T.O.M.A.

If you’ve ever been beaten over the head by an advertising sales rep about top of mind awareness, tell them to back-off. This is their way of trying to increase their sales not yours. Those of you who have hundreds of locations around Canada may have the advertising budget to strive for T.O.M.A., all the rest must pick their battles.

Think of yourself as a boxer with huge muscles but no stamina. Independent jewellery retailers have the strongest offerings in the industry. You carry more unique product, higher average quality jewellery/gems and you tailor your inventory to the local market. Without stamina (in this case, a huge marketing budget that allows constant broadcasting to your audience) you need to bob-and-weave, and save-up your energy for periodic flurries.

I spoke to a jeweller who has tried numerous marketing tactics over his 30 year career. He told me he now spends his marketing budget during four or five big promotions per year. Not a bad idea. Promotions offer the perspective client an experience. It could be a gold-sale, restlye and design event, diamond expo, trunk-show, clearance sale or any number of themed events.

You can wait for the dreaded visit from your advertising sales rep who will try to get you to commit to spending 15% more than last year. Or, you can engineer some sort of promotion and call them to solicit a proposal: “I’m having a 3-day promotional event, and I want to do 10 days of advertising leading-up to it and then a day after for a thank you and prize-draw announcement. If I give you a $2,000 prize package to give away, what kind of advertising proposal can you offer me?”

I guarantee you’re going to get all kinds of value offered to you. A prize give-away can often net you 3-5 times the retail value of your prize in advertising over and above what you pay for.

It’s a question of initiative. If you don’t have a plan for your advertising budget, you will receive many compelling offers to take it off your hands.

Loyalty Programs

It struck me the other day.  After being on the road for 11 years, why have I found so few hotels that I’m loyal to?  What’s up with THAT? 

One of the primary reasons is because through Priceline, Travelocity and Hotels.com I might get a four-star hotel at a two-star price.

I think we all do it.  Your so-called loyal clients shop you around a bit and maybe you shop them around before deciding if you’ll give them your business.

Is there ANY loyalty ANYWHERE? 

I was thrilled to get a call from one car rental agency who asked me what it would take for them to get all of my car rental business.  I agreed not to collect loyalty points and they agreed to give me their best corporate rate and priority service.  Done deal.  I use them every time!

I’ve almost forgotten that Westjet exists, since achieving elite status with Air Canada.  Free drinks, food and magazines in the Maple Leaf lounges, along with upgrades and priority service are pretty addictive perks!!! 

What are the privileges of being your customer?  Are they enough to make people forget the big promises made by the internet, the home shopping channel, chain-stores and your direct competitors? 

How about formally awarding elite status to your best customers?  I know some retailers whose best clients spend tens-of-thousands of dollars in a good year.  Isn’t it worth throwing them a few perks to keep them from straying? 

·      Priority back-office sales appointments.

·      Consults with participating sales reps who might sell them something outside of your ordinary inventory.

·      Free ring-sizing and appraisals.

·      Free delivery service. 

·      Advance notice and front-of-the-line opportunity for sales events.

·      A client night once or twice a year, where you show them a fantastic time to thank them for their loyalty.

o   Give an award to the “big spender” at this event

o   Don’t make it a sales event.  They will likely respond and purchase if you do, but think about the long-term impact of doing something JUST FOR THEM.

·      Keep a card-file or file folders with the names of your loyalty club members and a log of their visits; as a visual reminder that:

o   You have many loyal clients, so they’re in good company

o   You earnestly want to pay attention to their ongoing business

In this world of intense competition, loyalty is not a given.  It’s harder to get than ever before and in order to keep the loyalty, you’ll have to do more.

What if a jeweller was chatting them up at the gym, and they were able to say, “no thanks, I’m a platinum client at Todd’s Jewellers.”  That’s exactly what you’re after.  We want them to think, “I’d have to be a fool to deal with anyone else, regardless of price.”

Loyally yours,

Todd

Professional Development

What is a professional?  Well, a professional could be defined as one who gets paid to do very specialized work.  If someone purchases a diamond from you and then says, “thank you for being such a professional,” they might be implying that you conducted yourself in an efficient manor with ample product knowledge.

Those are good ways of looking at it, but there’s an element of professionalism that I want you to think about today.  A professional professes something.  In the case of a medical doctor, it’s the hippocratic oath.  After years of study, labs and apprenticeship a resident will commit themselves to the Hippocratic oath as a rite of passage from student to professional physician.

The Hippocratic Oath (orkos) is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. It requires a new physician to swear upon a number of healing gods that he will uphold a number of professional ethical standards. – Wikipedia

I applaud those of you who undertake JETS courses, GIA studies, and available seminars.  You can drag anyone off the street and put them behind a jewellery counter, give them a few pointers and say, “go get ‘em, Tiger!”  That’s pretty much how I started at Forest of Jewels in Heritage Mall in 1987; although I was quickly given study materials to build my product and industry knowledge.

Before you feel like a professional in this business, you need to achieve a milestone.  Pass a course, sell $1Million worth of jewellery, be appointed as store manager, or have your own store.  When you hit that plateau, what’s your rite of passage?  What code of conduct and ethics do you subscribe to and operate by?

Today I challenge you to publish a code of ethics within your store.  It could be derived from religious beliefs, business affiliations or self-generated.  This way, both you and your clients can be reminded that you stand for something.  If you’re a CJA member, guess what?  Your membership application requires that you agree to their code of ethics.  Whether you are a member or not, it’s worth a quick read; click HERE.

We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us.

            Marshall Mcluhan

Video Blog - My Ulterior Motives

Last night I had a couple of beers with one of my most valued clients, and one who is a close enough friend to be honest with me.  

I have published ideas that he found somewhat distasteful and ones which he felt were targeted at his business.  He also suggested that my readers might still be questioning my ulterior motives.

All fair comments.  At the same time, I’ve received many commendations from those of you who appreciate my efforts.

Saturday I put a call-out for some urgent assistance with a Canadian Jeweller feature article I’m working on.  The response was overwhelming.  I felt like Sally Field accepting her academy award for Places in the Hear, “You like me.  Right now. You like me!”

Part of the answer to the ulterior motive question lies in what happened Saturday.  I stumbled upon a hot-button issue that I had no idea you all were so passionate about.

I’ll be honest with you.  I have 6 ulterior motives: 

Ulterior Motive #1

I want to present a variety of topics at you until I discover the issues that get you all hot and bothered.  The ones where you would stand-up and say, “I Am Sparticus”

Ulterior Motive #2

I’ve urged you to display your code of conduct in your store to remind both you and your clients what it is you stand for.  The Toddwaz Report does the same for me.

Ulterior Motive #3

Social media marketing is growing in importance.  Writing the Toddwaz Report is a natural progression in my desire to prepare myself for the future.

Ulterior Motive #4

5 years ago I made it my goal to become a speaker at JCK Las Vegas.  Until now, I’ve never had a “body of work” to demonstrate that I have something substantive to say. 

Ulterior Motive #5

As independent retail jewellers in Western Canada, we face enough competition from other industries.  I am trying to be a virtual meeting point for retailers to come together and make our industry stronger.

Ulterior Motive #6

This is part of my marketing campaign to earn your business.  I believe I’ll be more successful if I do more than just phone and ask appointments.

There you go.  Enough about me.  What about you?

What ways can you test your market place to see what issues they are passionate about when it comes to buying luxury gifts?

How do you let your clients know what you stand for so that they will not only hold you up to your own standards, but compare them to your competitors?

Are you prepared for the day when social media marketing is needed to reach a higher proportion of your audience?

Is there any way you can leverage the influence you’ve gained through your own business to do something really important to you?

Do you believe that being part of a community of like-minded retailers makes you stronger than if you do your own thing?

What do you have to offer for free that will bring new customers in the door or build loyalty in your marketplace?

I believe in our industry and the ways we help people celebrate the momentous occasions in their lives.

I want all retailers reading and watching the Toddwaz Report to become more prosperous.

I want to earn your business by doing more than just showing-up.

Toddwaz … Over and Out!

I’ll Get by With a Little Help From my Friends

I’m not sure how many of you are like myself.  I don’t like asking for help.  With a fast-approaching deadline for my Canadian Jeweller article, I put out a request for help yesterday and you came through for me.  If you didn’t have time to reply, no worries.  I’ve got more than enough here to keep me busy all day.  I’m writing a 1200 word article and I’ve received a combined 2,394 words in response.  Well done people!!!

It feels amazing to set my pride aside to ask for assistance and find that it made life so much easier.  I hope when you’re backed into a corner you experience the same level of support as I have this weekend.  My Toddwaz Report family are a good and caring group of people.

Thanks and enjoy your Sunday.

Saturday Story Time – From $400 to $4,000 in 4 minutes

He must have been in his mid 20s when as a superstar employee was given shares in the company to keep him connected and motivated.  Now 10 or 12 years later the company had been sold and he was ready and able to buy his girlfriend the diamond of her dreams, his-and-hers Rolexes, build a luxuriously appointed reclusive home on a large acreage along the North Saskatchewan River and plan a big wedding.

Now it was time to select his wedding band.  “Awe, just a plain band will be good enough for me.”  Not only did I perceive an ability to afford something more, I had never listened to any groom-to-be when they uttered those foul words.  I of course showed him some nicer 18kt and platinum bands, many diamond set pieces, and shared with him a partially deconstructed ring that I had on the drawing board.  I called it the “rebar ring.”  From one side it looked like a fairly heavy plain tiffany style band, but part of the ring was “cracked-away” to reveal the inner structure; including white gold “rebar” and small diamonds looking like the crystals inside a geode.  Having been in construction, he loved the idea and we made it for him.

Well, by looking at and trying on some nicer heavier more luxurious rings, we went from $400 to $4,000 in about 4 minutes.  Now this was in a luxury jewellery boutique, but even when I was selling jewellery in the mall, I would routinely bypass the plain wedding band display and go right for the diamond-set wedding rings.  My average sales in men’s wedding bands were always about twice that of any other salesperson.

More and more, young ladies are expecting and wanting to put some effort and expense into her future husband’s band.  I say, LET THEM.  CJG stores have a promotion where they throw-in an inexpensive titanium wedding band with the purchase of a men’s gold wedding band of a certain value.  Good idea; it allows him to get the cool look of titanium along with something more permanent and serviceable.  David Stratton in Banff points-out that decked-out titanium, ceramic and tungsten bands can carry price points of up to $3,000.  Show them the decked-out ones first!

It’s really, really, really easy to let them buy the plain wedding band or the cheapo titanium band.  Consider that your fallback plan after you’ve made an attempt to sell them something more.  Something they’ll be proud of and rave about to their friends who just might be the next ones shopping for a wedding band.