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Your Best Marketing Tool May Be Attached to Your Hip

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Margins on diamonds have shrunk. So what else is new?

Margins on custom design work have always generated better returns. Another great thing about selling a custom bridal engagement ring is that unlike selling one from the case, you don’t need hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory to make a $2,000 sale. Pictures, CAD programs, even a pad and pencil will do.

I did a survey a few years ago, and most jewelers said that two-thirds of their custom sales were between $750 to $3,000 with a 70 to 80 percent closing ratio.

So, how to enhance and increase this business and do it for free?

Use your own phone, camera or video camera to send texts or emails to your clients as their ring is being built.

At the start of the custom order process, be sure to get a cell phone number and email address. After the client leaves the store and while you are carving the wax or building the CAD file, have someone take a picture or short video of what you’re doing. In addition to allowing you to send email, most phones today feature a microphone icon that enables you to dictate a message.

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“Hi Michelle, I’m working on the wax model now as you can see. Will contact you when it’s ready to view.”

Send this to the client; she will be ecstatic.

Time to cast the ring into metal? Take a video of the torch, melted gold and casting machine in action. Send this to the client

Then when the wax is ready to view, send a photo of the model. “OK, here it is, comment on it to give your OK. Feel free to share.”

People love to forward emails, texts, chats and Pinterest photos. Believe me, this will go VIRAL! One client will share with others. Don’t be the one to post it on Facebook. Let them do that. 

Time to cast the ring into metal? Take a video of the torch, melted gold and casting machine in action. Send this to the client (in fact, you can send anyone this video). Do the same with the file-up and setting stages. Once finished, show the ring up close in a video or photo and send it again.

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This will make it special for the client. If it’s for a surprise proposal, they can share the videos and pictures after she has received the ring.

And don’t stop there; do this smartphone marketing for all your custom jobs. Keep customers in the loop.

If the couple picks up the ring, get pictures and forward the images to them with their smiling faces. They will share.

At the bottom of the emails, add a button to share via Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest, etc. Also, add a certain dollar amount coupon for any of their friends to come in and have something custom made. Let the couple know that anyone coming in with a copy of their email or coupon will get a discount, while they’ll get some sort of future credit for sharing.

Keep that phone charged up!


David Geller is a consultant to jewelers on store management. Email him at dgellerbellsouth.net.

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This article originally appeared in the August 2016 edition of INSTORE.

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After 139 Years, A Family Legacy Finds Its Perfect Exit With Wilkerson.

When third-generation jeweler Sam Sipe and his wife Laura decided to close Indianapolis’ historic J.C. Sipe Jewelers, they turned to Wilkerson to handle their retirement sale. “The conditions were right,” Sam explains of their decision to close the 139-year-old business. Wilkerson managed the entire going-out-of-business sale process, from marketing strategy to sales floor operations. “Our goal was to convert our paid inventory into retirement funds,” notes Sam. “The results exceeded expectations.” The Sipes’ advice for jewelers considering retirement? “Contact Wilkerson,” Laura says. “They’ll help you transition into retirement with confidence and financial security.”

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David Geller

Your Best Marketing Tool May Be Attached to Your Hip

mm

Published

on

Margins on diamonds have shrunk. So what else is new?

Margins on custom design work have always generated better returns. Another great thing about selling a custom bridal engagement ring is that unlike selling one from the case, you don’t need hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory to make a $2,000 sale. Pictures, CAD programs, even a pad and pencil will do.

I did a survey a few years ago, and most jewelers said that two-thirds of their custom sales were between $750 to $3,000 with a 70 to 80 percent closing ratio.

So, how to enhance and increase this business and do it for free?

Use your own phone, camera or video camera to send texts or emails to your clients as their ring is being built.

At the start of the custom order process, be sure to get a cell phone number and email address. After the client leaves the store and while you are carving the wax or building the CAD file, have someone take a picture or short video of what you’re doing. In addition to allowing you to send email, most phones today feature a microphone icon that enables you to dictate a message.

Advertisement

“Hi Michelle, I’m working on the wax model now as you can see. Will contact you when it’s ready to view.”

Send this to the client; she will be ecstatic.

Time to cast the ring into metal? Take a video of the torch, melted gold and casting machine in action. Send this to the client

Then when the wax is ready to view, send a photo of the model. “OK, here it is, comment on it to give your OK. Feel free to share.”

People love to forward emails, texts, chats and Pinterest photos. Believe me, this will go VIRAL! One client will share with others. Don’t be the one to post it on Facebook. Let them do that. 

Time to cast the ring into metal? Take a video of the torch, melted gold and casting machine in action. Send this to the client (in fact, you can send anyone this video). Do the same with the file-up and setting stages. Once finished, show the ring up close in a video or photo and send it again.

Advertisement

This will make it special for the client. If it’s for a surprise proposal, they can share the videos and pictures after she has received the ring.

And don’t stop there; do this smartphone marketing for all your custom jobs. Keep customers in the loop.

If the couple picks up the ring, get pictures and forward the images to them with their smiling faces. They will share.

At the bottom of the emails, add a button to share via Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest, etc. Also, add a certain dollar amount coupon for any of their friends to come in and have something custom made. Let the couple know that anyone coming in with a copy of their email or coupon will get a discount, while they’ll get some sort of future credit for sharing.

Keep that phone charged up!


David Geller is a consultant to jewelers on store management. Email him at dgellerbellsouth.net.

Advertisement

This article originally appeared in the August 2016 edition of INSTORE.

Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

Retiring? Let Wilkerson Do the Heavy Lifting

Retirement can be a great part of life. As Nanji Singadia puts it, “I want to retire and enjoy my life. I’m 78 now and I just want to take a break.” That said, Nanji decided that the best way to move ahead was to contact the experts at Wilkerson. He chose them because he knew that closing a store is a heavy lift. To maximize sales and move on to the next, best chapter of his life, he called Wilkerson—but not before asking his industry friends for their opinion. He found that Wilkerson was the company most recommended and says their professionalism, experience and the homework they did before the launch all helped to make his going out of business sale a success. “Wilkerson were working on the sale a month it took place,” he says. “They did a great job.”

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