoughtful consideration, no matter what’s happening in your market.
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5 Event...
At the time of this writing, with all the complexity of dealing with COVID-19, states were in the initial stages of lifting lockdown restrictions.
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3 Negative...
Typical sales and marketing philosophies recommend your communications include a lot of positivity, hype and other forms of promotional words and imagery....
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2020 Vision:...
When the calendar year rolled over to 2020, many cleverly connected it to the idea of having 20/20 vision — not so much related to eyesight but more so in...
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4 Ways To Reach...
The easiest customer to reach is the one nearest you — that is, the one who already loves firearms, shooting, hunting or the associated gear. As you...
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Marketing In The...
The shooting industry exists for reasons far exceeding self-defense and the preservation of life; but for not less than those. To be sure, we love our...
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Communications...
I graduated from college in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in organizational communications. My studies included the standard array of courses including...
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5 Things You...
Marketing requires both long-term vision and strategy as well as short-term tactics. These short-term tactics include activities you should do each business...
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Go, Partner,...
Ever wonder what successful firearms businesses do to make them so … successful? Maybe you’ve watched some businesses from afar, scouring their website...
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5 Ways To Make...
In marketing speak, when a potential customer checks out your website before calling, emailing, ordering or visiting, it’s called validation.
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