January Shooting Industry Equips Dealers In The New Year
“There was no playbook for this scenario. If this has taught us anything, it’s you need to be prepared to adapt and change in a moment’s notice,” reflects Justin Gorman, director of sales for Kinsey’s Inc. in the just-published January issue of Shooting Industry.
Record demand fueled by the pandemic, social unrest and a contentious presidential election shaped “A New Playing Field” for retailers to find — and keep — their footing amidst continual change.
These sentiments are echoed in “20 On ’20” — where perspectives from 20 dealers from around the country detail how they’ve adapted to constraints brought on by the pandemic and supply shocks — and how they’re approaching 2021 business.
Additional features in the January issue include why your store’s persona should be “Priority Number One” — which goes hand in hand with being “A Good Corporate Neighbor.” It also behooves a retailer to be mindful of how online marketing strategies have shifted in the past year, too. “Video Marketing In Time Of Crisis” offers five realizations to consider when creating video content today, and the tips from “How To Optimize Your Social” will help more customers find you on Instagram and Facebook in particular.
Above all, as Southwick Associates warns in “Predicting 2021,” dealers should welcome new gun owners, then encourage and help them become active participants in the shooting sports for longer-term stability. SI’s new column Best Practices touches on this concept. Doug VanderWoude suggests creative ways ranges can inspire new customers to continue training, learning and enjoying the shooting sports. And in the Arms & The Woman installment, Carmen Lout reasons the most important tool in gaining and keeping a female customer is the ambassadors with whom she interacts.
Not every person has the budget to spend thousands on a firearm, but reliability is a non-negotiable baseline for emergency lifesaving equipment. Massad Ayoob recommends five budget guns for on the go and home defense in the Personal Defense Market column.
Rounding out the issue is the second installment of the three-part 2021 New Product Showcase introduces products from nearly 60 companies.
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