Hunters are rarely short on opinions, and that’s good — especially when you’re manufacturing and selling high-performance archery gear.

 

The folks at TightSpot Quivers in Belgrade, Montana, have learned the voices of bowhunters often speak the loudest as the company markets and fine-tunes its products. TightSpot makes innovative quivers that fit snugly to your bow.

“We try to get as much customer and dealer feedback on our product as possible,” said Joe Jacks, president. “Sure, we would like to think that we have things nailed down pretty well on our product, but the dealers and customers are the ones who in the end dictate some of the changes that we will make. These changes are what many bowhunters are looking for, resulting in better sales.”

Part of that process involves making sure quivers have the precise look hunters desire.

 

“Having a Realtree-licensed product has greatly helped with our business,” Jacks said. “Our product attaches to the bows, and most people are really particular about it matching their bow. If their bow is in Realtree Xtra, Max-1 or APG, then they will want our quiver to match. All too often, if we do not have the color to match, they might go with a different product that does match. With Realtree being on most major bow manufacturers’ bows, it means that we need to have those patterns to match.”

 

Speaking directly to your target audience is another critical component for success, Jacks said. TightSpot strives to impart marketing messages directly to the hardcore bowhunting consumer, which results in greater sales and an exchange of ideas. That seems to become more challenging as times and the markets change.

 

“Marketing directly to bowhunters can be tricky, and we are always looking for the next best way to do it,” he said. “We try to include features and benefits in our advertising that will help bowhunters be better hunters and be more successful while knowing that their gear will perform when they need it. We try to spread this marketing through multiple avenues of media. We use print ads, TV, social media, mass email, internet forums and word of mouth. Not just one avenue seems to be the standout in marketing. However, as a collective whole, they seem to work well.”

That effective communication has become increasingly important for the archery industry in general, Jacks said — especially when looking toward the future.

 

“I think the biggest challenge in the archery hunting market right now and the near future will be growing the sport,” he said. “I think that the best way to meet this challenge is through education from everyone in the archery industry focusing on their local areas. If we as archery manufactures, dealers and archers can each, on a small scale, invite newcomers into the sport, then collectively as a whole, we’ll be able to grow the sport. This, however, is often easier said than done.”