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

Prepare for Recovery

The worst appears to be over, according to a recent article in INSTORE Magazine. In “Signs of a Recovery: 3 Things You Should Be Doing Now,” David Brown, of the Edge Retail Academy, says jewelers still have a long road ahead, but the signs are starting to look positive.

While it will take time to rebuild store sales to pre-downturn levels, now is the time to start. Use these tips from INSTORE  to do it right:

Be Selective With Social Networking

By now you’re familiar with social networking web sites like Facebook and Linkedin. With a constant influx of new sites and affinity groups, it can be tough navigating through the clutter and ensuring your time online is well spent.

In Entrepreneur.com’s “Be Selective With Your Social Networks,” Jennifer Shaheen provides smart strategies on evaluating social networking sites and groups:

Appease Difficult Customers

While the customer may always be right, he or she isn’t always easy to deal with. In “How to Deal With Difficult Customers,” Glen A. Beres, contributing editor to JCK Magazine, identifies different types of difficult customers.

He shares expert input on how to best handle difficult shoppers:

Reputation Matters

It can be difficult in the current economic environment to think beyond dollars and cents. But as a professional jewelry business, you need to recognize that your reputation – particularly when it comes to social, ethical and environmental issues – has become more important than ever. The 2009 BBMG Conscious Consumer Report: Redefining Value in a New Economy found that three out of four U.S. consumers (77%) say they “can make a positive difference by purchasing products from socially or environmentally responsible companies.” Another 72% say they have avoided buying from companies whose practices they disagree with.

Those numbers would be striking enough on their own, but these consumers and their opinions don’t live in a bubble. They’re actively encouraging others to buy or not to buy, by posting reviews and sharing their thoughts on products and companies on blogs, message boards and social networking sites.

Your business should be taking the following steps to protect and promote your reputation:

Rethink Retail Practices

The current recession has many retailers, especially big chains and brands, shifting their strategy to match changes in the consumer mindset. “The impact will mean both sweeping changes in the merchandise on their shelves and subtler alterations, like how many pantyhose to keep in stock,” writes Stephanie Rosenbloom in the New York Times.

With economists and analysts predicting that it will take up to a decade to return to 2007 levels of consumer spending, Rosenbloom notes that now is a good time for retailers to re-imagine the future.

To remain competitive, jewelry companies should note what larger retail firms are doing to thrive:

Website Marketing Don’ts

Whether you’ve finally joined the Internet age or you’ve been online for years, it’s important that you avoid common web mistakes. In Entrepreneur.com’s “Website Marketing Turnoffs,” Guy Kawasaki shares some of the ill-informed ways a company can sabotage their products and services online.

Make sure to avoid the following bad web “habits” and build customer loyalty:

Manage the Customer Experience Online: Build Trust

Your core values are the foundation of your business; your staff and customer relationships are built upon them. The same must hold true for your online presence. But you can’t build positive customer relationships online without real trust, in your store and brand.

Peters shares the following tips for gaining online customers’ trust and their business:

Manage the Customer Experience Online: Ease of Navigation

Easy, intuitive navigation is an essential component of any website worth browsing and shopping from. Jewelers of America’s David Peters says your website must be entertaining, ever-changing and easy to use.

Apply Peters tips to improve your website’s navigation:

Manage the Customer Experience Online: Information Availability

In the current economic environment, the ability to attract and retain customers has become even more difficult. That’s why you can’t afford to short-shrift your customer’s online experience, which is the first interaction many will have with your business. Your website must have information about your locations, policies and -- most importantly -- products readily available to online consumers.

Jewelers of America’s David Peters says that information availability is another key factor when it comes to the online customer experience. Use his suggestions to improve your website:

Manage the Customer Experience Online: Great Customer Service

The online shopping experience has improved exponentially over the last few years. As a result, consumers expect -- and are getting -- much more when they shop online. If you want to compete on the Internet, you need to ensure that your site is keeping pace with current customer expectations. Over the next few days, Jewelers of America’s David Peters looks at key factors that impact the online customer experience. As always, great customer service tops the list.

Take these tips to ensure your website provides the best customer service:

Use a Top Training Checklist for Success

When it comes to training your staff, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. As we’ve discussed over the past two days, there are a variety of approaches and tools that you should consider. But even as you tailor your training to fit the individual and your business, Jewelers of America’s David Peters says there are some common elements that tie it all together.

Use Peters suggested checklist for successful training:

Take Advantage of Top Training Opportunities

As we wrote in yesterday’s tip, the best staff training takes into account the needs of the individual, and ties that into key elements like performance and staff involvement. Another important aspect of training to consider is delivery.

Jewelers of America’s David Peters says you should take advantage of the multitude of training options available today for jewelry professionals, such as:

Use Key Elements of Top Training

A well-trained staff isn’t just useful, it is essential in today’s competitive environment. Adults learn new skills and knowledge in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons, so keep your approach to training flexible.

David Peters, Jewelers of America’s resident education and management expert, says an effective orientation and training program should take into account:

Learn From (Other Businesses) Mistakes

Great customer service isn’t simply a matter of best practices. It is also achieved by learning from, and avoiding, major service missteps. While you can certainly glean these lessons from your own mistakes, it’s much better (and less costly) to observe and learn from others.

In Kiplinger.com’s “The Five Worst Companies for Customer Service -- And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes,” Chuck Kapelke provides insight from the worst of the worst:

Reduce Returns

In today’s tough economic climate, getting a sale is great. But before you celebrate, make sure you’re doing enough during the sales process to keep that customer from returning the product. In JCK Magazine’s  “11 Ways to Reduce Product Returns,” consultant Tim Malone shares tips on selling right the first time.

Use these tips to reduce returned sales:

Sell Color With Expert Tips from DCA

Today, more than possibly anytime in the past, colored gemstones are a vital and growing part of the independent retail jeweler’s inventory. First, they present an opportunity in our margin-starved industry to earn profits unavailable from other product categories. Second, they offer a vast variety of affordable options  to the female self-purchaser as a fashion statement at an acceptable price point.

Ah, but, beware! The world of colored gemstones is diverse and somewhat more complicated than its diamond cousin. Terry Chandler, president of the Diamond Council of America, encourages jewelry retailers to embrace the “wonderful world of color” with gusto. However, he warns you need to “know your stuff” and make certain that you’re sales associates are well versed and knowledgeable.

Going to the Chapel, Part 2: Media Marketing to Brides

As you know, the bridal business remains one of the most vital components of the jewelry business. Even in tough times, people continue to get married. With the right marketing approach, your business can be part of the celebration. In the second of a two-part series, Jewelers of America’s Molly Fallon offers tips on how to market to brides.

Today, she looks at media outreach to brides, offering the following ideas:

Going to the Chapel, Part 1: Marketing to Brides in Person

Even during a historic downturn, the bridal business has managed to hold up. That said, you can’t afford to take it for granted. Marketing effectively to brides is critical to your success. Over the next two days, Jewelers of America’s Assoc. Dir. of Marketing & Communications Molly Fallon will offer tips on how to get and keep a bride’s attention during this important and happy time of her life.

Today, she looks at in-person outreach, offering the following ideas:

Sell The Love

A jewelry purchase is an emotional and important one for customers. While there are certainly product features you can (and should) tout, you can’t forget the most important feature of all: passion. Jewelers of America’s resident education and management expert David Peters says selling is all about relationships, and relationship-based selling is all about love. This can be hard to remember during tough times when it’s more difficult to close the sale, but it’s never been more important.

Peters says there are four key areas to bring passion and love into the sale:

Package Securely for Safe Receipt

When it comes to shipping product, many loss claims happen because of common errors -- wrong addresses, lack of communication between the shipper and recipient, and poor packaging. David Sexton, CPCU, vice president of Loss Prevention at Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company says the devil is in the details when it comes to preventing shipping losses.

He offers the following advice to ensure secure shipments:

Sell like a Kindergartner

More than two decades ago, Robert Fulgum’s popular book of essays, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, got adults thinking about the importance of those early life lessons. Echoing Fulgum’s philosophy, Jewelry Information Center’s Helena Krodel notes that in this economy, with all the worry, it is easy to overlook basics of good business.

Krodel offers tips on how to sell jewelry like a kindergartner:

Represent Your Brand In the Best Light On Camera, Part 3

Over the last couple of days, we’ve discussed how to look the part when it comes to television interviews. Today, we offer tips on how to convey your message (your brand or store, the beauty of jewelry, and your main points) in the most compelling way. Jewelry Information Center’s Amanda Gizzi says that before you utter one word, think about how your style of speaking can impact an interview.

She provides the following suggestions for a smooth interview: