Let me ask you a question. How would you like to do a promotion that brings instant “Goodwill” to your store from clients? Did I mention that it is also very profitable not only in “Goodwill,” but gross profit as well? Did I also mention that it costs very little to do?
Like me, I’d bet you’ve been to all kinds of jewelry shows and noticed all of the gemstone vendors. During a visit with one of these vendors, I noticed a lot of odd shaped large gemstones such as blue topaz, garnet, amethyst, etc. that were really cool looking and cost very little per carat. On a whim, I purchased 25 of these unique gems to bring home.
With a total expenditure on these gems of around $200, I sat wondering why I even did this, and more importantly, what was I going to do with them? Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning out of the blue – why not give these unique and beautiful gemstones to some of my favorite clients as a way of saying “Thank You” for all their years of business?
Here’s how I approached it. First I picked 25 of my best clients to send these “Unique Gems” to. Then I crafted a letter letting these folks know that on a recent visit to a jewelry show, I saw these gemstones and it made me think of them. So I picked one up just for them and sent it free of charge as my way of saying “Thanks!”
Another piece of the puzzle is that I sent this as priority mail and made the package look “lumpy” so it would arouse curiosity – which it did! My clients immediately called thanking me for sending these pretty gemstones to them. Even though at that time I didn’t ask if they wanted them set in a mounting, many of them requested us to do so!
The unintended but cool outcome of this was these gems were not calibrated sizes so it required a special mounting be made for them or that they be wire wrapped. Either way, this resulted in multiple custom jobs with superb gross profit! Better yet, the clients still were amazed that we would send them something nice like this and thank me to this day!
Lastly, the whole promotion might have cost my store $325 to do, but resulted in many great sales and earned much goodwill! Over the years, I’ve repeated this promotion to as many as 75 clients at a time and it never fails to perform in an admiral manner. Best of all, this is a lot of fun and I’d just bet your competitors would never think of doing it!
By way of news, I’m currently gathering ideas for my first ever book on jeweler’s marketing and promotions. My aim is to help the independent jeweler develop more foot traffic and profit thru the use of unorthodox marketing methods like the one described above. If you’d be interested in this book or have ideas you’d like to share, e-mail me at goldman86@bellsouth.net and I’ll let you know when its ready and how you may get a copy.
Thanks for all your calls and e-mails. I truly love hearing from each of our readers. It is my hope that I can encourage others, whether in big cities or small towns like ours, to know that it is totally possible to be successful despite today’s economy – you simply have to make up your mind to do it and do the things others will not. Good luck and God bless you.
Bill Warren, DDJM (The Doctor of Dynamic Jewelry Marketing) owns a successful jewelry store in the western North Carolina mountain town of Hudson. Bill speaks to many jewelers organizations and associations on the subject of jewelry store marketing. He also consults one on one with jewelry store owners helping them to improve their business. If you would like to reach Bill, call 828-729-1020 or e-mail goldman86@bellsouth.net. You may also visit his blog at www.warrenmarketing.blogspot.com.
