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Ten years ago, Smyth Jewelers in Baltimore, MD, decided it no
longer wanted to be seen as the store where your mom and grandma shopped. To draw a younger crowd, it launched a campaign featuring irreverent billboards (“Too late, your girlfriend just saw me” a ring said in one), beer coaster ring-sizers, guerrilla marketing and social-media ads. The result? Smyth has thrived. During INTERGENERATION MONTH, stop wringing your hands over millennials and start experimenting with ways to get these hip young customers in your store.

This article originally appeared in the August 2015 edition of INSTORE.

1 To mark SUBLIMINAL COMMUNICATIONS MONTH, note the eye color of every customer who walks in the door. Those few extra seconds it takes you to lock your gaze on their eyes will connect you better with customers, and you may well find people becoming more responsive to you.

9 If there is one lesson to be taken from the rise of KFC into a global powerhouse, it’s the power of persistence. Harland David Sanders was 62 by the time he sold his first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise — after no fewer than 1,000 rejections. On the 125th anniversary of Colonel Sanders’ birthday, go make an offer to someone who would be good for your business but will likely reject you. If you fail, know that you’re one step closer to success.

14 On National Boss/Employee Exchange Day swap your owner’s hat for a worker’s bandana. It’s a morale-building way to tap into your team’s intelligence by teaching them to think like owners. Arm them with store data and ask them to make a couple of management decisions. Their view of their role will change quickly when they see how their actions affect profits. You may also hear some surprising new ideas.

15 If someone told you about a demographic that was growing fast, was a big holiday spender, bought jewelry at higher rates than other ethnic groups, and numbered, oh, 50 million, you’d probably suspect we’re engaged in some pointless marketing speculation. But that group exits: Latinos! And it’s mostly overlooked by jewelers. During NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, make your store the exception. If there’s a sizable Hispanic population in your market, be sure to display signs in Spanish, include Spanish on your website, have a Spanish speaker on staff and be advertising in local Hispanic media.

23 Autumn is here, when trees lose their leaves, and squirrels and jewelers start getting nervous about their inventory. Take the staff outside for a brainstorming meeting while you still can go outside. It’s time to get serious and creative. There are fewer than 100 days until Christmas.

25 Whether it was inspired by LOVE NOTE DAY, we’re not sure, but Shane Co. unveiled a cool contest a few years back when they invited the residents of Denver to declare their love on one of the company’s billboards. Customers could submit their love notes via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or in person with the best 50 getting billboard treatment. Great press, great sentiments, great exposure. Could you do something similar today?

29 On National Coffee Day, team up with a gourmet coffee shop to hand out gift cards, do some pairings of Fairtrade brew and gems: coffee from Indonesia, Colombia and Kenya with Balinese silver, emeralds and Tsvavorite; or maybe just treat yourself to a fine brew and savor being surrounded by good taste.

S T O R E    A N N I V E R S A R I E S

110 Years: Churchwell’s Jewelers

Emerald Isle, NC

➤ For the first four decades of its 110 years, Churchwell’s operated as a one-woman shop that dispensed bridal gifts. When founder Mary Churchwell sold out, the store expanded to become a full-service jeweler. Today, Churchwell’s remains a small family-run jeweler, but its nautical- and equestrian-themed jewelry is sold at shows and events around the country. “One thing that Churchwell’s has learned is that you have to go out and get your customers; they don’t always just come to you,” owner Anderson Bass says.

B I R T H S T O N E S

Sapphire

In comparison to sapphire, ruby is a one-color pony. The “other” corundum comes in a range of colors including yellow, green, white, colorless, pink, orange, brown and purple, although it is in glorious blue that it has made its name. Sapphire is the official birthstone for the month of September and is the gemstone suggested for 5th and 45th wedding anniversaries.