During the ASA’s 90 years in existence, the nation has been through more than a dozen recessions, slumps, and downturns. While each one impacted fishing-related sales across the wider sportfishing industry, anglers kept coming back.
As we steer ahead toward the second half of 2023, we’re keeping an eye on what’s happening in the economic ecosystem. And if you’re doing the same thing as a professional in the broader fishing industry, you’re probably wondering what the future holds for your business. The answer is a simple one but requires strategic planning: Make customers’ needs your core focus. Here’s how:
1. Focus on customer loyalty and retention.
Your existing customers are familiar with your store. They have made at least one purchase and have thus helped to contribute to your overall customer lifetime value. It is well-known that it’s more expensive to encourage a new customer to buy once than to get a current customer to buy again. Therefore, rework your marketing strategy to make certain your customers know you’re still around as their go-to sportfishing resource.
Building a community of customers who keep returning to your shop requires a multipronged approach. For example, you might want to send out personalized incentives and coupons to your buyers. Additionally, you could invest more in your customer service so that when customers contact you, they get the best possible experience. Never allow your social media channels or blog to flicker out, either. Stay in touch so your customers feel your supportive presence.
2. Readjust your marketing spending to focus on different products and experiences.
As mentioned above, some of your customers may become highly price-sensitive in the coming months and years. Now is the perfect time to start looking at your inventory from a return on investment perspective. Are you noticing that some of your lower-end items are selling faster than you would expect this season? Do you see downward trends in other SKUs? Pay attention to these findings and use any data you have to determine if they are just anomalies or seem to be long-lasting trends.
If you think something’s a trend, lean into it. Push sales of the merchandise that’s selling right now and see if you might be able to negotiate price adjustments with vendors to improve your profit margins. Recession-proof companies tend to be ones that react tactically. You don’t have to slash spending equally across your company. You just have to make changes based on the ebb and flow of your customer sales.
3. Stay on top of what’s happening in the sportfishing industry.
The more you know about fishing trends and what’s going on in sportfishing as a whole — for your competitors and at even local and regional levels — the more knowledgeable you’ll be as a business leader.
Remember to register for the upcoming ICAST trade show. ICAST provides unsurpassed networking with your peers. Additionally, you’ll find tons of insights at daily Lunch & Learn seminars. One of the sessions will be on projecting the economy. You won’t want to miss it, especially if you want more tips to connect with your customers.
At the ASA’s annual Sportfishing Summit, we spend time looking at the economy and the future of our sector, including fishing retail industry trends and challenges. Our members also get access to reports. Make sure to avail yourself of the information, research, and updates we pass along. For instance, read our blog so you’ll know about things like the 2022 sportfishing report we released not long ago.
The economy is something that none of us can control. However, we can control our reactions to what happens next. Instead of waiting patiently, be proactive and keep your customers from becoming the ones that got away.
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