WEEK 8
7 weeks passed | 45 weeks remain
Feb 23 – Monday
INVENTORY: Get an independent appraisal of your inventory. Your old stock is often not as valuable as you may think, but it’s good to know where you stand financially. Some consultants will do it for free as part of their trial service.
INVENTORY: Have loose stones and melee wasting away in your safe? Work them into new jewelry items. “I try to prepare some of my loose melee in small bands that I can use at blowout prices. Gets rid of small goods and reminds clients it is wedding band time.” — David Blitt, Troy Shoppe Jewellers, Calgary, AB
MARKETING: Calculate acquisition cost per new customer. Divide marketing spend by new faces — over $100 means fix your approach.
MARKETING: Track cost per visitor by marketing channel. Anything over $10 per person is lighting money on fire.
MARKETING: Create a display of jewelry options that fall into the $100 to $500 range and promote it to attract those tax rebate dollars that start pouring in from March through May. Most households are expected to spend in the range of $100 to $300, which just happens to be the sweet spot for “fine fashion jewelry.”
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STAFF: Do you have guidelines for handling complaints? If not, get busy. As much as possible, empower your team to make decisions without you.
OPERATIONS: Dump Your Bacn. This is the term for those dozens of email newsletters you’ve subscribed to. A study by MessageGate estimates up to 30 percent of emails are bacn. A huge inbox slows searches and makes your head hurt.
MORE DATES: National Banana Bread Day, National Dog Biscuit Day, National Play Tennis Day, Curling Is Cool Day, Diesel Engine Day, National Hospitality Workers Appreciation Day, National Tootsie Roll Day, Pinocchio Day, World Peace and Understanding Day, National Rationalization Day, National Tile Day.
Feb 24 – Tuesday
FINANCE: Check cost of goods percentage right now. Over 50% means you’re working twice as hard for half the profit.
FINANCE: Review margins by department today. Below 45% anywhere? Raise prices 5% on fast sellers and watch profits jump.
EDUCATION: This is a good time to broaden your business and gemological skills. Check out what courses GIA and JA are offering. Can you send your jeweler somewhere to sharpen their skills?
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SALES: Here’s a spiff to get staff excited: Give your sales associates $1 per point for every 1-carat-plus diamond. So, if they sell a 1.11 carat, they get $111. (Build the cost into the price of your diamonds).
MORE DATES: National Tortilla Chip Day, National Trading Card Day, World Bartender Day, Twin Peaks Day, International “I Hate Coriander” Day.
Feb 25 – Wednesday
OPERATIONS: The No. 1 complaint customers have about retail sales people is a lack of follow-up. Create a follow-up system and tell your customers about it. Let them know you will always be there. Promise a lot. Deliver more.
FINANCES: One of the lessons of the Great Recession was that there are cost savings just about everywhere — if you are prepared to demand them. Don’t have time to negotiate? BillShark, BillFixers, and Billcutterz will do it for you in areas such as fixed-line telephone, water delivery, even alarm systems for a share of the savings.
STRATEGY: A lot has changed in the last few years. Ask staff to answer this one question: Why should people in your local community still buy from you? After you’ve been in business for a while it’s easy to get complacent and ignore new competitors and changes in the industry, society, and marketplace. It’s time to try and get in your customers’ heads.
FEATURED DATE: World Spay Day (last Tuesday) — partner with a local animal shelter for a charitable tie-in.
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MORE DATES: National Chocolate-Covered Nut Day, National Clam Chowder Day, Quiet Day, Let’s All Eat Right Day, Ayyám-i-Há begins (Bahá’í).
Feb 26 – Thursday
OPERATIONS: Among the many service fees that climb to uncompetitive rates if not checked regularly is insurance coverage. You might, for example, have insured your computer equipment years ago when a PC cost $4,000. Pledge to conduct an annual review of your property insurance policies to ensure they represent today’s prices.
STORE: Nothing has the immediate impact on your showroom that a lighting upgrade will. Bring in a consultant for a day. With his or her help, you may be able to upgrade to the latest LEDs and make other changes to bring sparkle to your showroom again. The savings will soon pay back the fee, says Ruth Mellergaard of interior design firm GRID/3.
STAFF: Track hourly sales per employee this week. Anyone under $200/hour needs coaching, training, or different shifts entirely.
STAFF: Compare each salesperson’s average transaction. Anyone 20% below team average needs immediate upselling training.
FEATURED DATE: It’s Tell A Fairy Tale Day. What’s your store’s story? Share it on social media or in an email to customers.
FEATURED DATE: National Pink Shirt Day (Anti-Bullying) — staff wears pink, social media post about kindness.
MORE DATES: National Pistachio Day, For Pete’s Sake Day, Inconvenience Yourself Day, Levi Strauss Day, Carpe Diem Day, National Set a Good Example Day, International Tongue Twister Contest Day, Letter to an Elder Day, Thermos Bottle Day.
Feb 27 – Friday
TECHNOLOGY: Still not using bar code technology? It’s time to join the 21st century. The same goes for all the other super but under-utilized functions on the average jeweler’s POS system.
DATA SECURITY: It’s the time of year to back up all customer and store data and other important files. Most small-business networks can be backed up to a single external hard drive. Do a manual backup and store it offsite. Your system should be doing this automatically — it’s always good to check occasionally — but just in case of some catastrophe, it’s vital you have some sort of record to start rebuilding.
SALES TRAINING: Learn how to create “repair moments.” Are you simply handing repaired items to customers, or are you PRESENTING them — perhaps in a beautiful case, or with an accessory?
FEATURED DATE: It’s National Pokémon Day — if you have any younger clientele or staff, this could be a fun social media moment.
FEATURED DATE: International Polar Bear Day — feature white gold or diamond jewelry with a polar bear theme? A stretch, but fun.
MORE DATES: National Chili Day, National Strawberry Day, National Protein Day, National Kahlua Day, National Toast Day, No Brainer Day, Retro Day, The Big Breakfast Day, World NGO Day, Anosmia Awareness Day.
Feb 28 – Saturday
TECHNOLOGY: Get your computer in shape. Mark Clodius, co-owner of Clodius & Co., recommends “compacting the database [for Edge users], defragging the hard drive and getting rid of software you don’t use, all of which can contribute to faster, better computing.”
FINANCES: If you haven’t updated your props and fixtures for five years or longer, they’re sure to be showing their age. Amortize and depreciate fixtures and props as you do other equipment. Set a budget and schedules to acquire new fixtures and props routinely. To a consumer, faded, frayed, or dirty elements speak volumes about a store and affect perception of its brand.
MARKETING: Let’s move on from “seat of the pants” marketing to a yearlong calendar for events and promotions. It’s only February, get scheduling: Bridal event for the fall, designer trunk show for summer, loose diamond event, holiday sale… you’re only limited by your imagination.
LEGAL: Get your legal ducks in a row for 2026. If you don’t already have one, contact your attorney — or hire one — for a template “cease and desist” letter you can have ready to go if a disgruntled former employee or customer begins to unfairly bash you on social media.
FEATURED DATE: It’s Rare Disease Day. Consider a charitable tie-in with rare disease research organizations.
FEATURED DATE: National Pancake Day (IHOP) — free pancakes! Tell your staff.
MORE DATES: National Tooth Fairy Day, Floral Design Day, National Chocolate Soufflé Day, National Essay Day, National Science Day, Skip the Straw Day, US Snowshoe Day.
