The JA Report: News, Tips & Trends from Jewelers of America

Tips In Action: Retailers Who Thrive

Create Positive Holiday Returns
Michael Pollak, CEO, Hyde Park Jewelers, Pheonix, AZ, shows how

Michael Pollak, CEO of Hyde Park Jewelers, is ready to thrive this holiday season. “We’re in the celebration business,” he says. Pollak adds that while it’s easy to get caught up in the negative news, retailers must resist. 

Pollack was in the Native American jewelry trade before opening Hyde Park with business partner Steven Rosdal in 1976. The business has grown from its first year, when the most expensive item sold cost $300, to today’s extensive range of $50 to $500,000. Today, Hyde Park is headquartered in Denver, CO, and has locations in Phoenix, AZ, and Las Vegas, NV.

Relax

As your store enters the “official” holiday season, pay attention to your mental and physical health amidst this hectic period. In “Deflating Holiday Stress,” JCK magazine’s William George Shuster shares ideas from experts on how you and your staff can find space (even if it’s just in your head) to chill out.

Some calming advice to have you thriving throughout the next month:

 

Have Fun: Humor can be helpful in defusing stress, and don’t forget that this is the season to celebrate. Shuster cites a jeweler who gave staffers a “Selling Season Survival Kit” that had useful and fun items like breath mints, foot lotion and snacks.

Meet Regularly: Experts say staff meetings are a useful way to reduce stress during the holidays, giving you and your employees the chance to deal with current issues and what’s working, and not working.

Be a Leader

This is it. You’ve been preparing your store for the holiday season and now -- despite the challenges -- you and your staff are ready. Given the current climate, your ability to effectively guide your business through this time will be critical to your success.

Jewelers of America Director of Education David Peters advises how to lead in tough times:

Train Staff for Repeat Business

Brad Huisken, founder of IAS Training, says managers need to train their staff to make connections, inside and outside the store, that result in new and repeat business. During JCK magazine's webinar, “Surviving Holiday 2008,” he detailed  how to get personal, repeat and referral business:

• Get your Staff Involved in the Community: The more people you and your staff know, the more people you’ll have to sell to. Train your staff on naturally and casually talking about your store and their job in the jewelry for outside functions, like cocktail parties or fundraisers.
  
  • Extra Tip: Emphasize that everything can be a networking event when done right -- even children's sports games, school events, local art shows, etc.
• Be a "Buddy": Huisken says that sales staff should strive to be their clients "buddy in the business." This means, drawing in customers who specifically ask for them by name.
• Get Referrals: Make sure your sales people are asking their customers for referrals, friends and family your sales staff can contact, one of the most effective ways to get new customers into your store.

Tips In Action: Retailers Who Thrive

Thrive Through Your Community
Jeweler Jeff Corey, president, Day's Jewelers, Waterville, ME, shows how

Jeff Corey, president of Day’s Jewelers in Waterville, ME, grew up working in his family’s jewelry store along with his six siblings. The business served a small town of 4,000 in Northern Maine.

“It wasn’t easy feeding nine mouths selling jewelry to people with very limited income. But, we did what we had to do because we had to eat,” he says.

It’s no surprise that even in the midst of a struggling economy, Corey -- who purchased Day’s in 1988 -- has a proactive approach to the holiday season. The small independent chain -- with six stores and 140 associates -- has used a creative commitment to its community to thrive.

Use Media Variety to Drive Traffic to Your Store

Half the battle this holiday season will be getting customers to come into your store. Rick Bannerot, managing director of R&B Partners, was one of several experts to offer advice to retailers on marketing this season during a JCK webinar, “Surviving Holiday 2008” Webinar.

Bannerot suggested the following media promotions to drive traffic into your store:

•  Go with Radio: He suggests advertising on at least three of the top five radio stations in your retail area. Focus on morning and evening drive times and insist on bonus spots (less popular periods where radio has ad spot airtime open) on the weekend and overnights, especially on the days/weeks you aren’t running paid spots.
  • Extra Tip: Have an on-air jewelry give away. Bannerot mentions that providing jewelry for a radio giveaway promotion, gives you extra free publicity as radio hosts talk about your jewelry and reinforces your store name to potential customers.

Don’t Fail to Communicate

Once you’ve established a good relationship with your customers, it’s important to keep the momentum going. With regular and ongoing communications, your customers are much more likely to return to you for their next jewelry purchase. 

One of the best ways to keep the store/customer relationship vibrant is to anticipate your clients’ needs. Use these easy tips, from Jewelers of America’s Director of Education David Peters, to keep communication alive with customers: 

Align Your Message With National Promotions

De Beers recently announced that it is doubling its Holiday budget this season. According to October research from the Diamond Promotion Service (DPS), many men intend to give diamond jewelry to the women they love, and diamond jewelry remains at the top of her wish list -- with stud earrings being the most wanted piece-type.

Capitalize on this desire -- and the marketing dollars that will be poured into promoting it -- by  aligning your diamond messages with the DPS. (Click here to see DPS's holiday diamond messages.) 

Resources being offered to jewelry retailers this year include:

Ensure Your Store Is Holiday Friendly

The outside preparations you do for the season -- including your marketing and advertising plan -- will only go so far if they aren’t backed up by a quality customer experience once people walk through the door.

“There is really nothing you can do in the advertising world that can take the place of what you do in your own store, or the positive word-of-mouth you can create by taking exceptional care of your customers,” writes Ellen Fruchtman in her “Marketing Intelligence” column at National Jeweler magazine.

She suggests that retailers shift some of their attention from media and promotions to the “little things” that can impact customer service during the hectic holiday season. Among the things to consider:

Go Green With Your Bench

With everyone jumping on the green bandwagon these days, we hope that you’ve already taken steps to make your business practices more environmentally friendly. One way to make an immediate impact is to implement best practices at your bench.

In her JCK Online article “Reduce Environmental Impact With Green Bench Practices,” Christine Dhein, assistant director of the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, shares some specific ideas to make your bench practices more environmentally responsible:

Get Customer Feedback

In today’s competitive marketplace, don’t assume you’re providing the best service or know your customers well enough to meet -- and anticipate -- their needs. You have to ask. Opening the lines of communication gives you invaluable information to improve relationships and offers important insight for all your interactions, whether a customer is walking into your store for the first time, or the fiftieth.

David Peters, Director of Education for Jewelers of America says you can create opportunities for customer feedback in the following ways:

Follow Through With Ideas For Improvement

We’ve shared numerous tips to help you run your business better, bit by bit. But if you’ve ever come back from an industry conference with a notebook full of ideas that end up collecting dust instead of spurring action, you know implementing an idea is harder than coming up with it in the first place.

Today, we offer up tips to successfully implement your business-building ideas:

Plan Your Marketing Success this Holiday

Of all the things that you can do this season to bring customers to your store, the one thing you can’t afford to do is NOTHING. In “Holiday Branding”, a special feature in the September issue of Instore magazine, Eileen McClelland gathered advice from industry experts on how to “do something” this holiday season.

Here we break down the highlights for you:

• Target Direct Mail: James Porte, president of Porte Marketing Group, advises retailers to use targeted direct mail to customers who’ve bought an engagement ring or mounting from your store in the last six months. He notes that it’s important to personalize the message, highlighting the specific product details and how your store can help now -- for instance, offer an inspection of the prongs.

Factor in Financing

The current credit crunch means that banks are less likely to approve business loans and more likely to revoke lines of credit. One option some businesses have considered is factoring, a financing tool that gives companies the capital they need to operate.

At the Bottom Line Blog at Expert Business Source, Shanu Singh Guliani of Guliani’s Fine Jewelry explains that factoring involves selling invoices at a discount for immediate cash. Factoring companies make money by charging fees for their services. Since most don’t insure against non-payment, she says businesses may need to pay back the money advanced should their customer default.

Celebrate Your Staff

In the midst of all the holiday season preparations, don’t forget that the challenging economy doesn’t just impact your current and potential customers -- it can also touch those closest to your store: your staff and their friends and family. To help honor their hard work and dedication to your store, hold an employee family and friends night.

David Peters, director of education for Jewelers of America, offers the following ideas to celebrate your staff:

• Throw a special party for the family and friends of your employees.
• Offer refreshments, special merchandise and discounts.
• Make sure the focus is on celebrating your staff and their loved ones. You may sell some merchandise, but the goodwill and appreciation from your employees is the true benefit.

Fashion Your Store for Style, Not Price

In case you missed it, Tiffany and Co. recently unveiled a new store format. The new model goes for style over high price points, in an atmosphere designed to make the shopping experience more accessible and comfortable. Perhaps more importantly, the company hasn’t changed its product mix (though engagement rings and statement jewelry aren’t available at the new location), just the way in which the products are sold.

Among the highlights of Tiffany and Co.'s new store design:

• Customers are encouraged to try pieces on, a tactic sure to resonate with female self-purchasers.
• Jewelry is openly exhibited and is grouped by style and category, versus Tiffany’s traditional groupings by metal.
• The store’s employees are trained as jewelry stylists, adding to the more fashion and female-friendly environment.

You too can benefit from the great customer-centric ideas behind Tiffany's store changes. Jewelry Information Center’s Helena Krodel offers these tips for transferring those fashion-friendly ideas to your store:

Make It Personal (Service)

Let’s face it, many consumers will be holding onto their dollars more tightly this holiday season. Your job as a retailer is to make them feel comfortable and cared for and to give them great options on gifts for their friends and loved ones. Relationships will be the key to your success. The more personal you can make the service and customer experience, the better.

Jewelers of America’s Director of Education David Peters shares the following ideas to solidify the bond between your staff and your clients: