Best of the Best: Doing Your Own Infomercial

Published

21 years ago

May 1, 2003

[h3]Windsor Jewelers; Augusta Georgia[/h3]

Best of the Best Logo [dropcap cap=D]onnie Thompson, owner of Windsor Jewelers in Augusta, Georgia, was attending a seminar in New York when what he calls “the little idea light in my head” went off. His inspiration? A conversation with seminar visitors at his table who happened to be employees of QVC, HSN and Value Vision.[/dropcap]

[componentheading]THE IDEA[/componentheading]

Thompson headed back to Augusta with one thought in mind. If the home shopping programs have been successful in educating, communicating, presenting and selling jewelry to consumers, why couldn’t Windsor Jewelers create their own home shopping experience?

[componentheading]THE EXECUTION[/componentheading]

Don MacNeil, head of Windsor’s marketing team and an experienced media hand, met with cable companies and created an infomercial format that has significantly expanded the company’s market reach in a cost-effective manner. The show runs for 30 minutes and new shows are taped on a bi-monthly basis and air seven days a week in the Augusta and Columbia market.

Best of the Best: Doing Your Own Infomercial

[componentheading]THE REWARDS[/componentheading]

“After reviewing the air-time costs of cable TV in our market, we found the rates surprisingly workable and response and sales from prospects and customers via the show have been exceptional,” says MacNeil.

The Windsor Info-merical Show includes the store’s own salespeople and creates the perfect atmosphere for informing customers about the store’s brands and telling them about the backgrounds and manufacturing techniques of many of their chosen designers and watch brands. The store carries over 60 brands and has an inventory of more than 50,000 jewelry items.

What’s next? Says Thompson: “We can learn a lot from these companies who have shown us that professional presentation and romantic explanation are invaluable to selling jewelry. What’s more, you never know when and where the next big idea will come from, but being open to trying something new is indeed key.”

[span class=note]This story is from the May 2003 edition of INSTORE[/span]

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”