Page 2 - July/August 2022 Outdoor Oklahoma

PANORAMAS

R3 is the moniker for maintaining and growing a of both retention and recruitment efforts works
customer base, to maintain relevancy and accom- into drawing lapsed customers (reactivation) back
plish goals. Recruit, Retain, Reactivate. in the game.
R3 is the foundation of success for any busi- At a recent conference, I heard about conser-
ness. The challenge for conservation agencies vation freeloaders: those who reap the benefits
is that our “products” are participation-based. of our hard work but don’t contribute a dime
Before customers contribute to ODWC’s con- for conservation.
servation mission (buying licenses), we must The presenter said he was a freeloader and
continually recruit, retain, or reactivate them in asked why agencies don’t require them to do
outdoor activities. their part. They may be engaged but simply don’t
Wade Free Our “outdoor products” involve time, and a lot of contribute. He was a biker, hiker, photographer,
it. Engaging people in a new interest or pastime when and climber who used WMAs for free.
folks barely have enough time to get home from work, ODWC is a leader in the R3 campaign. My motto
take care of the kids, and get to bed before midnight is “Replace yourself, plus one!” As locked-in hunt-
gets downright difficult. We have a lot of competition, ers or anglers, it is our duty to share. Sharing
and people are busy! If you have kids, it’s all you can with family is, in most cases, a no brainer, and
do just to make it to all the ballgames! surveys show most new recruits are introduced to
It’s only for the last 10 years or so that con- the conservation arena by a family member. But
servation agencies really began to focus on R3 what about outside of family tradition? Have you
to address declines in hunting and fishing par- focused on non-family? That is the next level.
ticipation. When it comes to license sales (our As someone who has introduced many new-
life blood), agencies have historically operated bies to outdoor sports, I can attest that seeing
like the department of motor vehicles. Everyone someone get “hooked” is more rewarding than
knows they need a driver license, right, so why do anything we can personally achieve with a catch
we need to market that? If folks want to hunt or or harvest. When my boys were in high school, I
fish, they know where to buy a license, right? spent many days mentoring them while encour-
The need to hunt and fish isn’t in the same aging their friends to tag along on duck, dove,
category as the need to drive a car, so we must quail, and deer hunts, and more fishing trips than
hard-sell our product before we get someone I can count. At the time, they thought “we were
interested in buying a license. Keeping folks in our just fishing.” But years later, these kids are now
license pool is a huge challenge. conservation mentors raising kids and influencing
With R3 campaigns, agencies have implement- new customers!
ed human-dimension-based science, identified When someone comes up to you years later
target customers, and developed focused strat- and says, “I have dogs and a double-barrel gun
egies for the future. We now have roadmaps for because of you,” it confirms our labor pays off.
success, and our customers are part of that. That is R3. To have a profound influence on
One of the challenges becomes where to put someone’s outdoor future is a reward light-years
our eggs. Certainly not all in one basket. Today, beyond any Boone and Crockett deer, record bass,
there is a big buzz over recruitment, diversity, or anything one can personally accomplish. I chal-
inclusion, and new customers. While those are lenge you to share your blessing at the next level. If
critical initiatives, at the end of the day we have you are not a hunter or angler and want to give it a
a solid customer base that we best spend most try, your challenge is to reach out to those that are
of our time and resources on. Active hunters and and inquire. Maybe you can be the “plus one!”
anglers pay the bills.
Customer service keeps customers (reten-
tion), and we must provide opportunities to the
already-engaged folks while trying to reach new
customers (recruitment) as we move along. A mix Wade Free, Assistant Director of Operations

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OutdoorOK-2022-July-August.indd 2
OutdoorOK-2022-July-August.indd 2 6/16/2022 3:15:03 PM