What does the Paintball Industry need?

[Missy-Q]

So, there hasn't been a 'Brainy' thread for a while.

The Industry has suffered a 15-50% decline (depending on the company) and 2010 should hopefully be the year of recovery. So what is going to help the Industry get back on it's feet again?

Lets see who can figure out what the industry needs. Some of you may think 50cal is the answer, some may think cheaper products are the answer, etc. Im interest to see what you all think

 

[Dskize]

Erm..'punters'.

Crossover from rec players to rec-players with there own guns ,seems a bit of an obvious answer but I kinda see that as the basis of the whole thing.

 

[SAMUEL.D.RYAN]

Yarp, agree. Punters paying for the sites that they cut back on spending on because of all the recession scare sheet

 

[Missy-Q]

Erm..'punters'.

Crossover from rec players to rec-players with there own guns ,seems a bit of an obvious answer but I kinda see that as the basis of the whole thing.

well yes, they need punters (don't let paul from warped hear you say that though), but what does the Industry need to do to provoke those people into buying their own gear? Should field-owners open 'Pro-shops' so that rental customers are more exposed to product and more inclined to buy, or is it the job of the manufacturers to put out product at lower price-points to attract this business?

 

[Dskize]

I was about to add the edit "or do you mean what does the industry need to do"..anyhoo

Invest in the site owners (sites) that care about paintball as an ongoing concern rather than the ones who concentrate on fleecing stag groups untill the well of interested parties dries up.

Be it promotion, discounts or general aesthetics "capture the flag in the DYE Castle of Doom" sort of thing,make the punter experience a better one .

If the idea of television being the 'be all and end all' is finally finished then the cash could maybe pointed at adding a touch of Disney to normal paying woodsball sites..

 

[Missy-Q]

I was about to add the edit "or do you mean what does the industry need to do"..anyhoo

Invest in the site owners (sites) that care about paintball as an ongoing concern rather than the ones who concentrate on fleecing stag groups untill the well of interested parties dries up.

Be it promotion, discounts or general aesthetics "capture the flag in the DYE Castle of Doom" sort of thing,make the punter experience a better one .

If the idea of television being the 'be all and end all' is finally finished then the cash could maybe pointed at adding a touch of Disney to normal paying woodsball sites..

I like the idea of disney-style fields, but I don't see the Industry funding someone elses field to be 'the shxt'. That would be the job of the forward thinking site-owner. People like these:

www.horseshoevalleypaintball.com
www.bigfoot-paintball.com
www.paintballmirabel.com

The only one that springs to mind in the UK is the NPF (WDP's field). Of course all these people have done it themselves, without 'industry backing'.

I would certainly agree that the Industry needs people to invest in their own fields and make them more attractive to play. But thats not the industry (manufacturers and distributors) acting, although they stand to benefit.
If the industrey themselves set up the fields, they will be castigated surely, for taking the business from the fields.

Is it even the Industry's job to try to revive paintball's economy? Or, like you say, does this job rest with the fields owners and creating a more attractive product for the general public to enjoy?

 

[head_-_shot]

We need paintball to be more approachable it is a very intimidating step going from punter days to walk ons and such, the friendlier and easier it is to "get into" paintball, the more products will be bought and the broader the sport will become.

 

[Missy-Q]

We need paintball to be more approachable it is a very intimidating step going from punter days to walk ons and such, the friendlier and easier it is to "get into" paintball, the more products will be bought and the broader the sport will become.

I agree, and I think that also fits with the 'pro-shop' idea, of having equipment available for 'punters' to see from the very first time they play. This is a tried and tested methos in the States and Canada, but hasn't really happened in Europe.

 

[Dskize]

Investment at that level is a two way thing ,'the industry' picks site which fit specific criteria ,they invest a bit of cash in the look of the place, require standards which must be adheared to to keep their investment, of course they expect a specific ca$h return plus promotion of their product lines,have the 'WDP walk-on days' ,'rent an Angel for the day' ,'paint at £30 a box' and such .Costa and Starbucks have shown us the way ...

The two things that persistantly stop people taking up the hobby is.

1) Everybody has a great time at the stag do and swears they'll be back,but someone else has to organise it because we are all lazy ,if Jimmy in accounts doesn't organise the next party then it gets forgotten about ...

2)I loved playing paintball but when we went to that stag do it cost me £160 ****ing quid.

Make it easy for people to come back ,I realise you could put this down to site owners only and let the industry worry about giving them price breaks but as I see it the people that they want to buy their guns currently don't even know they exist.

 

[Scrumpy]

I can remember a site running walkon fusion days! This consisted of regular punters being put in with walkon players. There were certain rules the walkon player had to comply with and generally had to use common sense about not going nuts on the trigger, and in return the punter got cheaper paint and a good experience outside the "normal paintball" punter experience.