If you’ve got an employee at your archery shop that’s always screwing around with Pokémon Go, don’t bust his (or her) chops just yet. This seemingly useless knowledge could come in handy because, in fact, Pokémon Go can drive new customers to your archery shop.
But first, let’s assume you don’t even know what Pokémon Go is or how you play the game. (By the way, it’s a game.)
The satirical and brilliant online pub, “The Onion” offers this Q&A:
Q. Where can you play Pokémon Go?
A. In any society in which the problems of day-to-day survival have been adequately solved to allow the concept of unfocused activity, or “leisure,” to develop.
Isn’t that great!? Even better, the good people at the Archery Trade Association (ATA) have posted a piece essentially encouraging archery shops to leverage that leisure to their advantage. The article explains the game’s premise and links to a “How-to-Play” Guide and, while an archery shop owner may not be interested in the nuances of the game, a mild understanding makes creating a marketing strategy much easier.
Here’s an excerpt:
Players must first find places to catch Pokémon. Those places are commonly called PokéStops.
This is where your archery store comes into play.
An article by Lisa Furgison encourages businesses to create a PokéStop promotion. A typical PokéStop is a town landmark. Download the Pokémon Go app to identify a PokéStop near your archery store, and create a marketing plan around it. Adapt Furgison’s example to your location and business.
The ATA breaks down other ways to drive traffic including using the game’s “lures,” or tying in social media and hashtag into Pokémon Go game objectives. Retailers can blend traditional promotional tactics like coupons or free wi-fi to attract Pokémon users as well.
For more detailed information on how to use Pokémon Go to boost foot traffic in your shop, check out Boost Business at Your Archery Store by Attracting Pokémon Go Users at archerytrade.org.