You work hard to furnish your firearms customers with premium merchandise and gun education every month of the year. 

But with hunting season right around the corner, you have added opportunities to showcase merchandise, focus on safety and encourage shoppers to maintain and upgrade their equipment. 

Take some steps now, and you can make the fall season beneficial for both your clients and your gun shop.

1. Review your payments infrastructure.

You already know that your store falls in the “high risk merchant” category. This is due to qualities of the industry and its reputation as well as the increased likelihood of chargebacks and added regulatory scrutiny. 

As a result of this categorization, you need to focus even more on creating the optimal shopping experience for your customers.

The payment processor you choose should have forged positive relationships with financial institutions who are receptive to doing business with firearms sellers. They should also have transparent pricing, accept multiple forms of payment and offer gold-standard customer service and security compliance.

Yes, you will pay higher per-transaction and monthly fees, and you may undergo additional scrutiny during the application process. 

However, partnering with a gun-friendly payment processor will give you added payment flexibility. You will benefit from the industry-specific knowledge your provider has amassed, something that will be especially valuable if technical difficulties arise or if there is a security breach.

2. Give your social media presence a makeover.

Now that you have chosen a processing company committed to helping you accept diverse payment types with security as a high priority, it’s time to revamp your public-facing persona. 

Find out which sites your customers visit the most, and then focus on giving a facelift to your store’s page there.

To that end, highlight best selling products, show photos of your staff, post compelling how-to videos and create a buzz about the upcoming hunting season. Show how your store and your committed staff can provide everything that shoppers of all experience levels need to make the most of their time in the woods this fall. 

Don’t hesitate to entice them with special sales and hunting-related promotions. The key is to get them into your shop or onto your website so that they will be engaged with your brand and motivated to participate in your safety programs or purchase your firearms and ammunition.

3. Roll out some new products.

Stocking weapons and accessories is a given for your shop. But why not make each customer’s trip worthwhile by also selling a selection of hunting season-related snacks and clothing as well? 

Spread the word about your new offerings on your social media pages, and furnish discounts to your loyal customers. Keeping your business fresh and agile is one of the surest ways to succeed in a highly competitive and constantly growing industry.

When customers go to your website or walk into your store this fall, they should be greeted by a wide selection of hunting-related products and friendly staff members eager to educate and inform. 

Taking steps in advance to bolster your back office and social media sites will mean that you are well-prepared for the influx of online and foot traffic. 

Better still, you will have everything in place that you need to enhance your sales and cultivate a community of engaged customers this fall and throughout the year.