RETAIL JEWELRY STORES promote their bridal business in myriad ways, each as unique as they are. Many retailers report that not only is the engagement ring business booming in 2021, but weddings postponed due to COVID-19 shutdowns have been rescheduled, leading to an unprecedented and urgent demand for wedding bands to seal the deal. The business is out there, so consider the best way to get your share of this important market. Maybe it’s time to dip a toe back into socially distanced events, or to plan a trunk show around a bridal trend, such as stacking bands, or break the news to your grooms that they need to buy a wedding-day gift. Here are just a handful of great ideas.
Clearly, This Guy Knows Diamonds!
Craig Husar’s most memorable bridal promotion was a 5-carat diamond giveaway, which he heavily advertised for 10 weeks throughout southeastern Wisconsin on TV, billboards and buses, generating nearly 6,000 entries and one thrilled winner. To promote the contest and announce both a move and a rebranding from Lyle Husar Designs to Craig Husar Fine Diamonds & Jewelry Designs, Craig’s brother, a Chicago-based photographer, spent hours trying to capture the perfect image of Craig holding a 5-carat diamond. After nearly giving up, Craig picked up a faceted Swarovski paperweight and pointed it at the camera, which led to the perfect shot. It worked for the promotion, while also successfully branding Craig as the diamond guy of Milwaukee.
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Raining Refunds
For two decades, B.C. Clark in Oklahoma has been running the promotion “Pray for Rain,” which they founded and trademarked more than 20 years ago. If it rains or snows an inch or more on a couple’s wedding day, the company refunds up to $5,000 on their engagement ring. They’ve had 225 winners (and counting), and the promotion never seems to lose its allure.
A Good Deal Can Be Irresistible
With an offer of up to 50 percent off, April’s two-day bridal sale at four of Bernie Robbins’ locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey was the most successful in its history. The diamond-specific bridal event included loose diamonds, mountings and wedding bands. Bernie Robbins buys most of their diamonds directly from De Beers and Alrosa, so they worked with these sightholders to bring in diamonds for the event. The sales team reached out through social media and email while the company increased its digital spend significantly. They worked with local partners to spread the word about the sale and sent a postcard mailer to their customer database, along with several e-blasts. Appointments were encouraged but not mandatory.
Would You Like A Honeymoon with That?
Tim and Sharon Ell of Zorells Jewelry in Bismarck, ND, found a way to send 80 couples to Cancun. Any couple who spent more than $4,000 on an engagement ring also got a honeymoon. “We drive most of our events around bridal, and a whole lot of people in central North Dakota are getting engaged because they want to go to Cancun!” says Tim, who bought dozens of vacation packages at a time and ran the promotion from January into the spring.
What? My Bride Needs A Gift, Too?
In a recent email campaign, New York City retailer Marisa Perry promoted the custom of grooms giving gifts to brides on their wedding days, both by clearing up confusion about the practice and suggesting specific gift items ranging from $800 to $5,600. It can be a significant add-on sale that may otherwise slip between the cracks of your bridal outreach. Headlined “The Wedding Gift. What is it, why it matters, and how to get it right!”, it continued, very conversationally, “A question we often get from our gentlemen is ‘What is the wedding gift? Is it a real thing, and what is it supposed to be?’ We get it, in a world of endless gifting, one more on the list can feel a little overwhelming! But don’t worry: this one is a really special one, and we are going to make it very easy!” That is followed by explaining the importance of the wedding gift through emotional imagery of real couples on their wedding days and eight staff gift suggestions ranging from earrings and tennis bracelets to statement necklaces.
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Can We Make Our Own Rings?
MAKE MADE Jewelry owners Katie Poterala and Danielle Miller Gilliam devoted half of their available square footage in their Greenville, SC, store to making jewelry and holding classes, including their popular wedding band workshops, which appeal to the experience seekers. They’re also showcasing their classes and in-house design and redesign processes via “behind the scenes” stories on Instagram, so their audience gets to see step-by-step how things are made.
What About the Wedding Party?
Mary Jo Chanski says visibility at bridal shows and a focus on all types of wedding related jewelry is one secret to success for Hannoush Jewelers in Rutland, VT. “Planning a wedding, typically on a budget, is tough. Stressful. Expensive!” she says. “We like to put the bridal party gift bug in their brains as soon as possible.” Along with a display case of wedding sets and bridal jewelry for the wedding day, they also bring samples of gifts for bridesmaids and groomsmen. “Flasks and knives seem to be great choices for the guys and pearl slides for our bridesmaids.” Engraving is available and they make the simple pearl slides in-house. “If you make yourself available to the customer not just as the person who sells them their rings, but is also helping them to plan ahead and save money, time and stress than they are forever grateful to you.”
As Addictive As Potato Chips
Steve Quick Jewelers in Chicago recently promoted a wedding and stacking band trunk show featuring a visit by jewelry designer Kalee Sholdt. The idea behind the promotion addressed the importance of the stacking trend in bridal, and donating a portion of the proceeds to the Quicks’ favorite nonprofit, Gem Legacy, added value for the socially conscious millennial and Gen Z ring shoppers. Highly professional social-media imagery associated with the promotion was sure to catch the eyes of collectors coveting endless options.