Best Practices

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...

All successful firearms dealers know the value of secondary sales, but selling cutlery is often overlooked when seeking these valuable added dollars to...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

Without question: Getting customers from potential to paying is one of the goals of business.

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...

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...

The four Ps of marketing — Product, Price, Promotion and Place — always demand thoughtful consideration, no matter what’s happening in your market.

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.

Typical sales and marketing philosophies recommend your communications include a lot of positivity, hype and other forms of promotional words and imagery....

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...

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...

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...

I graduated from college in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in organizational communications. My studies included the standard array of courses including...

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...

Ever wonder what successful firearms businesses do to make them so … successful? Maybe you’ve watched some businesses from afar, scouring their website...

In marketing speak, when a potential customer checks out your website before calling, emailing, ordering or visiting, it’s called validation.