ONE OF THE things that jewelers often overlook are the multiple revenue streams that exist to them. Too many open their doors and hope that by Wednesday, customers will flood through to buy what they’re offering, and by Saturday they’ll be rich.
However, in this age, there are simply too many choices for consumers when it comes to retail purchasing. The sky’s the limit online, both in products available and vendors selling them, and consumers are well aware of it. This is especially true of younger consumers, who have never lived without the internet.
I find many of my coaching clients fixate on walk-in revenue because that’s how they launched their businesses and it’s what they know best. However, we need to take the blinders off to see what else is available.
Start with your store’s database. It probably contains a lot more than client names, which means there are many ways to segment it. You probably already have a wealth of information about customers’ likes and dislikes. Maybe they like particular designers or buy within a given price range. With this information, we can segment the database and make special offers to specific clients. Granted, we are still working within our primary revenue stream of selling jewelry; however, we are refining it to make the most of our marketing efforts and to yield a number of additional sales that would not have occurred without putting our database to work.
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At our store, we also deal in vintage, estate jewelry. As with segmenting our database according to vendors, we can also mine those clients who like vintage jewelry and create events and offers that cater specifically to them.
How did we get into this market? Over the years, many attorneys called on me to evaluate jewelry left in a family’s estate. This information was needed to enable beneficiaries to equitably divvy up the pieces or to know what to ask if they chose to sell it for fair distribution to all parties. In many cases, the family had no interest in the jewelry and simply wanted a check.
During the course of providing this service, I was often asked if I knew anyone who’d be a buyer for the jewelry. In effect, I was given the first right of refusal, so I let them know that not only could I help them appraise the pieces, but I was also a strong buyer as well. The result was my ability to create a new revenue stream for the business in selling estate and antique jewelry.
There are many people who buy nothing but estate jewelry. Modern pieces don’t fit their taste. If you aren’t currently offering estate jewelry, I strongly suggest you do! You can buy it in such a way that it allows you to make better profit.
Moreover, these pieces are no longer made and cannot be “shopped.” Get to know your local attorneys and develop relationships with them. This enabled us to create a substantial new revenue stream.
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