Marketing plans are critical for gaining attention for your store or shooting industry-related business, plus the wares and services you offer your customers. Marketing also covers doing market research and analyzing various advertising strategies. Your store probably doesn’t have the budget for a full-time marketing specialist, but there’s still a lot you can do. While marketing plans can range from elaborate to simple, the best plans are those that are easy to understand, easy to implement, and easy to follow through on.
1) Look Back, Look Ahead: Believe it not, every business is engaged in marketing just by opening the front doors. Beyond that, the efforts could be a social media page or ads placed in local newspapers or by sponsoring events. Look at what has been tried, what worked, and then make plans for what you want to do or try next. Often, looking back at what worked — or did not work — will help you in determining where to apply time and resources in the future.
2) Set Measurable Goals and Objectives: Deciding what to do and putting those ideas in writing helps you begin to determine what you want to gain through marketing, from more customers inside your business to moving certain inventory items — and ultimately both of those will yield more profits. Answer the question: What do I want to accomplish?
Write out the many parts of the marketing plan in an executive summary to help you and others better understand what needs to happen when, and what the overall outcome should be. Some common marketing plan goals could include: creating a brand identity for your business and building the brand awareness; increasing sales and ultimately increasing profits; developing brand loyalty and targeting or increasing your repeat customer base; targeting a new audience and pulling in new customers; launching new product lines or services; or expanding your business into new markets. As you can tell, there is a lot to consider.
3) Sources that Lead to Successes: In the data-gathering mode that will guide you in making some critical decisions, take note that the NSSF has market research on many customer groups, and numerous agencies in your state will also have data on hunters, types of hunters, what they hunt, etc. Licenses, applications and draw results for residents (and nonresidents if you live somewhere like Iowa for white-tailed deer hunters or Colorado or Montana for elk hunters who travel there from out of state) will give you information on hunter numbers and their habits. Once you see the patterns, work to recognize the gear those customers need. Getting the information that leads to new ideas and better results could be easier than you think — and you don’t have to be a numbers person.
4) Zero on Trends and Opportunities: Many items in the hunting gear category are trendy, and a large portion of the hunting population always focuses on “what’s new?” New bows, new rifles or shotguns, new boots, new treestands and safety gear, and the newest camouflage patterns are of great interest to hunters everywhere. They see and read about this new gear from SHOT Show reports, websites, blogs, hunting magazine articles and ads and from other sources.
Aging hunters also means opportunities if you stock the right goods or offer the right services. Research indicates that as a hunting population ages, they may hunt much differently than they did 20 years past. This could mean fewer treestand sales and more ground blinds and camouflage hunting seats if your region is a retirement-rich neighborhood or if the state’s hunting population skews older. Also note the interest and growing efforts put into youth hunts and intro-to-hunting programs for adults by your state’s game department. Those programs could yield your newest customer base.
5) Know Thy Customers: You may know the names and faces of repeat customers, but you should strive to know more details about your customer base. Beyond their interests, are they hunting solo or with friends, is hunting a family affair, and do they hold membership in certain hunting organizations with a focus on a species, like elk, turkeys or deer? The clothing and hats worn by some shoppers, and even the wallet or coffee cup they are holding, could provide clues for you about their species and hunting styles and interests. Those points are key marketing intel.
6) Develop a Brand: Often, the brand of your business can come from the lips of a customer in a statement. Listen closely for WOW statements, or statements like “I like coming in here because of X,” or “My friend told me about Y that you had in stock.” Over time, the perceived reason customers come through your doors and what they think/feel/enjoy/expect comes into focus through their words. This can help you develop a brand identity and set you apart from any competitors.
7) Develop Objectives: Objectives are things you wish to achieve through a marketing program. Don’t focus on unspecified, vague or unrealistic objectives like getting rich this year, but on solid objectives like increasing sales by 20% or growing your business more in serving an identified market, like first-time hunters or waterfowl or turkey hunters.
8) Develop a Strategy: A strategy is the plan to answer how you will work to achieve the objective identified. You’ve worked through the gathering-information stages, and now it is time to put ideas, numbers, data and dollars into a plan. What message or branding program will you be focusing on, and what channels will you use to send that information to new and current customers? How much do you have budgeted for the marketing program, and where will those dollars be spent? Answers to the key marketing questions can help you make key decisions.
9) Write a Marketing Plan: Putting ideas and goals into writing helps you see the many parts and how to connect the dots — and what to do in your marketing strategy. Most successful marketing plans push information and call attention through many channels. From Facebook and other social media, to websites and print ads, to printed flyers dropped into customers’ bags, the more you call attention to your business and what it offers customers, the better the results. The answers to what, how, when, where and why will guide you in writing out your marketing plan.
10) Hands Reaching Out: Now that your goals are clear and you have plans, it’s time to implement. One proven marketing method is to get out and promote your business in person. Whether attending local sportsmen’s shows, species-specific fundraisers and banquets, or volunteering at such events, as politicians and preachers say, “it’s time to press the flesh.” Carry business cards, shake hands and make connections. Word-of-mouth advertising is powerful.
Now that you have gathered the information on customers, looked at trends and markets, and developed and implemented a marketing plan, it’s time to evaluate. While it may take time before you can step back and evaluate results, key on results such as noting if a customer states they saw an item or information on your website, read about something in your store on a blog, or heard about a new rifle you stock from a hunting buddy. Those are the first clues your marketing ideas and developed plans are working.
The next best clue is when your cash register drawer opens more. Marketing plans can result in more money into your business. That’s always a good thing — ka ching!
