Southern Jewelry News

Thinking outside the box marketing techniques

10:25

March

2008

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Article Autor: David Rodgers

Marketing Concepts

With more TV stations, radio stations, magazines, specialty publications, newspapers, and online avenues than ever before, there is a seemingly endless number of channels to market your store. And while all of these areas are still extremely important in terms of getting the word out to customers, it is increasingly important to get the word out in other ways. Not only do you want customers to think of your store when it’s time to buy, you want your store to be the first one they think of when it’s time.

The following are three very helpful ways to both increase traffic in your store and increase top-of-mind awareness.

1. Freebies

Everyone loves a freebie, especially if it’s something that they’ll use. And when you place your name prominently on the item, you definitely want them to use the items as much as possible.

I’ve chosen my three favorite freebies based on how much eye-time they get. They are the wall and/or desk calendar, the mouse pad, and the coffee mug, which could be a standard variety or one of those metal cup-holder ready jobs.
The reason I’ve chosen these are as follows: The calendar, if used, will be used all year long. The mouse pad could sit prominently on a desk for even longer. And the coffee mug, whether standard or portable, is something that could be used daily, and it will be seen a great deal by others as well. All of these freebies do cost some money, but with the amount of exposure, and especially repetitive exposure that they’ll give you, they’re probably worth your time and money.

2. Using your customers and others as your sales force

One of the ways Joe Girard became the number one auto salesman in the country (see his book “How to Sell Anything to Anyone”) was by having his customers help him spread the word. He would hand out a stack of small cards to anyone who was interested. He instructed them to sign the back, and refer friends who needed a new car to him. When he got a sale, he would always send a $25 check to the referrer (which was worth much more in the 1970s when this was happening).

This could work in a very similar way for a jewelry store. Have anyone who is interested take a stack of cards, sign their name, and if a new customer is referred, make sure to mail them a check or reward promptly. A gift certificate might be a better option, so that the reward seems more valuable to the referrer, and the merchandise purchased with the card won’t cost you as much as cash.
It is important to send the reward promptly, however, because word will get back to the referring customer that a purchase was made with the card. If you wanted – just so that everybody would have an incentive, including the card bearer– you could include 5% or 10% off purchases written on the card. Make sure to give your new customer their own stack of cards at that point if they choose, so that more and more people will be referred to your store. This can turn into a winning system very quickly.

3. Partnerships with other businesses

For this, you will need to brainstorm where your customers and potential customers will be likely to shop. Perhaps a fine clothier, wine shop, or restaurant. Make contact with the owner or manager of those establishments and agree to spread word about their business, provided that they spread word about yours.

You can then print up nice-looking flyers which mention the other store and yours. For example, it might say “Diners at Alexander’s Fine Cuisine will receive 10% off with any diamond purchase at Smith Jewelry.” In addition, during normal conversations with your customers, if the timing is right, mention your partner establishments. When word gets around that you referred customers to them, it is likely that the favor will be returned. Backs will be scratched all around.

Thinking outside the box is important in today’s day and age. You might notice that any of the above three examples can get customers excited about something in one way or another. Excitement breeds excitement, which in turn breeds referrals and sales. So do yourself a favor and put the excitement to work for you.

David Rodgers is Business Director for the JewelryTalk service, which provides informative, fun-to-read weekly columns for jewelry stores to use in their newspaper advertising. He also owns DR Jingles, a radio-advertising firm. Contact him at jewelrytalk@yahoo.com or (248) 514-9376.