In-Store Yoga
The holidays inevitably mean long, posture-busting hours in the store. Spectrum Art & Jewelry in Wilmington, NC, responds to the challenge by turning the store into a yoga studio once a week. “We bring in a client who leads us in an hour of great stretching exercises to overcome all that time spent hunching over the computer and the work bench,” says marketing manager Taylor Campbell.
48-Hour Turnaround
Last year we asked jewelers in our Big Survey how many days it typically takes to turn around a repair. Eighty-two percent said three days or more. That created an opportunity for stores like Gold Lady Jewelers in North Kingstown, RI, who can do it faster: “We’ve increased traffic by guaranteeing a 48-hour turnaround on all repairs, with most done the same day,” says manager Lisa Malin.
Personalized Style
Do you offer expert advice on your website? You should. And it’s even better if you personalize it, like the people at Radcliffe Jewelers in Baltimore, MD, did when they created the “Ask Lily” section on their website to help people looking for style advice.
Not in the Cases
With the arrival of the holiday, comes the impulse to decorate your store to show your seasonal spirit. Just keep the trimmings outside your cases, says Larry Johnson. “Cases cluttered with décor can make it harder to find the goods,” he says.
Mercedes for a Month
Looking for a spiff to get your sales staff really excited this holiday season? Take a lead from A&E Jewelers in Neenah, WI, which as part of its employee-of-the month program awards use of a Mercedes for a month. “Believe me it has been a very big hit,” says co-owner Corinne Meyer.
Custom Cookies
Quite a few stores feature homemade cookies, but Wixon Jewelers in Minneapolis, MN, takes it one step further by modifying them to fit the approaching season. In October that means Halloween, and the store’s illustrious “Spookies” are a customer favorite.
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Invite Safe Crackers
Here’s a promotion that appeals to the inner safe cracker in all your customers: To celebrate its move to a new location. Maurice’s Jewelers in Miami, FL, gave everyone who made a purchase a chance to “Crack the Vault.” “Each customer got to go over to one our computers and enter a code to see if they could crack the vault and win $25,000,” says sales manager Meaghan Koppel. “It was a lot of fun for us and our customers.”
Easy Email Capture
Gallery of Diamonds in Orange County, CA, has come up with a neat way to obtain customer email addresses: If a woman likes, say, a ring, an employee snaps a photo of it on the customer’s finger and immediately emails it to her with the ring’s information. In addition to the key data obtained, it keeps the piece on the browser’s mind and allows her to easily upload it to social media so her friends can see it.
Rotating Exhibits
The more jewelers go custom, the more they have in common with artists. Linda Kozloff-Turner understands that kinship well, and in 2008 offered struggling local artists display space on her store’s walls. She now displays local and national artists on a rotating basis, which has helped burnish her store’s reputation as a place for true design.
