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

JA CEO Contributes to Diamond Dialogue at JCK Show

Speaking during a panel discussion about the Kimberley Process, at the JCK Show on June 2nd, Jewelers of America President & CEO Matthew A. Runci said retailers can no longer sit back and watch while decisions that impact consumer confidence are made.

"The power of influencing these decisions rests in the hands of everyone in this room and in this building,” Runci told attendees. The session entitled, “Diamond Dialogue: The Challenges of a Robust Kimberley Process,” was hosted by the World Diamond Council (WDC).

Live From JCK Show: What's Hot, What's Not

Fashion and fine jewelry go hand-and-hand, and yet not every retail jeweler is knowledgeable on the current trends. Jewelers of America keeps its members up-to-date on jewelry trends through the trend forecasting expertise of Director of Media & Special Events Helena Krodel, who provides seasonal Jewelry Trends Reports on www.jewelers.org.  She recently presented the seminar, “What’s Hot, What’s Not,” at the JCK Show in Las Vegas, which detailed how to follow jewelry and fashion trends and make them translate to more in-store sales.

Some top tips from her session:

Live From JCK Show: Standards of Excellence -- Quality Control

In his JCK Show seminar, “Standards of Excellence: A Guide to Merchandise Quality for the Independent Jeweler,” Jewelers of America COO Robert B. Headley outlined how to establish a merchandise quality control procedure on a scale suitable for the independent jeweler. As the former Vice President of Quality Assurance at Tiffany & Co., Headley gave insightful strategies that will help any jewelry retailer improve the quality of their merchandise and overall customer satisfaction.
For those who missed his seminar, some of his top advice follows after the break.

 

Jewelers of America Supports Delay on Mercury Ban

Jewelers of America (JA) has been working with the American Watch Association (AWA) to push officials in Maine, Connecticut and Rhode Island to postpone bans on mercury in button-cell batteries. All three states had initially scheduled their respective bans to go into effect on July 1, 2011. The associations are asking for a year postponement, to July 1, 2012.

So far, the campaign has been a success. JA recently got good news when we learned Maine and Connecticut have postponed their bans. Maine moved the state ban to the end of this year, while Connecticut’s ban has been postponed until July 1, 2012.

Live From JCK Show: The Essentials of Marketing

At the 2011 JCK Show in Las Vegas, JA Director of Education & Member Services David Peters led a seminar on “The Essentials of Marketing.” He gives us some of his top tips from the seminar for those who missed this excellent overview.

Peters told the audience that the elements for true marketing success include:

1. All company policies, activities and decisions must be governed by the fundamental principle of satisfying customer needs
2. Comprehensive marketing plans must be established and followed
3. ROIs must be measured and reacted to
4. Profitability (as opposed to sales volume) and relationship-building are the two primary measurements used to determine success of any given endeavor

Peters revealed the Top 10 marketing principles to achieve marketing success. We've highlighted three of the best here.

Adding Web Videos to Your Marketing Strategy (Part 2)

By Stan Bashmashnikov

Last month, we walked you through the fundamentals of adding web videos to your marketing strategy. The importance of a good camera, clear sound quality, neutral lighting, stable image frame and YouTube channel all correlate to a professionally made video.

So what more is there to mastering web videos for your brand? Practical implementation, of course. Knowing how to create a web video is only half the battle. To have real success from online videos -- as outlined below -- you must deliver actionable and relevant ideas to  inspire customers to return to your website or store. No need to shudder – it’s not as daunting as you may think.