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

Address Customer Concerns About De Beers Settlement Delay

A recent decision by the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has delayed the $295 million De Beers Class Action settlement. Since consumers were among those who filed claims, retail jewelers should be prepared for questions from customers. Handle them well and reaffirm your position as your customers' resource for trustworthy jewelry information and product.

Jewelers of America provides these tips to proactively ease customer concerns about the delay in the class action process:

Ingredients for Internet Marketing, Part 2: Understanding Traffic

By Vedran Tomic is an Internet marketing consultant, who specializes in local search and is a contributor to SmallBizTrends.com, a small business news site

In Part One of “Ingredients for Internet Marketing for Jewelers,” Internet Marketing Consultant Vedran Tomic explained the importance of web design, social media and local search to your Internet marketing campaign. Now, he explains how organic and paid search helps build your web traffic and increase your customer base.

To have a decent return of investment (ROI) on your Internet marketing efforts, you will need to get traffic to your website. More specifically, you will need targeted, qualified traffic. In the case of local brick-and-mortar jewelers, this means web traffic from people in your area interested in jewelry.

Web traffic can be acquired in many ways. In this guide, I will concentrate on traffic from search, because search is arguably the most important channel of traffic acquisition. There are two types of search traffic: organic search traffic and paid search traffic. No search marketing strategy is complete without both of these models at work. However, it’s important to understand each method’s advantages.

Ingredients of Internet Marketing Success for Jewelers, A 2-Part Series

By: Vedran Tomic is an Internet marketing consultant who specializes in local search and is a contributor to SmallBizTrends.com, a small business news site

Why Internet Marketing?

Growing a small business without a clearly defined Internet marketing strategy today would be more than just difficult. Consumers have never had as many choices and as little time as they have today. The Internet has not only given consumers more options – but also more power to influence your business’ reputation and success. People can grow your business beyond your imagination just by sharing their experiences with their friends and family in person and online. They can also cut your business in half by posting negative reviews on the web.

Traditional advertising methods through TV, radio and print ads offer lower and lower ROI, as consumers are choosing the Internet to explore, decide and shop. This is true for retail jewelry, as well as all small businesses. But this is not the end of marketing; it is the beginning.

Using the Internet to put your business directly in front of a costumer who is searching for your services or products, at the moment she's searching, is one of the best ways to market your business. This is the reason every small business owner should revisit their marketing budget and consider allocating more resources and effort into Internet marketing.

Employee Rewards Made Easy and Affordable

Creative ideas to help you create employee incentives that don't bust your budget from David Peters, Director of Member Services & Education for Jewelers of America

When times are tough, most retail jewelers are looking for ways to cut spending. One place they start is often with employee rewards and incentives, but that could be a mistake. Your employees are your most valuable assets and ensuring they remain happy and productive is critical. This is particularly true during periods when budget cuts and work reductions have made their jobs more challenging.

The primary purpose of creating a rewards program for your staff is to facilitate a means to acknowledge and reward good performance and to motivate and promote teamwork. Ultimately, it is about meeting and exceeding your company goals.

When putting together an employee rewards program, consider the following factors:

Understand What Impacts Your Insurance Premiums

When it comes to insurance, you need to understand what you’re paying for and how that can protect your business. Appropriate coverage can mean the difference between recovery after a loss and financial ruin. Today, Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company looks at insurance premiums in the second of its Insurance 101 tips, a new series to help you make more informed insurance buying decisions.

According to JM, there are three key areas you should look at in understanding premiums:

Protect Yourself When Shipping

Whether you’re shipping something worth $500 or $50,000, be sure to protect yourself against theft. You don’t want to realize the importance of theft prevention after it’s too late.

Matthew Focht, president of Tru®, a consulting company that negotiates credit card processing rates for jewelers, recommends following these basic steps to protect shipments:

Bridal Jewelry for the Next Generation

While bridal jewelry endures, jewelry businesses need to stay ahead of the curve in terms of what younger couples are looking for. Industry analyst Ken Gassman, who spoke at last month’s JCK Show in Las Vegas, says that young consumers want to stand out from the crowd when it comes to bridal jewelry, from the engagement ring to the wedding day (and if you get it right, beyond).

He offered the following tips on how to sell bridal to your next generation of customers: