Growth vs Brand Marketing in the Gun Trade and Shooting Sports

Summary

In this article, I explain the fundamental differences between growth marketing and brand marketing, particularly in the context of shooting businesses.

Here are the headlines:

1. Run short-term tests to learn and improve conversion 
2. Build medium-term systems like loyalty and referral programmes 
3. Invest in long-term assets such as SEO and content libraries 
4. Dedicate budget to brand marketing every quarter 
5. Accept brand spend as reputation-building, not direct ROI 

Reading Time: 10–11 minutes 

Implementation Time: Varies, multi-day project 

Level: Intermediate

Growth vs Brand Marketing (Part One): Know the Difference, Spend Wisely

Every shooting business faces the same question: where should you put your marketing budget? Do you chase measurable results through growth marketing, or invest in the slower burn of brand? The truth is, both matter. But they are very different beasts. If you do not know the difference, you will end up burning money on the wrong thing.

What Growth Marketing Really Means

Growth marketing is not a bag of short‑term “hacks”. It is a discipline: you run constant experiments, measure the results, and scale what works to grow sales and enquiries (MADX Digital, 2023; Pipe, 2023).

The key is to work across three horizons: short, medium, and long term (McKinsey, 2009; Jurevicius, 2025).

Short‑term growth: fast experiments, fast learnings

A clay ground might test two ads for an introductory lesson package. A gunroom could try two subject lines for a seasonal servicing offer. A rifle stock maker might tweak the wording on a landing page to see which version generates more enquiries.



These are rapid tests that give you feedback within days and improve conversion. The goal is not just a quick sale; it is learning. You discover which headline works, which channel is worth the money, and which offer actually resonates. The real prize is the ability to repeat and scale the improvement again and again (Pipe, 2023; MADX Digital, 2023).

Medium‑term growth: systems that compound

Think email nurture sequences, loyalty schemes, and referral programmes. A gun shop might run a “points for purchases” system to encourage repeat sales. A clay ground could build a six‑email welcome series to keep new members coming back and help them discover the full range of services. A shooting coach might offer a discount when a client brings a friend.



These initiatives take months to show results, but they extend customer lifetime value and reduce churn (Lean Labs, 2023). That is real growth.

Long‑term growth: assets that work while you sleep

This is where SEO, content marketing, and community building live. It is the slowest, but the most powerful lever. A rifle maker who publishes calibre guides and stalking articles can, over time, dominate Google search results. A clay school that builds a YouTube library of tips gradually creates a global audience. A gunroom that nurtures an online community builds loyalty that cannot be copied overnight.



These efforts do not deliver instant ROI, but once established they produce consistent, compounding returns (Lean Labs, 2023).

What unites all three horizons is measurement. Whether you are testing ads, nurturing customers by email, or building an SEO library, the numbers tell you what is working. That makes growth marketing especially attractive in the gun trade, where every pound needs to be justified (Pipe, 2023; MADX Digital, 2023).

The Different Nature of Brand Marketing

Brand marketing is something else entirely. It is not about tweaking offers or optimising click‑through rates. It is about how you are seen, remembered, and valued.

Where growth is measurable and efficient, brand is often expensive, slow, and hard to quantify. It is the glossy film of your engravers at work. The brochure that tells your heritage story. The sponsorship of a high‑profile clay competition.

Brand creates associations. Done well, it gives you pricing power, loyalty, and prestige. It is why names like Purdey, Holland & Holland, and Rigby command their prices. Their brand is not a logo; it is a centuries‑old story that sets them apart (Azarian Growth Agency, 2024; Ramotion, 2025).



The challenge is that brand spend feels risky. Run a Facebook campaign and you will see how many leads arrive within a week. Sponsor an event and you cannot point to exactly how many sales came out of it. That does not mean it does not work; it means it works differently (Ramotion, 2025).

Comparing the Two

• Growth marketing is about performance and efficiency (Pipe, 2023; Ramotion, 2025)

• Brand marketing is about perception and prestige (Azarian Growth Agency, 2024; Ramotion, 2025)

Growth can deliver results today and set up compounding gains for tomorrow. Brand is slower, harder to measure, and usually costs more, but it is the thing that makes people choose you even when you are not the cheapest (Nataliabandach, 2024).

The Gun Trade Context

Imagine two businesses.

Business A is a clay ground that leans into growth. They run ads, test offers, and build their SEO presence. They know exactly how many new members come from each channel. They are efficient, but outside their patch they are invisible.

Business B is a heritage gunmaker that leans into brand. They produce films and brochures and sponsor events. Their name is recognised across the industry, but they cannot easily tie that spend back to specific sales.

Neither approach is wrong. The businesses that endure do both. They build reputation and loyalty through brand, and they keep the sales pipeline flowing through growth.

Why This Matters

If you run a shooting business, be honest about where your spend is going. Growth marketing is attractive because it is measurable. Brand is harder because it is costlier and you cannot easily prove ROI.

But without brand, you risk becoming a commodity. Without growth, you risk being forgotten.

Quick takeaway

• Track your growth efforts across short, medium, and long horizons
• Ring‑fence a percentage of budget for brand every quarter
• Do not expect brand to “pay back” like an ad; expect it to lift everything else you do (Nataliabandach, 2024; Lean Labs, 2023)

Looking Ahead

This first part has been about defining the two disciplines and drawing the line between them. Growth spans short, medium, and long‑term strategies, each measurable and performance‑led. Brand is slower, more expensive, and harder to measure, but it builds the trust and pricing power no competitor can steal quickly.

In Part Two, we will look at how the smartest businesses combine them, and why the balance is the difference between being just another name in the trade and being a business customers would not dream of leaving.

As always, I am happy to help. Drop me a message at monty@mk38.co.uk or find me on Instagram @MontyShoots.

References

1. Azarian Growth Agency (2024) Growth Marketing vs. Brand Marketing: Key Differences. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 September 2025].
2. Jurevicius, O. (2025) McKinsey’s Three Horizons of Growth Model Explained.
3. Strategic Management Insight, 16 May 2025. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 September 2025].
4. Lean Labs (2023) Brand Marketing vs. Growth Marketing: Which is Best For .... [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 September 2025].
5. MADX Digital (2023) What is Growth Marketing? Everything You Need To Know. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 September 2025].
6. McKinsey (2009) Enduring Ideas: The three horizons of growth. [online] McKinsey Quarterly, 1 December 2009. Available at: [Accessed 1 September 2025].
7. Nataliabandach (2024) The Battle for Business: Brand Marketing vs Growth Marketing. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 September 2025].
8. Pipe (2023) The Definitive Guide to Growth Marketing. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 September 2025].
9. Ramotion (2025) Growth Marketing vs Brand Marketing. [online] 18 July 2025. Available at: [Accessed 1 September 2025].