Sales Strategy
It’s Digital Party Time! Hosting A Successful Virtual Event To Engage Customers | October 14, 2020 (1 comment)
New York, NY—Have you ever participated in a "watch party" yet?
No, we don’t mean a party where everyone shows off their favorite watches--though as jewelry people, we understand why you might think that! But we mean the kind of watch party that's a way for people to watch videos together without physically being together. The concept started with Facebook, but since then people have started hosting watch parties on YouTube and all the streaming channels. They’re surprisingly fun, the social factor is high and it’s a great way to spend time together when being together in person is challenging.
Given the popularity of watch parties, it’s not surprising that business owners across the country decided to start offering Zoom parties as a way to gather customers, entertain and engage them, keep their brand top-of-mind, and make some sales in the process! And the great news is that Zoom Parties work for retailers and suppliers alike.
You just need a few ingredients for this sort of event:
- An account with a video conferencing provider (like Zoom or GotoMeeting)
- A way to promote the event, like a text or email campaign
- A content plan!
Of course, the content plan is the fun part. What’s the draw, the point, of your Zoom party?
If you’re a retailer, you can invite favorite designers – no matter where they are! – to make a presentation about their jewelry, talk about their design process, give a tour of their workshop, or just hang out and socialize with their collectors and wannabe collectors. Or, you can do an online version of ladies’ night out. Some retailers are hiring local wellness experts, career counselors, physical trainers, financial planners, and cooking experts to offer presentations to their ladies’ night out attendees. Others are offering their traditional gemstone round tables or jewelry education events in an online format.
If you’re a supplier, you can host your own product events or online business education for retailers. Suppliers have invited outside industry experts as a service to their customers or have simply started hosting weekly get-togethers for their retail clients to come share insights, commiserate, and inspire one another.
We all know the downsides to the limitations on travel and commerce related to the pandemic. But there are some upsides too. Learning to work one-on-one or host promotional events using video conferencing can boost your business now, and will continue to be part of your selling toolbox long after the pandemic has passed.
VDB (Virtual Diamond Boutique)’s extensive jewelry marketplace was designed with consumer engagement in mind. When you integrate or white label VDB’s marketplace and app, you gain a suite of online and instore selling tools that provide the kind of engagement discussed in this article. For information, visit www.vdbapp.com or contact Holly Mui, holly@vdbapp.com.