Whether you have a full-service marketing team in-house, a single marketing employee or you hire an agency to do it for you, your marketing team already knows how important data is. They’re likely digging into Google Analytics, Facebook Analytics and other sophisticated platforms on a daily basis to better understand and reach your current and prospective buyers. What they may not have, though, is the data platform created just for the shooting sports industry.
That’s exactly what SCOPE is. For manufacturers, SCOPE is an essential addition to the data your marketing team is already looking at.
SCOPE is a suite of data tools created by the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW). It was developed hand-in-hand with its members, including manufacturers and distributors, to meet the need for an industry-specific data platform. And some of the tools can be particularly useful to shooting sports industry marketers.
SCOPE CLX, for example, allows your marketing team to collect and analyze retail point-of-sale (POS) data, offering you insight into consumer demand in-store in partnership with distributors, POS providers and retailers. All of this data helps to inform sales and marketing strategies going forward. In addition, SCOPE ALX (Advertising Link Exchange) gives retailers access to your library of product photos, accurate specifications and design software that allows them to create ads that help your products sell.
Here are some of the ways SCOPE data can help your marketing team do its job better.
Marketers are on a never-ending mission to better understand their audience, including both current customers and potential customers. Why? Because, for marketers, audience is everything. It determines where you put your marketing dollars, how you design graphics and advertisements, what channels you advertise on, and how you write or speak to your audience.
SCOPE DLX (Distributor Link Exchange) and CLX data allow you to see where your products are shipping and where they’re selling the most. So, for example, if most of your buyers are in midwestern states, your brand marketing will reflect that. Your brand photography may be shot in places that have similar landscapes, showcasing activities and interests that will speak to that audience. If you’re noticing a growing customer base in a particular state, you’ll be able to put more of your ad budget toward that geographical area and even run a campaign to grow that budding audience.
SCOPE data tools allow you to see long-term distribution and sales trends for your products, helping marketing teams steer their efforts. For example, if you know that sales are typically low in a certain season, you can come up with new promotions or offers to encourage sales in slower times and maintain a more consistent flow of profit.
Your marketing team likely spends a good amount of time trying to make sure that each retailer who sells your product has the assets they need to do so. These assets might be enticing product descriptions, professional product and lifestyle photography, your logos and more. With SCOPE ALX, you’ll be able to provide all of your retailers with the necessary assets at once, eliminating the need to coordinate with each of them individually. This has the ability to lighten your team’s workload while making sure your products are represented well by retailers.
Understanding where you are is key to knowing where you want to go. SCOPE DLX can show you your company’s market share – your dollars shipped compared to those of the rest of the market. You can view your market share by category of product and also by state. By understanding your market share in each state and category, you can set goals for your future market share percentage. SCOPE also offers data points that you can track, which is a great way to test how your marketing efforts are affecting your company’s overall sales goals.
The SCOPE suite offers benefits that have the potential to reach nearly every member of your organization. Interested in learning more about how you can integrate SCOPE into your processes? Set up an appointment with us to talk more about it. Or you can register now as an NASGW member.