Social Media Redefined

As you know, I follow the universe of social media, monitoring the popularity of various venues in order to encourage my readers to use these appropriately.  I’m an avid Facebooker, occasional Tweeter, YouTuber and LinkedIn member.  What’s happening in the Israel right now reveals some strange new truths about social media. 

The military's live spin about the strike, and Hamas' response on a separate Twitter feed, have been called an unprecedented use of social media. BuzzFeed wrote that it "may well be the most meaningful change in our consumption of war in over 20 years." It's raising questions about the ethics and implications of live-tweeting a violent conflict. And it's calling into question the democratic, everyone-has-a-voice nature of Twitter, which is known more for giving a voice to protesters and civilians than military spokespeople.

The full CNN article comments on Facebook and Twitter usage as “giving a voice to protesters and civilians”.  Maybe the lesson is that we should be using these social media venues as one of the masses.  Maybe we should be rallying our readers in common causes related to our markets and our industry.  Rather than instructing and promoting we might need to comment and voice concerns.

That’s likely why LinkedIn sucks (in my humble opinion.)  You can’t get a group of business-people to engage in meaningful dialogue when most seem hardwired for self-promotion.  LinkedIn users might feel they’re above the masses so that rather than fighting against “the man” they believe they are “the man” (pardon the gender bias of this ‘60s hippy-reference.)

If there is resentment to military captains and captians of industry using social media for propaganda and promotion, then maybe we should avoid it too.  We could start thinking like our market, and take a good hard look at our industry.  Social justice, environmental impact, fair trade, ethical business practices.  Who’s with me?

Selling to Men

“Awe, just get me that cheapo titanium band over there…”

Don’t let ‘em get away with that…

“Well, that silver chain looks pimpin’!”

They can’t get-off that easily…

Guys will cheap-out on jewellery if you let them.  They’re strangers in a strange land.  You know the old joke that men with pierced ears make better husbands because they’ve bought jewellery and experienced pain?  Not many guys feel at home in a jewellery store ESPECIALLY when it comes to jewellery for them.  Show them the good stuff first. Let them see your best watches.  Show them high style, let them try-on product and whet the appetite of their right brains while you have the chance.  Ask them if they want to look upon their finger 20 years from now and see the same band that they got married with.

Once they flip the switch into left-brain rational mode (which men are famous for) then talk about features and benefits.  Tell them why gold is superior to silver, titanium and tungsten.  Talk about sapphire crystals and chronographs.  Explain the cost of sizing a gold ring as opposed to replacing an alternative metal band.

I’ve got to tell you from personal experience that if you take the time to sell to men, you can sell double the value of lazy salespeople!

The Home Stretch

The Home Stretch

Black Friday’s done, and there are only 40 more shopping days before Christmas.  When I was on the sales floor, there was nothing like those last couple of days before Christmas!  I loved the way desperate men would come into the jewellery store tapping their credit card on their palm while seeking-out a last minute Christmas gift for their wives.  It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

Now that I look back on it, I’m thinking it should looked at as “sad,” not “exciting.”  I wonder how many of those poor sods could have been coached into shopping earlier when the selection was better.  I wonder if I greedily took their money without giving them a great jewellery buying experience.  I wonder how many times I allowed them to buy something that was a mismatch for her long-term jewellery wardrobe development.

Today’s probably a good time to start calling known clients and encouraging them to shop early.

• ·      We’ve just received the last of our big Christmas orders, so selection is best
• ·      With a small deposit we can hold it until closer to Christmas
• ·      We have more time to spend with you at this time of year
• ·      You’ll be a hero if he/she opens-up one of these hot new designs on Christmas morning
• ·      Let’s get your Christmas shopping out of the way before the crowds get ridiculous
• ·      Only 40 more shopping days.  If we don’t have exactly what you want there’s still time to customize or personalize something special for you
• ·      You can beat everyone to see our largest selection of the year

Add you own talking points for those calls, but have them handy.  Read the over a few times before engaging in conversations.  You’ve even got time to go to them if outside sales are permissible.  Rather than wait for the Christmas rush to come to you, run to it!  Make it happen for yourself.  If you end-up with a little bit of extra time to actually work with clients on the 23^rd and 24^th, you’ll be better able to give them a great experience.

Responsibility

It’s easy to overlook headlines when I receive so many jewellery news blogs.  This one would have been missed by many, but since attending the RJC meeting in Las Vegas, I can tell you that this is very BIG news. 

The RJC (Responsible Jewellery Council) has just added DeBeers to their membership list.  Here’s the significance.  Whenever some do-gooder says, “everyone in the jewellery business should agree to be more environmental, and ensure safe and ethical working conditions,” it takes a supreme effort to define it and then get significant players on board.  Sure, everyone in a conference room will applaud that something should be done by somebody, but secretly the largest companies might not honestly be able to take the moral high-ground because somewhere in their supply chain, someone is using child labor, abusing mother-earth, or taking shortcuts to maximize profits.

DeBeers is the first large-scale mining company to sign-on.  Once you get one major force in the industry marketing that they are certified, others are sure to follow … which leads to REAL CHANGE. 

Here’s something I learned in Vegas.  It is the responsibility of RJC members to insist that everyone in their upstream supply-chain conduct business according to RJC guidelines.  When you’ve got a company like DeBeers holding their suppliers, subcontractors and partners to the same code; that affects a lot of businesses.  As the RJC designation becomes more pervasive in our industry, we will have more channels for certifiable ethically sourced jewellery.

Hint-hint

I hope you all had the opportunity the weekend to properly acknowledge the brave sacrifices of our troops.  Thank you to Ken Fisher and all of you who have served.  Lest we forget…

If you aren’t familiar with them, “hint-hint” cards are designed as a take-home reminder of a favored piece of jewellery that can be given to someone who might need a “nudge” to select the right gift.  Whenever your brand-names and style numbers allow the shopper to acquire a competitive price quote on the exact same thing, these cards will work against you.  In the same way that some stores refuse to allow photography of your designs, some use an in-store “wish-book” in place of hint-hint cards.

I believe that as a retailer I would be inclined to be protectionist about my style numbers and images, but maybe that would be a turn-off to the smart-phone generation.  Maybe we need to echo the level of transparency on the internet.  What do internet retailers have to lose by showing model numbers, gram-weights, gem-weights, qualities and measurements?  Not much.  You see, they want and need their viewers to compare jewellery on its’ measurable and directly comparable attributes.  For them it takes aesthetics (does it look good on me?), service (what’s the benefit of an in-person relationship with your business like?) and follow-up off the table.  Can they beat you on price if they don’t have staff and a ridiculous lease to pay?   Probably.

I suggest that you consider echoing the transparency of the internet as a sell-out.  I further recommend taking every opportunity to espouse the in-person benefits of “membership” in your store.  If you can effectively stand-up for the advantages of bricks-and-mortar jewellery stores, you’re eliminating a large number of competitors from your marketplace.

If you’re a fan of “hint-hint” cards, then consider also documenting each hint in your own in-store wish-book, so that you can choose to be proactive and call Mr. So-and-so before Christmas and give him a hint of your own.