Companies and Brands

Why Is The NRA Offering Discounts On Memberships?

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: July 1, 2016 10:26 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 6:09 am

Any business school professor would say that a cut in the price of membership by an organization is a sign of weakness, or an attempt to build a customer base by using discounts to drive traffic. The NRA recently offered a “dues roll-back” which relies on worry that Hillary Clinton has continued to push for bans of certain weapons which “is a war on the Second Amendment”

The offer signed by Wayne LaPierre the Executive Vice President and spokesman of the NRA reads:

To keep our guns after the next election – and preserve our way of life that generations of patriots have fought and died to defend – I need you to renew your membership or even become an NRA Life Member today.

To make it easier for you to make one of these commitments, I’ve reserved some very generous NRA membership discounts in your name. You’ll save $5 up to $1000 when you renew or become a Life Member, PLUS you’ll get a SPECIAL GIFT depending on the membership you choose.

The federal government might put some limits on the types of guns which can be sold, or add background checks. Taking away everyone’s guns is probably another matter.

Whatever the government’s plan may be, the renewal offer may help the NRA build a new war chest to help challenge Congressional action on gun use or purchases. Discounts usually encourage new money for the organization which offered the discount.  The financial risk is that this takes money which might be collected later. That makes the discounts a hard decision. The decision is made easier because it captures people who might not renew in the future, for some reason

The method set up to get the discount is that current members must sign in with their NRA membership number (and a code which makes sure the sign up has not been done by a robot). The “special” nature of the offer can also be a marketing inducement. It’s not open to everyone.

Does the NRA really need money to fight Clinton, or does it want to renew people now (who also might not renew in the future)? Good question.