Over the last two years, global events have transformed how companies engage with their customers. When the physical world shut down, consumers were rewired to become digital-first, relying on digital channels as lifelines for shopping, working, socializing and entertainment. In the process, customers began interacting and transacting with brands in new ways, further changing digital behavior.

While brick-and-mortar businesses have since reopened, the pandemic’s acceleration of the digital revolution has challenged companies to rethink and optimize the digital customer experience. Insights captured from this ongoing evolution were recently published in Adobe’s 2022 Digital Trends Report, produced in collaboration with Econsultancy.

Having surveyed nearly 10,000 marketers, consultants and practitioners from across all industries, the report shares trends in marketing, advertising, content, commerce and customer experience. Among them, survey participants were asked about internal barriers holding back their organization’s marketing and customer experience.

Internal Barriers
Asked to check any internal barriers their organization were experiencing, results of the 3,800 respondents were broken into three categories – Leaders, Mainstream and Laggards – determined by a Marketing Organization Performance Index (MOPI). The highest MOPI scores were assigned Leaders, the lowest Laggards, and Mainstream in between.

Of the eight answer selections ­– including “No internal barriers” – more Mainstream (42%) and Laggards (50%) checked “Poor integration of tech systems” than any other internal barrier, also ranking third (24%) among Leaders. Combined, the perceived barrier to customer experience was selected by more survey respondents than any other, beating out “Lack of digital skills/capabilities,” “Lack of innovation” and “Workflow issues.”

Lacking Integration
While some firearms businesses still rely on paper ATF Forms 4473 and serial number logbooks, most FFLs today use digital or cloud-based technologies to perform the same tasks. From tracking raw materials and finished firearm inventory to processing customer transactions and selling products online, technology has transformed how firearms are manufactured, distributed and sold. However, most of this technology is task-specific, requiring FFLs to use multiple tools and/or vendors to operate.

But the firearms industry isn’t alone. According to the Adobe report, 42% of practitioners either use multiple technologies or vendors for customer experience management without a unifying platform or internally developed solutions. While capable of working, managing multiple tools and vendors can often lead to operational inefficiencies and greater expenses for businesses.

The Orchid Solution
At Orchid, we pride ourselves on being a one-stop shop for FFLs, offering digital technology for firearm manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers alike. Further, our technology is designed to seamlessly integrate with both Orchid software and third-party tools.

Comprised of five different solutions, our retail FFL package integrates an industry-leading Bound Book and point-of-sale system in Orchid eBound™ and Orchid POS™ with a custom ecommerce builder (Orchid eCommerce™), ­digital storage solution (Orchid eStorage™) and firearm-friendly merchant processor (Orchid Pay™). These tools also integrate with ATF eZ Check for automatic FFL lookup, AmmoReady’s live distributor catalogs and firearm dropshipping capabilities, Constant Contact email marketing, 4473 Cloud digital storage of Forms 4473, payment card devices and more.

For firearm manufacturers, Orchid ERP™ integrates with top enterprise resource planning offerings from Oracle Netsuite, SAP, Epicor and Sage to optimize key functions, including inventory management and firearm marking. Orchid has also developed connected tools for these functions – Orchid IM™ and Orchid eSerial™ – each with their own hardware integrations.

By eliminating siloed tools and the need to juggle multiple vendors, Orchid’s integrated technologies have enabled FFLs to increase operational efficiency, maximize profits, reduce compliance risk and eliminate internal barriers for a better customer experience.

To learn more about Orchid’s FFL technology, its software and hardware integrations, and to schedule a demo, contact us today to get started and position your firearms business for success in the digital age.