Have you ever wondered why some jewelry stores seem to stay ahead of the crowd while others plod along with the same old results year after year? Its a question that has plagued many a store owner. Perhaps a piece of the puzzle is that those jewelers who blaze new trails are the ones who aren’t afraid to experiment with something new.
Its seems that many jewelers who otherwise would be very successful are suffering from Paralysis by Analysis. The store owner/manager/marketing director seems to over analyze each and every marketing effort and promotion to the point of failure in not getting anything done.
Please don’t take me wrong here, none of us are perfect – I’ve suffered from this same malady myself from time to time. However, when I notice myself becoming too critical, I try to step away and come back with fresh eyes to any marketing effort I’m attempting to do. Another helpful idea may be to let a trusted friend in the biz look at your marketing effort to see things you may not.
The Ready, Fire, Aim Principle is simply that! While others are waiting to get their promotional idea perfect (it probably isn’t anyway), their competitors are launching new and exciting initiatives and winning the day! The promotion they launch may not be perfect, but they’re not waiting around for it to be perfect either. The results often speak for themselves – they do quite a bit of business because they simply tried. You can’t hit a home run if you won’t step up to the plate and swing!
Many times, I’ve launched a new marketing campaign with a postcard, newspaper or radio ad, e-mail blast, etc. and I didn’t have everything completely perfect in my own eyes. However, the timing was right and the main bulk of the message hit Dead On!
You’ll discover as I have that the most successful jewelers are those who are not afraid to forge ahead with their marketing. It seems that with middle age, I’ve become less afraid of failure and I have a willingness to experiment. As a hunting friend of mine lamented, “Bill, sometimes you’ve just got to squeeze off a few rounds… you never know when a duck might be flying over and you’ll hit it!”
Before I close this article, many folks have asked where I get the ideas for marketing my business. I’d love to tell you that I thought of them all, but hey, I’d be lying. I believe in keeping my “saw sharp.” How do you do that? By keeping your mind filled with ideas that you get from listening to marketing CDs or reading great marketing books. A few of the books I’ve been reading lately are:
“The Psychology of Influence” by Robert B. Cialdini
“The Ultimate Success Secret Revisited” by Dan Kennedy
“There’s A Customer Born Every Minute” by Joe Vitale
Not only have the above books kept my “saw sharp,” they have given me ideas that made my store money! What does your marketing library look like?
So there you have it friends – squeeze off a few rounds in your business, you just might be surprised when you make that lucky shot!
Bill Warren is president of The Gold Mine Fine Jewelry & Gifts, Inc., a successful jewelry store in the Hudson, NC. He recently formed Warren Marketing Systems, a company dedicated to helping small to medium size jewelers achieve success through innovative marketing. He regularly speaks at jewelry shows and conventions and also is a member of the Marketing Wizards Alliance. If you would like to receive more money making ideas like those in this article, consider subscribing to the Marketing Wizards Alliance Newsletter. To do so or to contact Bill, call 828-729-1020 or e-mail goldman86@bellsouth.net.
