Jul. 3-9
MANAGEMENT Your business will only be valuable to a potential buyer if it can run successfully without you. Schedule a few days this month to step back and think strategically. Ask customers, friends, and neighbors for their opinions of your store. Don’t get defensive if they fault certain aspects of your service.
MARKETING It’s not just the nation’s birthday this week; July and August make this the No. 1 period for birthdays. (Almost one in five Americans is born in these two months.) Hit your mailing list with a birthday reminder. Somebody knows somebody who is having a birthday.
CUSTOMER SERVICE Make those six-month service calls. It’s been half a year since Christmas. Invite people to bring in jewelry for a checkup or appraisals. Don’t like to call? Handwrite thank-you notes to the 10 customers who spent the most with you in the first half of the year.
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Jul. 10-16
SALES FLOOR Take stock of your showcases. Repair and restore where necessary. Replace floorboards and worn counter pads used to demonstrate jewelry. Tattered or battered elements hurt the perceived value of your products.
IN-STORE Smell your store today. You heard us … just stand in the middle of your store and take a big, long sniff. What is your nose telling you? 1. We smell like a hospital; 2. We smell like our carpet shampoo; 3. We smell a lot like our bench jeweler, Big Hank; or 4. We have no smell at all. If it’s any of the above, consider adjusting your aroma by bringing in some fresh flowers … or scented candles … or coffee and fresh-baked cookies.
PLANNING Don’t let any more great ideas get away. Set up a “spark” file for all the terrific ideas you come across in your reading, in the dentist’s waiting room, in the shower, or as you work on next month’s roster.
Jul. 17-23
MARKETING When traffic slows, you need to get more active to get people in the store. Invite any and all customers to bring their diamond ring in for a free professional cleaning. What’s the investment cost? Time and cleaner. And you’ve probably got a bit of the former spare right now.
OPERATIONS If you don’t have one already, consider purchasing a ring cutter in case a customer’s jewelry needs to be cut off.
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Jul. 24-30
SEARCH Starting in July, make it a point to visit your Google My Business page every month to ensure all the information is correct and to add photos (action shots like your jeweler at his bench). Having a fully optimized page will help your jewelry store land near the top of the heap of competitors in local search.
MARKETING Begin assembling a “Hit List” of your top 100 customers and prepare a special direct mail/email blast to them for now and in the future. Keep adding to the list during the run-up to the holidays.
PACKAGING In order to have your ducks in a row for a wrapping/packaging roll-out for the holidays that doesn’t drown in a sea of clichéd red and green, you need to start planning now. Consider forms, materials and visuals that can evoke the tone and spirit of the season all winter long and won’t expire with Christmas.