Marketing How-To

Marketing is any effort that puts your company and name in front of people. There are some standard approaches such as the classified section of your daily paper. I say classified because this is the least costly type of newspaper advertising. Display rates are usually three and four times the cost of a five or seven day classified ad and then you are only going to have an ad in for one day. Economics usually do and should dictate where and when you use newspapers for marketing.

Most areas have the little, once a week green sheets or pennysaver papers. These are much more economical and a larger ad can be had for fewer dollars. I have found that an ad every month does as much good as one every week. As gunsmiths we don’t typically have specials or discount sales. Our ads tend to lean toward the institutional type. By that I mean we use the words "Complete Gun Repair", "Full Service", etc. We rarely offer a spring or summer special on bluing, for example.

Actually, I like this for I have found that the only thing necessary is keeping your name before the public. Even if I ran a special for the month of June, as an example, some joker would want that price in August or I would get the argument that if I could do the job in June for that much why not in August? So I don’t do it.

It has been my experience that a well-written, not too small ad in the yellow pages (usually expensive), once a month in the weekly and once a month display ad in the newspaper on Sunday in the sports section does about as much good as anything more expensive. These ads are designed to do two main things: Bring in new customers and refresh the minds of older ones. About sixty percent of my business comes from repeat customers.

This requires being in business long enough to build a big background of customers because the customer you did work for two years ago will repeat and so on. Then you have what I call gun "burnouts". They are the customer that gets started in the gun or shooting field and begins very gung ho, having all the guns he is buying fixed or refinished, tuned, etc. Then he suddenly realizes he is spending too much and abruptly stops – he is burned out.

This type is good for business while he lasts, but can remain as an advertiser for you. Even if he can’t afford much more of your services currently he will talk to others about you. I like to think that every time I make a customer happy I will eventually have him bring me another. Gun people like to talk guns and word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool for you if you are doing your job right. Naturally, the association you have with area gun clubs will be strong but slower than it should be. Why, I don’t know.

Over the years I have found that most of my customers are simply the "man on the street" type. He may shoot very little, he may not belong to a gun club, he may or may not hunt, but he does like guns and he fools around with them, buying one every so often and it ends up in your shop. Calling cards, or business cards if you prefer, are extremely important. Give them away to as many people as you can. When you buy a pair of socks, give the clerk your card.

You never know when someone will come in because someone else knew they liked guns and gave them your card. You are your own best advertising agent there is. After you quit work for the day start marketing. Give those cards away! I give one to every dealer at a gun show. Don’t be afraid to blow your own bugle. If you are rich you can rent a billboard for anything from $10.00 a day up.

This tells the world but I can’t remember ever having seen a gunsmith advertising on one, likely because if you’re rich you wouldn’t likely be a gunsmith! You may not know it but your competition is sometimes a very good medium of advertising for you. Being human he is going to cuss you, run you down and anything else he can do because you are eating into his business.

Every customer who listens to him is going to have to come out and see you just to satisfy himself as to what kind of a two headed, left handed bastard you really are, but if you’re good he just joined the club and you have another customer. Let your competition drive his customers to you. He will, just be patient. Needless to say, you only have the highest regard for him. Keep it that way.

Calendars are good marketing tools as they are universally useful and everyone appreciates good animal and outdoor scenes, but choose these carefully. A smaller, neat calendar is better than one the size of a road map and wives will likely let a smaller one hang in the kitchen. She will also have a phone number

where she can reach her husband who is probably hanging out in your shop. I might just as well mention the wife right now for the way you handle the following will be a great help in cementing customer relations. Never calla man’s home to have the wife answer when he is not there. Do not give her the message that his gun is done and the bill is so much. You just may have put your customer in hot water right there.

No matter how understanding she appears to be in tolerating his smelly old hunting clothes, guns or dogs, she sure as hell will have something to say about his spending more money on a gunsmith. Instead, just leave your name and number and ask her to have him call you. If she asks what about just tell her it is a personal call that you want to ask him a couple of questions or something like that. If there was a set of "Rules of the Road" for gunsmiths this one would be at the top of my list.

In away this sort of delicate handling applies when the wife accompanies lover boy to your shop. She finally dragged him out to the mall for a nice afternoon of shopping and he got her to agree to let him stop off at the gunsmith because he wanted to check on something. Naturally she wants to get a look at this den of thieves where her husband spends (hopefully) so much time so she comes in with him. If you area good judge of people, smile at her and notice if her arms are folded in front of her.

This is the war sign. She is ready to find fault with something. Perhaps not in front of you because, after all, this little gal has real class, possesses great restraint and shows good manners. If she finds something to complain about, from the smell of gun oil to the dust on your charming personality, she will just load it in her mental magazine and begin firing only after she has left.

I firmly believe that wives along with the customer are in the same category as the old "Don’t Drink and "Calendars are good marketing tools, are useful and everyone appreciates good animal and outdoor scenes, but choose these carefully. A smaller, neat calendar is better than one the size of a road map." Drive" slogan. Usually they should be classified as "Wives and Gun shops Don’t Mix. Caution — Explosive Mixture".