So.. Just so I understand this business model..
You want to give stuff away with every purchase.
You want to offer free services:
You want to offer free events:
You want to give away free stuff for referrals:
you want to keep the store open and staff it for non revenue events including (potentially) paying a speaker:
And you want to do this all with prices competitive with mail order:
How are you going to do all of these "free" give aways, "free" services, staffing, events, guest lecturers, etc. without adding to the price of your goods sold? as the owner, nothing is free it all comes out of your pocket.
Yes, I am sure the store will be extremely popular. As a place to hang out and collect free stuff. However, if your prices are not as good as the place next door or on line they will happily take the free stuff, use your staff to receive info and recommendations and buy elsewhere.
"Customers" will happily hang out collect the free stuff, talk to their friends and scour the internet to save $5 on their next purchase (of something they could have purchased at your shop) while they are waiting for their free cleaning to be completed..
Perhaps my post was overly obtuse. Allow me to simplify.
You make money when customers come into your store and buy something, right? How do you get them to buy? Location, price, selection. But what if you don't have the budget for premium location? Or can't compete with Wal-mart pricing? Or can't afford either the inventory carrying costs or the retail space to carry every possible gun/part/screw? Local gun stores cannot compete on location, price, or selection. This is no longer Field of Dreams. Amazon will beat the pants off of every local retailer-in two days. Other online retailers will beat the pants off every local gun store, and will only take a week to do so.
So how do you get people to buy? You have to give them a reason to come into your store, and a reason to buy from you NOW instead of buying online. And how do you get them to come back? And how do you get them to bring in their friends?
Apple is a premium brand and store. They charge exorbitant prices for their products. Every one of the accessories in their store is cheaper on Amazon. Have you ever seen an empty Apple store? They are mobbed even at 7:30 am, before they open, with people coming in for training sessions. Apple has figured out how to get people into their store. When they come into their store, they buy. And they tell others about it. And they bring in their friends. Who buy more.
Every retail store needs to have as their primary goal driving traffic and especially repeat traffic. And referral traffic. Some big retailers do so using big sales or customer appreciation events. Local gun stores have to be more creative. How else do you suggest getting repeat, referral traffic?
Another way to look at this is by asking the question: What is a customer worth? If you are short-sighted, they are worth whatever the profit margin on the one item they bought before walking out to never return. If that is the only profit you calculate, you'll never make money by doing as I suggested previously, because you'll never effectively invest in your marketing. Or a customer could be worth the total profit margin of every item they buy each year for the next four years, and the total profit margin of the three to seven other customers they bring in. Now it makes sense to throw in a package of snap caps or a bore snake or ear plugs to make a customer feel valued when they come in for service. Or to stay open a little bit longer and invite LenS or DrGrant in to give a presentation on gun laws to people who are afraid to carry for fear they'll get jammed up. Now you have a LOT of profit margin to play with. And it doesn't have to be expensive.
Customers don't owe you anything. They reward you for meeting their needs and satisfying their wants in a better manner than someone else.