Sales Strategy
5 Sales And Marketing Tips To Drive Growth In Your Jewelry Business In 2022 | January 21, 2022 (0 comments)
New York NY--With the pandemic, it’s been challenging for everyone over the past few years. Jewelry retailers are no exception. While many jewelers unfortunately were forced to close, some had their best years ever! At the auction houses, there were record-breaking sales of watches and fine jewelry. I’ve also heard many anecdotal stories from independent jewelers experiencing the same thing -- people are buying!
The theory being that consumers had money to spend and they wanted to “reward” themselves for toughing it out over the past year. Plus, with money-saved from working at home and canceled vacation plans, people’s wallets were full. There’s also a psychological element to it: life is short so why not enjoy it and buy jewelry.
The pandemic has made the jewelry business more responsive, agile and competitive. Every marketing dollar has to count. You can’t just hope someone will stumble upon your jewelry store, walk-in, and buy. You need to make it happen.
Here are 5 sales and marketing tips to drive growth in your jewelry business in 2022:
1. Invest in people.
It’s been said that people are the most important asset to a business. You can easily replace inventory, but people are who make your sales.
As a jewelry store owner, your success is dependent on the relationship you have with your customers. It’s the personal touch and the in-store experience that a jewelry store offers which can’t be duplicated online. That’s why consumers choose you over the Internet. People like to buy from people they trust and a good salesperson is worth their weight in gold!
As other industries quickly cut their staff in the wake of the pandemic, the smart jewelry store owners kept their staff intact and put them to use in other areas of their business. When doors re-opened, these jewelers were able to quickly pivot and continue servicing their customers with no interruption whatsoever.
That’s the value of investing in your people and sticking with them during good times and bad.
2. Develop your competitive advantage.
No jewelry store is free of competition. Even jewelers in small towns or rural areas with few stores still have competition online.
To compete effectively, you need to know who you’re up against. Examine every jewelry store within a fair radius around your location--at least a few miles if you’re in the city and at least 25 miles if you’re in a more rural area. In some parts of the country, it’s not unheard of for people to travel up to 50 miles or more to go to a jewelry store that they’ve been referred to. That’s the power of trust. People, especially in rural areas, don’t mind driving long distances.
You’ll also want to analyze your competitor’s marketing claims and promotional offers. What’s their unique selling proposition (USP)? What makes them stand-out from everyone else? What does the inside of their jewelry store look like? How’s the shopping experience? What guarantees do they make? What type of jewelry do they specialize in? What brands do they carry? Why should somebody choose your jewelry store over your competitor's? These are all questions you should be able to answer about your competition.
3. Market through multiple channels.
Do an audit of every marketing channel you advertise with. Consider both traditional and digital media and how much you spend on each one. If you don’t have a good mix of marketing across different channels, then you’re not reaching your full audience, especially younger consumers who start their shopping online.
To have a comprehensive strategy, you’ll want to market through traditional media such as store signage, billboards, newspapers and magazines. You’ll also want to market through digital media such as pay-per-click PPC, digital display ads, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.
You need to have a good ratio between the two, with your budget likely tilting more towards the digital-side (where your marketing leverage and opportunity is greater). Having multiple marketing channels is a smart move to ensure that everyone in your local area knows who you are and what value you offer.
4. Develop your business strategy.
Your long-term success is dependent on your business strategy. What kind of customers do you want to attract? Men or women? Young or old? Low-end casual customers or high-end jewelry buyers? Are you selling based on price, service, or convenience? How much of your business is targeted towards bridal buyers versus fine jewelry buyers?
Go back and look at who your best customers are and determine if those are the type of people you want to go after. You’ll also want to ensure that there are enough of them in your area. If not, you’ll need to expand your demographics in order to expand your business.
All of these questions should be part of your business strategy.
5. Understand your sales cycle.
The calendar year determines your sales cycle. The most popular selling periods for jewelry are: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Graduation Day, Black-Friday and the end of year holiday period. These dates are well-known and fixed. But, what should you focus on during other periods? There’s many months between these holidays which are additional opportunities to grow your business.
Another aspect of your sales cycle is how long it takes to make a sale. For bridal buyers, the time-frame to buy is typically 4 to 6 months on average for engagement rings. For gift buyers, the time-frame to purchase a gift is typically 2 to 3 weeks prior up to the day of the event. Remember, people procrastinate so you’ll always have last minute shoppers.
With gifts, there’s not too much comparison shopping that goes on like it does for engagement rings. It’s a different type of purchase with a different sales cycle. As an important part of business planning, you’ll need to break-down each one to ensure your success.
Everyone knows that last year was tough. This upcoming year is still full of uncertainty and with the pandemic still raging, it may be even tougher. Take advantage of the lessons learned, make changes to your jewelry business today and vow to make 2022 even better than 2021.
No one could have predicted past events, but follow these tips and you can certainly improve your chances for success in the future. It’s a new year filled with new opportunities and unlimited potential.
About Smart Age Solutions:
Emmanuel Raheb is the Founder and CEO of Smart Age Solutions, a full-service award-winning digital marketing agency specializing in the fine jewelry industry. Smart Age’s mission is to grow independent jewelers and help them in their own backyard by running successful digital ad campaigns for clients and developing their web presence. Smart Age Solutions also advises, conducts webinars, and provides unpublished data from Google for its clients. Today, Smart Age Solutions has become synonymous with elevating standards by bringing innovation, strategy and is the agency of record for many of the industry’s leading retailers and enterprise brands.
To learn more, contact Smart Age Solutions at: https://form.smartagesolutions.com/contact-us