Does S & W read this forum?

[ImDrRich]

I've seen service complaints, quality control issues, and other problems and despite all this my S&Ws are all excellent.

I'm wondering if anyone at the company reads this and once in awhile reports back about problems specific to a given model.

 

[Echo40]

Doubtfully.

Unfortunately, firearms manufacturers don't host their own official forums, so most forums are made by fans with absolutely no affiliation to the brand.
Furthermore, firearms manufacturers don't often have executives who browse fan forums seeking consumer feedback.

It's honestly quite surprising that firearms manufacturers don't host their own forums seeing as it would serve the dual purpose of creating a venue for market research, not to mention public relations/fan appreciation, but for whatever reason it isn't done.

 

[CalmerThanYou]

I bet they lurk.

 

[moralem]

What for, to keep an eye on 200000 members and then at anygiven time only about 1% of them are on line.....low volume low reward.

 

[BC38]

I don't know about S&W, but I know Taurus used to have folks monitoring the Taurusarmed.net forum.
The CEO actually used to post occasionally. With the new management I think they dropped that practice though.

Personally, if S&W didn't hire some low-paid intern to monitor the forums and write up reports on what they come across, I'd be extremely surprised. Talk about cheap market research on your fan-base. They couldn't get a bigger bang for their buck than that anywhere.

 

[MattyD380]

Big companies invest a ___load in consumer research. Focus groups. Product concept testing. Quantitative surveys. I work for an agency that does that kind of work--for all kinds of consumer goods.

In a sense, you could see a forum like this as free consumer research. Simply by lurking, they could glean any number of insights--which could then be tested in focus groups, etc. and lead to meaningful product innovation.

So, I'd be willing to bet they do look, some. But they probably don't capitalize on it like they should.

In any case... if you guys are looking...

Revive the 3rd gens as "4th gens," with modern, premium features and custom tuning. Launch the line under a new sub brand, and get a well-known handgun guru to get behind them. Sell them for a grand a piece, and you'll attract new customers as well as old-school DA/SA fans. Happy to lend a hand if you need help doing any of the above

 

[Dieseltech56]

I really doubt the current Smith and Wesson cares what we think. Most of us probably don't buy that many new guns anyways

 

[sturtyboy]

Forget low paid anyone...The CEO should be looking as well as other corporate officials. They should be extremely interested how Smith & Wesson products are viewed and spoken of. Especially, by those who have been loyal customers and collectors.

I invite any of the corporate guys to comment on this thread and let us know you're out there and really interested in your product enough to spend the time to find out what's being said.

Get some real firsthand ideas of what is being said....good and bad.

 

[LPD256]

Hey you sneaky S&W executives. If you read this, I'm available to shoot your guns extensively and report back. You don't even have to pay me. Just supply ammunition. Thank you.......

 

[bigggbbruce]

One of the 1911 forums I've frequented, the service manager from Colt was a member and interacted personally with requests for service information..

Was cool until Colt let him go...

 

[Muss Muggins]

I don't know of a company that takes product ideas from what 20 or 30 anonymous internet posters happen to think about a particular issue. That seems to be the average number of posts before a thread dies. The longest running thread on this forum was the infamous "Thread Drift" thread, which had nothing to do with Smith & Wesson. It's fun to talk about, but thinking that Smith & Wesson would change a production line based on what is said here is like expecting a couple executives to show up on my back porch to talk guns. Ain't gonna happen, and really, it shouldn't . . .

 

[Laketime]

I know of several watch company's that not only monitor forums, but actually participate with its members to get feedback and wish lists.Surprising how many designs came about from veteran forum members wish lists.I have never seen this in the gun world , and don't expect to ever see it unfortunately .

 

[00Buck2]

Ok I will take a shot

How about a new blue/wood model 547, with adjustable sights, in 2.5". I'm on the verge of pulling the trigger on the Ruger SP101.

 

[BC38]

Forget low paid anyone...The CEO should be looking as well as other corporate officials. They should be extremely interested how Smith & Wesson products are viewed and spoken of. Especially, by those who have been loyal customers and collectors.

I invite any of the corporate guys to comment on this thread and let us know you're out there and really interested in your product enough to spend the time to find out what's being said.

Get some real firsthand ideas of what is being said....good and bad.

Yeah, the guys who run companies don't usually have that kind of time to spare, and based on their compensation the time they have is too costly for that.

I just retired from a Fortune 100 company. I can tell you for 100% certain they have very young low-paid employees cruising the 'net, and social media, and such looking for what people are saying about the company and its products - as a way of marketing and consumer research.

They write reports, and include links to the most "interesting" things they find to their higher-ups. If it is interesting or important enough it moves on up the chain. It is part of the company's marketing department.

I've personally talked to some of the kids getting paid to do it. Like I said, the ROI or bang for the buck is definitely there. If an industry leader like S&W isn't doing some of that same kind of thing they're certainly missing out on an opportunity.

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

... I'm wondering if anyone at the company reads this and once in awhile reports back.. .

I thought I was working here. (?) [emoji12]

.... and I'm being paid exactly what I'm worth. [emoji848]

 

[CH4]

I don't know about S&W, but as an affiliate of Armscor Precision International/RIA several of us religiously follow and respond to product feedback through various forums. I know EB and DW also has representatives on these sites.

 

[hoc9sw]

I was told by a S&W CS guy that they do not look at web sites. There could certainly be someone doing it in another area, but to his knowledge, no. We were having a long talk about Shield issues while someone searched for a part, and I brought it up.

 

[slabside2]

Smith + Wesson could give a **** about me and you and our opinions Smith + Wesson cares about one thing.....MONEY!

 

[murphydog]

If you click on "Forum" at the upper left corner of the home page, then scroll down to General Topics, you will find a link to: "Smith & Wesson - The Wish List". So you never know.

Yes, things have to make financial sense to them and all, but personally I always heard the K frame .357 was never coming back and it did. So you never know .

 

[Green Frog]

Smith + Wesson could give a **** about me and you and our opinions Smith + Wesson cares about one thing.....MONEY!

BUUUT, interest generates sales and sales generate... MONEY.

While the average number of posts may be 20-30, the ones that generate pages of discussion about one model or variant might be worth a look. An example that comes to mind for me at least is the thread I started about 5 years ago for "Project 616" and its building. It went on for 4-5 pages and still gets an occasional "LIKE." In addition, several posters made a comment along the lines of "I hope somebody from S&W is reading this" or "I wish somebody from S&W would read this!" I'm no marketing expert, but it seems to me that where there is a lot of interest there is at least potential for a lot of sales, JMHO of course and what do I know?

Froggie

 

[Gunhacker]

There is at least one CEO of a firearms company that pays attention to social media and even encourages emails... Anthony Imperato of Henry Repeating Arms.

And they are prospering... adding guns to their product line based on that feedback, and they can't keep up with the demand.

S&W could take a lesson.

 

[Muss Muggins]

While the average number of posts may be 20-30, the ones that generate pages of discussion about one model or variant might be worth a look.

There's really only one issue on this forum that regularly generates pages and pages of passionate discussion (well, besides the Postal Service, bear ammunition, and open carry). So significant that we have specific rules about discussing it. If a company were going to listen to customer feedback and enact change, that would be the first place they'd start . . .

 

[hkcavalier]

There is at least one CEO of a firearms company that pays attention to social media and even encourages emails... Anthony Imperato of Henry Repeating Arms.

And they are prospering... adding guns to their product line based on that feedback, and they can't keep up with the demand.

S&W could take a lesson.

Henry and Ruger seem to be best at filling niches right now.

Kel-Tec does a good job of creating new ones, though I think they're running out of ideas and their unwillingness to chamber in other calibers is limiting their sales IMO.

There is so much opportunity with S&W, but like Colt and Remington they just don't seem to want to make the leap.

 

[dben002]

I seriously doubt they have any interest here...

They may on occasion (when bad review's show up on U-Tube)
have a passing moment of interest if it is brought to their attention.

What they pay attention to is market share and sales.
Forums like this do nothing for either of those.

If any manufacturer of any product was interested in what their customers thought they would have focus group's to gain insights of the customer's thinking.....

 

[Brandon0413]

I was told by a nice lady that she will not look at the forum

I sent them some magazines I bought new for a cs45 that didn't work right. They were obviously defective.

I started a thread here with detailed pictures describing the problem and some people who know what they are talking about said by the looks of them they obviously have a problem.

I called and talked to someone at s&w and they said I could send the magazines in for inspection.

Some time later I called and asked for an update. The nice lady had no idea what I was talking about. I told her I had sent her some magazines and asked if they read my letter or looked at the thread here on the forum. She told me she will not look at the forum. She didn't know where my mags were. So she sent me two new ones with the same problem. Wow. Thanks for the help! I even emailed her back a few times but never got a response.

 

[Echo40]

I think that if firearms manufacturers were interested in gaining marketing research via forums then they'd be better served making an official forums than browsing fan forums.

I remember that the Walther forums used to have a marketing analyst who would browse the forums and even post in threads semi-regularly, but eventually he got another job working for another company and drifted away. Nobody ever replaced him, (not vocally, at least) but I'm really not surprised seeing how hyper-critical the average user is in regards to Walther and their products, most often going into the realms of outright bashing than constructive criticism, ergo the Walther forums are essentially worthless for marketing research when almost everyone there is against the company, favoring only the Walther of a bygone era with standards which admittedly wouldn't be economical/profitable today.

Granted that the Walther forums are an extreme example, but many other forums have userbases consisting largely of haters/trolls who do nothing but nitpick minor details and bash the company without ever offering any suggestions on how they could improve their business, and the moderators are either complacent or in agreement with such negative sentiments.

Imagine if this very forum hadn't enacted rules against bellyaching over keylocks? There would be out of control whining about it everywhere and if S&W ever came here for research, they really couldn't find any new or helpful information, just the same regurgitated criticism they've been getting for decades which they obviously have no intention of addressing.

Forums can potentially be a good source of marketing research, but only under ideal circumstances in which the forum has a dedicated userbase of fans who regularly preovide in-depth information in regards to how they feel the company could improve and/or the products that they would like to see, as well as a staff who enforces strict rules against bashing, which sadly isn't too common.
So yeah, any firearms manufacturers who are interested in gaining meaningful marketing research from forums would be best served by hosting their own official forums, thus providing a controlled environment in which users would be most likely to provide useful information, and troublemakers would swiftly get the boot.

 

[TTSH]

Oh, they look alright. Some of them do anyway.

But they will NEVER, EVER post. Not in a million years.

 

[BC38]

I think that if firearms manufacturers were interested in gaining marketing research via forums then they'd be better served making an official forums than browsing fan forums.

I remember that the Walther forums used to have a marketing analyst who would browse the forums and even post in threads semi-regularly, but eventually he got another job working for another company and drifted away. Nobody ever replaced him, (not vocally, at least) but I'm really not surprised seeing how hyper-critical the average user is in regards to Walther and their products, most often going into the realms of outright bashing than constructive criticism, ergo the Walther forums are essentially worthless for marketing research when almost everyone there is against the company, favoring only the Walther of a bygone era with standards which admittedly wouldn't be economical/profitable today.

Granted that the Walther forums are an extreme example, but many other forums have userbases consisting largely of haters/trolls who do nothing but nitpick minor details and bash the company without ever offering any suggestions on how they could improve their business, and the moderators are either complacent or in agreement with such negative sentiments.

Imagine if this very forum hadn't enacted rules against bellyaching over keylocks? There would be out of control whining about it everywhere and if S&W ever came here for research, they really couldn't find any new or helpful information, just the same regurgitated criticism they've been getting for decades which they obviously have no intention of addressing.

Forums can potentially be a good source of marketing research, but only under ideal circumstances in which the forum has a dedicated userbase of fans who regularly provide in-depth information in regards to how they feel the company could improve and/or the products that they would like to see, as well as a staff who enforces strict rules against bashing, which sadly isn't too common.
So yeah, any firearms manufacturers who are interested in gaining meaningful marketing research from forums would be best served by hosting their own official forums, thus providing a controlled environment in which users would be most likely to provide useful information, and troublemakers would swiftly get the boot.

Very interesting post. The ideal marketing research forum you describe bears a striking resemblance to this one - with one exception. S&W doesn't have to dedicate the resources to managing it. Lee and his team does that. So why wouldn't they monitor it?

 

[rwsmith]

Most big companies don't want suggestions.......

The bottom line is all they care about. Someone with a suggestion is told, maybe in not so many words, to go mind their own business.

We had a finished paper product that was mangled when it rolled off the the line because it was rolling in the wrong direction and the crew taped the mangled end down. They have product 'turners' in some places on the line already. A guy figured and measured and came to the conclusion that there was room for a final 'turner' to prevent sending out mangled paper. He was pretty much told to not to make trouble. And if you go around that person who is on a higher level, your behind is grass.

 

[Echo40]

Very interesting post. The ideal marketing research forum you describe bears a striking resemblance to this one - with one exception. S&W doesn't have to dedicate the resources to managing it. Lee and his team does that. So why wouldn't they monitor it?

For all I know, perhaps they do.