MARKETINGNew Page, Old Book
Laura Stanley, owner of Stanley Jewelers Gemologist in North Little Rock, AR, says her book club, Glitterature, is one of the most effective things her store does in terms of marketing. “We discuss a book that is related to jewelry. I present a 15-minute PowerPoint on a category of jewelry with live samples, and everyone has a fun evening,” she explains. “The best thing is my book club girls are an army of disciples. They feel special and they recommend me to their friends.”
SERVICEYour Jewelry Is Served
Never discount the power of presentation. Give your jewelry to the crew at Nyman Jewelers in Excanaba, MI, for a check and a clean, and it’s handed back on a plate, literally. “We deliver the jewelry back to them arranged nicely on a fancy saucer with a piece of lace, and we add a Hershey Kiss for them as well,” says co-owner Sue Parker. A lasting impression is guaranteed.
SECURITYEntrepreneur Beware
Every so often, you’ll read a news story about a seemingly street-smart business person who does something inexplicable, like wire hundreds of thousands of dollars to a man peddling a story about hidden gold. The reason, as psychology writer Maria Konnikova points out in her podcast, is that entrepreneurial types are actually more susceptible to being conned. They’re risk-takers who trust their own judgment, and they know too much caution can be fatal. But the trait that made them a success is the same one that can spell their undoing. As we move through tax scam season, take care if you’re one of those entrepreneurs whose boldness and lack of skepticism has been a key factor in your success.
HUMAN RESOURCESThe Customer Comes Second
Mucklow’s Fine Jewelry team in Peachtree City, GA, are inspired by Virgin Group founder Richard Branson’s approach and often use the following two quotes:
1. The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers.
2. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.
Mucklow’s does that with lots of paid vacation, staff-friendly hours and other benefits. It must be doing something right. It was a finalist in our 2018 America’s Coolest Store contest.
IN-STOREMeet the hardest working dog in jewelry
Have a store hound lying around near the diamond case. Give it some training and put it to work, a la the jewelers at M. Flynn Boston, whose dog “does tricks that help distract children while their parents shop.”
PRODUCTIVITYPhysical Action = Results
You’ve got a thousand things to do, but some just seem to elude completion. The problem could be that you’re not phrasing your tasks correctly, says productivity guru David Allen, author of Getting Things Done. He notes that in the context of daily work, physical actions are the only things you can do. That’s why a surprisingly powerful anti-procrastination trick is to keep rephrasing a task until it involves the use of your limbs: “Pick up phone and call…”, “Open laptop and search for…”