Retail Profiles
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Top jewelers share 4Q marketing plans
How can you best spread your store's message? An America's Best Jewelers forum yields tips
By Michelle Graff
August 31, 2009
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| America’s Best Jewelers forum participants are, from left, Carney Chavis, Gene Gragg and Steven Fina. |
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The economic crisis means fewer consumers willing to splurge on fine jewelry, so jewelers must know when, where and how to find those that still want to buy diamonds and gold.
We asked six retailers who are part of National Jeweler's "America's Best Jewelers" (ABJ) network to discuss marketing strategies.
Participants in this discussion were: ABJ winners Susan Eisen, owner of Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry and Watches in El Paso, Texas; Carney Chavis, co-owner of Dunkin's Diamonds, with stores in Ohio and Florida; Lou Cervini, co-owner and vice president of Christopher's Fine Jewelry in Pawleys Island, S.C.; Michael S. Karaman, owner of James Free Jewelers, with stores in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio; Steven Fina, vice president of Michael C. Fina in New York. Also in on the discussion was ABJ network member Gene Gragg, owner of Metal Works Fine Jewelry in Yorktown, Ind.
Which marketing tactic-cable/TV ads, print ads, direct mail, word-of-mouth, social networking, Web site or any others-has generated the most business for your store?
SUSAN EISEN: A combination of them all is what works. One alone is like gambling on one slot machine for the whole night!
GENE GRAGG: Right now, word-of-mouth has the most trackable results. We get new referrals every day. Print ads do work for us, but not consistently.
CARNEY CHAVIS: We find that direct marketing to our customer base is most effective. We have moved away from most print material, save neighborhood newsletters. For getting new clients, cable TV works for us.
We are located inside a mall and I use the display panels provided by JCDecaux for reaching customers who are already in the mall.
This works very effectively. Customers walk in and say they saw our ad in the mall.
LOU CERVINI: The marketing tactics that have worked best for us are: word-of-mouth, direct mail, billboard and special events.
MICHAEL KARAMAN: Word-of-mouth is the strongest, because if you do your job perfectly, a customer is putting their reputation on the line when recommending you, so you better be on top.
STEVEN FINA: We find that, historically, word-of-mouth has been the most successful marketing tactic. However, with the current powers of the Web, we have found more and more that our Web site, along with the support of vendor Web sites and other social marketing tools, have significantly impacted our overall business.
What is your strategy for measuring the impact of a particular marketing campaign?
EISEN: I measure my campaigns by the questions I ask my customers when they come in. I can tell right away what is working and what isn't.
GRAGG: Other than asking customers where they heard of us, we track hits on our Web site. Coupons also give us a pretty clear indication of effectiveness.
CERVINI: At the point of sale, we ask why the customer is in the store, which is then analyzed.
KARAMAN: Tracking the number of customers that come through the door and the sales at the end of the day. That is simple and to the point. Closing ratio is the most important.
Are you using new tools, such as social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, to market your store? If so, in what ways are you utilizing them?
EISEN: Yes, those sites are great, and I am learning how to use them and
trying to study them to get the most I can out of my participation. Time is very valuable to me and I want to be sure I am spending it wisely.
GRAGG: We just started using Facebook. I plan to write interesting things about jewelry.
CERVINI: [Social networking site] MySpace seems to be best for us.
KARAMAN: Facebook is a wonderful way to reach the engagement demographic. Plus, we now have a Facebook page [with details on] upcoming events, and people can post questions and more.
FINA: We have invested a lot of our marketing and public relations efforts towards social media to stay current and top of mind with consumers. We are looking to close the gap between new and old media, and integrate them into a holistic marketing campaign. As with any marketing form, we are using tools such as Facebook and Twitter to engage the consumer with our brand.
Will you spend more or less on marketing in the fourth quarter 2009? What impact has the economic crisis had on how much and which methods you use to market your store?
GRAGG: We usually do spend more in the fourth quarter. We are looking at the most cost-effective ways to market the store. Some of the more traditional methods, like TV and radio, are too expensive and have limited results.
CERVINI: We will probably spend a bit more in the fourth-quarter 2009.
The economic crisis has reduced our gross sales dramatically from 2007 and early 2008, approximately 35 percent to 45 percent. We continue, however, to generate a decent level of volume with more price pressure.
KARAMAN: We will continue to push to gain market share. You have to be very aggressive and targeted during times like these, but if you are, are the best at what you do, and take care of the customer, you can grow.
FINA: We don't plan to increase or decrease our efforts based on time
of year, or economic conditions. Consumers are still getting married, still purchasing jewelry, still celebrating life's milestones, each and every day. If you communicate less, you will sacrifice both your message and your bottom line.
National Jeweler's America's Best Jewelers is a multi-media platform that includes print, online, face-to-face and data reports. To register and participate in the industry's only jewelry-specific social network established for solving challenges common to all retail jewelers, visit America's Best Jewelers online: http://americasbestjewelers.ning.com
Editor's note: This story first appeared in the August print edition of National Jeweler.
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