When you have the opportunity to appear on television, what you wear -- from your wardrobe to your jewelry -- is critical, but the wrong body language can undermine even the most carefully prepared outfits. Today, in part two of a three-part series on TV appearance preparation, Amanda Gizzi of Jewelry Information Center shares tips on how to enhance your appearance with body language. Gizzi provides the following tips for the best onscreen body language:
Taking part in a television interview -- whether for a local, regional or national program -- can provide great exposure. Showing your store or brand in a positive light is all in the presentation. Jewelry Information Center’s Amanda Gizzi says you must consider what you wear, your body language and how you speak.
We’ll break down all three, starting today with Gizzi's suggestions for camera-ready wardrobe and appearance:
In yesterday’s tip, we discussed the importance of really listening to your customers. This helps you determine what they truly want, versus making assumptions that could be wrong. Today, we look at the bad listening habits you and your sales staff must avoid.
Jeweler’s of America’s David Peters says to avoid these “traits of a poor listener:”
In creating great customer experiences, asking your customers what they want and need is just the first step. You have to really listen to their answers, says David Peters, Jewelers of America’s resident education and management expert. Peters warns against committing “selling malpractice” by failing to listen. That’s when you tell a customer what they should buy, versus discovering what they really want and need.
Peters says listening to customers is essential for the following reasons:
No matter how long you’ve had inventory, you want to make sure that to the customer, it looks brand new. One way to minimize the wear and tear of your jewelry product is through proper storage.
Jewelers of America’s COO Rob Headley, a quality control expert, offers the following tips to ensure that pieces stay in good, sellable condition:
The merchandise in your display cases should be enticing to customers -- not dull, tarnished or scratched. But over time, products can get "used" in the retail case and no longer appear brand new. This is especially true with expensive merchandise that takes longer to turn.
Jewelers of America's COO Rob Headley, a quality control expert, suggests training sales associates on proper ways to minimize scratches, dents and loose stones while handling merchandise.
Headley shares the following staff-training tips to keep merchandise in good condition:
As a jewelry professional, you recognize that proper disclosure of gemstone enhancements is your ethical and legal responsibility. Providing the most updated information to your customers is not only an essential part of the sales process, it increases trust and loyalty.
Furthermore, enhancements are not detrimental to gemstones. By definition, they “enhance” them. David Peters, Jewelers of America’s resident education and management expert, says they improve the beauty, durability and availability of gemstones.
Peters offers the following tips to keep in mind as you make disclosure part of your sales presentation:
To sell effectively, Jewelers of America’s David Peters says you must discover -- early in the sales relationship -- how your customer wants to be sold to. That means observing the level of directness in a person’s behavior, as well as their openness or willingness to show what’s going on inside.
The four basic behavior styles Peters says you need to be aware of, are:
In a recent "Custom-Made Events" Tip, we featured creative event ideas from “Running Successful In-Store Events,” an America’s Best Jewelers workshop held during Jewelry Market Week in Las Vegas. Jewelers on the panel session also shared ideas on promoting and tracking events.
Take the following tips from successful retailers to get the most out of your in-store events:
In "Print Advertising 101," Jewelers of America’s Associate Director of Marketing and Communications Molly Fallon gave expert tips on how to make the most of your advertising budget in print publications. She continues her advertising tips with advice on how to make the most effective ad design, while watching costs.
Use these tips to design a professional, and profit-making, advertisement:
Print isn’t dead! In fact, print advertising can be a very effective marketing tool when properly executed. Plus, it’s more affordable than other types of traditional advertising, such as radio or television. That’s key when you’re watching costs but still want to get your message out there.
Molly Fallon, Jewelers of America’s Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, offers some basic tips for buying print ads to help increase your brand awareness and boost your business:
As we’ve discussed in earlier tips, there are ethical and legal reasons that you must properly disclose gem enhancements or treatments. Plus, it makes good business sense. Customers are looking for a jeweler they can trust. Providing them with accurate and timely information ensures that trust and loyalty.
Jewelers of America’s resident education and management expert, David Peters, says you must disclose the following to your customers:
Events are great way to get customers into your store and build relationships, but how can you make your events stand out? The America’s Best Jewelers workshop “Running Successful In-Store Events,” held during Jewelry Market Week in Las Vegas, provided ideas for unique in-store events. The overriding message from jewelers was to tailor events based on brands, a store’s location and their own interests.
Use these custom-made events from the seminar as inspiration for your next customer-centric event:
The tougher the times, the higher the stress — for both you and your staff. In “The Psychology of Stress,” Entrepreneur Magazine’s Tiffany Meyers writes that during this recession, business owners are dealing with the sense they’ve lost control of their futures. While gaining a sense of control in these uncertain times can be difficult, Meyers states the one thing you can control is your perspective.
The following expert tips will help you keep your perspective clear from the economic stress:
A crisis can impact your business at any time, without warning. Creating a business continuity plan before a disaster or hardship strikes will help prepare you and your employees.
The experts at Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company, which specializes in jewelry insurance for the industry and consumers, advise retailers to take the time now to assess your business functions, both internally and externally. You need to determine which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep the business operating.
Start by answering these questions, provided by Jewelers Mutual, and document your answers:
More and more retail jewelers are capitalizing on the Facebook phenomenon, as the social networking website continues to grow faster than the speed of light. In “Retail Jewelers Can Sell on Facebook,” JCK Magazine Senior Editor Rob Bates shares insight from jewelers who are making the most of their Facebook Pages.
Use these tips, from Facebook-savvy retailers, to market your store on Facebook and reach more customers:
As jewelry retailers look for ways to reach new customers, online media must be a focus of their marketing efforts. The recent tip, “Get Started on Facebook 101: Build Your Company Page,” showed retailers how to set up a business-friendly Facebook Page. Once you’ve entered the Facebook frontier, there can be a language learning curve.
Use our Facebook Terminology Primer for key terms to help you find your way as you explore Facebook:
You want to reach more customers, faster and stay connected to them once you’ve found them. Facebook, the ever-popular social-networking website, has become a go-to web venue for businesses looking to expand their brand. Yet even for the most tech-savvy business owners, getting set up on the site can be daunting at first. Over the next few days, we’ll share Facebook tips to get you started without breaking a sweat.
Your timing couldn’t be better. Facebook recently made it even easier for brands and companies to connect with their target customers through their “Pages” feature. According to Inside Facebook, the updated version of the Pages feature has “the potential to … [reach] your customers in a very authentic, powerful, and extremely targeted way.”
Jewelers of America’s Communications Manager Lauren Thompson provides a simple seven-step process to set up a business-friendly Facebook Page:
Survival is your first priority during tough times, but you have to be sure your business is healthy enough to respond once conditions improve. In “Six Ways to Emerge Victorious from the Recession,” Jon Frandsen, of Kiplinger.com, writes that a company “must make choices that won’t leave it crippled and unable to respond to pent-up demand when the economy starts to recover.”
Use Frandsen’s tips to make cuts that are essential, but not fatal:
Consumers are far savvier today when it comes to buying products. Media attention on gem enhancements has increased their awareness and heightened skepticism. With that in mind, David Peters, Jewelers of America’s resident education and management expert, says you must provide accurate and timely information at the sales counter in order to ensure customer confidence and loyalty.
Peters says there strong arguments for full and accurate gemstone enhancement disclosure. These include:
