Sales Strategy
Is Your Jewelry Website Ready For Q4? | September 08, 2021 (0 comments)
New York, NY—As we wind down summer and head into the fall, now is the perfect time to be proactive in your jewelry business and plan for winter. From October to November (also known as Q4), this period is the longest and largest buying periods for consumers and often makes or breaks a jewelry business. What you do today will have an immediate impact on how your jewelry sales perform tomorrow. You need to start planning now if you want to end with a profitable 2021. It’s early enough and still not too late.
I don’t need to tell you about the challenges that the jewelry industry has faced over the past year and a half. It’s in the news every day. Covid has ravaged our nation and taken much of the jewelry industry with it. Yes, some jewelers have thrived but there’s a continuing storm on the horizon and the weather is not clear yet. Simply look down the street and you’ll witness a sea of competitors, with some jewelry businesses succeeding while others have failed miserably and closed up shop.
If you’re reading this, I assume you’d like to do more than simply “hang on” for another year. Pivot now and take Q4 seriously. Here’s what you can do today to change your future.
1. Look back to previous years to see when most of your sales came in.
You should notice blips during Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and the period between Black Friday to Christmas and New Year's Day. During Q4 (with the holidays) is typically when the most jewelry sales occur. This includes both engagement rings and fine jewelry. (You may see a slight difference in the start and end dates depending on your local area and marketing focus.) Take your total sales from the same period last year and double it. That should be your goal (at a minimum) for this year. Yes, you can achieve it and it’s possible if you start planning today.
2. Spend every co-op dollar available to you.
Many jewelers don’t realize that they have this “hidden” marketing budget available to them, or they know about it but simply forget to spend it. Don’t let free money go to waste. Contact your partners today and resolve to spend every nickel and dime available to you through co-op funding. Remember to book your advertising campaigns as soon as possible, before time expires. Prime spots fill-up fast!
3. Consider increasing your paid digital advertising during Q4.
This includes PPC, display, social media advertising and more! Now is the time to increase your budget and start running campaigns. The weeks leading up to the holidays are when you want to be seen by consumers. They’re eager and ready to buy gifts for loved-ones and you want to make sure you get your fair share of their budget.
To make sales, you need to be seen. During this period, it’s extremely important that you don’t skimp on your advertising budget. Remember, if consumers don’t know you exist, they won’t buy from you. But, they’ll certainly buy from someone else they see online!
4. Don’t be afraid to spend more money (when you have the right plan in place).
With years of experience working with hundreds of clients, I can look back and confidently say that the return on your advertising investment is always positive during the months of Q4. History and results back this up, but you need to spend wisely. That’s the other part of the success equation. Don’t expect to throw a boatload of money into digital advertising and have the floodgates open. You can easily overspend or waste your budget if your ads are poor and your campaign is ineffective. This makes it all the more prudent to choose a digital partner who can show tangible, proven results.
5. Remain agile and steadfast in your business.
As a local, independent jeweler you have a supreme advantage over larger jewelry stores and online competitors. Always remember this. You’re agile and can move fast. You can make decisions quickly. If something isn’t working today, you can instantly adapt and easily change direction with digital marketing. Use your small size to your advantage. Remain nimble, but humble.
The pandemic and more aggressive online competitors, have made this one of the most challenging and difficult times to be in the jewelry business. Don’t think you can’t fail. This past year, large jewelry companies have crumbled under the weight of bad decisions and poor management. (I won’t name names, but you know which ones I’m talking about).
With the right planning, the end of the year shouldn’t be the end of your business. The decisions you make today will have a direct impact on your future. The next few months will go by fast. Don’t delay. Take action now and start planning Q4 to make 2021 your biggest and best year yet!
Contact Smart Age Solutions to request a personalized Digital Marketing Strategy for the holiday season and discover how we can help grow your jewelry business.
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