The Range Report - Winter 2008

First Shots Can Lead to Many More

You Can 'Bank' on the Success of This Customer-Development Program

A memorably poor experience while a banker has lent inspiration to a moneymaking opportunity for a bunch of ranges -- and you, too, can cash in on this opportunity. That inspiration behind NSSF's successful customer-development program was triggered, in a way, long before Cyndi Dalena, NSSF Manager of First Shots, turned her long-time interest in shooting into a career with NSSF. At that time she was in the midst of a 10-year stint in banking.

"Many of my colleagues played golf, and I never had, but I was interested -- I wanted to try it, but I wasn't about to buy an expensive set of clubs, and then find out I didn't like it. And no one was really coming forward and saying, 'Here, use my clubs and go try it.'"

A few people did suggest she go to this or that club and try a lesson, but going someplace unfamiliar, by herself, didn't seem too appealing.

"So I never became a golfer," she says.

That experience comes to mind when Dalena is asked about NSSF's First Shots customer-development program for ranges, which she now manages.

"You're not going to spend money on equipment for a sport you've never tried, and you're not going to stick with it if you don't have some kind of social structure -- a place to go, people who help you and instruction to improve your skills."

Designed to "de-mystify" handgun ownership as well as put beginners on a path to becoming regular customers or range members, the First Shots promotional package addresses those issues -- and it's not a one-shot deal.

As a gun club member and instructor herself, Dalena says, "I've run a lot of free clinics, and what you get are a lot of people who say, 'When are you doing this again?' They only come back when there's a free clinic.

"First Shots brings the entire package. Participants leave, not only having tried handgun shooting, but also having gained an understanding of handgun-ownership requirements in their state and how to meet those requirements. And there's that important social piece -- they leave knowing what the next step is, what instruction is available, knowing you, your staff, and what your range has to offer. They leave knowing the pathway they can take to become handgun owners."

That First Shots pathway is seeing more and more traffic headed right back to those host ranges. As shown by six-month follow-up surveys of participants, the program has more than earned its stripes as a customer-development tool.

As reported in a recent NSSF "Industry Intelligence Report," 40 percent of First Shots participants returned to the host range an average of 4.8 times over six months, and about the same percentage had spent an average of $547 on shooting-related equipment. Over half (53 percent) had met their state's requirements for handgun ownership, and an amazing 63 percent had introduced someone else to handgun shooting. Twenty-three percent had purchased range memberships.

Many ranges now incorporate First Shots into their yearly schedules, and, they're experiencing a "ripple effect."

"Spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, best friends, co-workers and relatives of participants have come in," says Miles Hall, owner of H&H Gun Range in Oklahoma City, one of the first ranges to present First Shots. Hall credits the program for boosting range traffic as much as 41 percent, and it's now on the range's calendar year-round.

The First Shots package includes customized information about handgun safety, safe firearms storage, state and local handgun laws and regulations, and steps to obtaining a handgun permit. To help promote your First Shots program, NSSF's "Original Outdoor Challenge" television commercial featuring world-champion handgun competitor Doug Koenig is included, along with radio spots, print ads and other materials.

"First Shots is an investment in your future," says Dalena. "Do the math. If you invest about $500 -- and NSSF will match that -- and get 30 participants, our survey shows about 40 percent will return an average of 4.8 times over the next six months. That's 12 people and about 57 visits.

"If 23 percent -- that is, seven people -- purchase memberships for, say, $200, that's $1,400. If they shoot two hours a month at $10 an hour, that's 840. If they each purchase about $547 in equipment, that's $3,829.

"So, based on your $500 investment, you could bring in over $6,000 in six months," Dalena concluded.

That, says the former banker, is an excellent return.

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