Industry Insider: Code Red Headsets

Anywhere you go in the airsoft world 90% of the time you will see someone using a Code Red Headset product. It being at a milsim event or an everyday play event. From players to staff using them. They have a wide variety of helpful communication products and it isn’t just for airsoft. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Code Red Headset for a bit and they are a great company. Diane will tell you some more about what the company is about. 

• Can you tell the readers a little bit about your company? (what services you provide)

We are a 2-Way Radio accessories company. We manufacture professional quality headsets and remote speaker-microphones for most of the major brands of 2-Way Radio on the market. We also sell radio batteries and chargers.

Since 1999, our primary market has been law enforcement, but there are several industries that use the same equipment and many of those industries employ ex Law Enforcement (LE) personnel. Airsoft is most similar to our SWAT specific product lines, like tactical headsets.

• With the emergence of Covid-19 how has it affected your business? (good or bad)

The global Covid-19 pandemic has impacted every industry, most of them negatively. As we are all aware, Airsoft fields have been closed down, not just in the US, but our European distributor reports that Europe has been experiencing the same thing.

Our LE and Airsoft sales have been very strong, all things considered. Web sales were up last year, as was common for many companies. Hospitality and food/beverage are the industries that saw the most downturn, but it looks like they are on the brink of opening back up, which will be great for the economy.

All said, we stayed about even year-on-year for annual sales, which makes us feel very fortunate.

• In your opinion, do you think that Covid has helped or hurt the industry you provide your services to? (In what ways?)

Covid, has had an effect on everyone. Few industries showed gains, but on-line sales is one area that continued to grow. It is hard to imagine that the Global Pandemic was anything but negative. Supply chain issues and logistics/shipping delays affected every aspect of business worldwide. If we can take anything positive out of it, it has highlighted some of the vulnerabilities of the modern manufacturing chain, so we have all learned very valuable lessons.

• Do you feel that your company provides adequate customer service to those customers who are purchasing products from you?

We consider customer service our highest priority. Hopefully that comes across to our customer base. Our feedback and reviews are overwhelmingly positive. When we do receive negative feedback, we try to resolve any issues we can, as quickly as possible. Usually we do.

One area that we struggled with in 2020 was unusually long delivery times, especially around the holidays. Most customers are understanding, and I cannot recall an issue from the past 12 months where we were not able to resolve it in a mutually satisfactory way. 

• What makes your company different than the ones that do the same exact thing in the industry?

Our goal is excellent quality, World Class customer service, and fair pricing. Our products are professional grade: we do not make an “Airsoft” specific product line. All of our cables are Kevlar reinforced and made to withstand aggressive daily use. I think we do a good job in those three areas, but we are continually striving for improvement. We listen to our customers and make product line changes based on their feedback. Sometimes that includes improving or discontinuing a product that does not meet our quality standards. These values should be at the core of every company. We believe if we stay true to those values, we will maintain a loyal following.

• What makes you want to keep doing what you do in the community?

We enjoy what we do. Our product line is technical, but not “bleeding edge” technology, so it keeps us engaged, while being robust and proven. Getting those products out to the market place and in the hands of the end user can sometimes be a challenge. The positive feedback and reviews we get make the hard work worthwhile. Our long term goal is to expand our product offering and increase our brand awareness. As long as we can provide high quality products that are well received, we will continue to do what we are doing.

• What are your current hot products that everyone is grabbing?

Early last year we introduced our Nexus product line including several Dual PTT options. To increase awareness and help inform and educate our customers, we created a technical blog under the “Tech resources” section of our website. We also created a Dual PTT for the Baofeng UV 82 HP, which I believe is the only one on the market for this fairly new and unique “true dual channel” radio. Those products are getting a lot of attention and the Nexus US NATO connection means they can be used with many other products in the industry.

Aside from that, our tried and true products like the Modular Series of tactical headsets and our Signal 21 remote speaker mic and listen only earpieces remain big sellers.

• Where can people reach out to you?

The main website is a wealth of information (www.coderedheadsets.com) or e-mail direct at info@coderedheadsets.com . We are also very active on social media, and there are links at the bottom of our main web page. Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on your favorite social media outlet. We routinely send out early announcements about new product or promotions, so stay connected!

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