Summertime hints
Summertime is a jewelry retailers’ spring-cleaning time.
This is the perfect time of year to get your store in order and prepared for fourth quarter. These months often bring slower traffic giving the staff time to devote to task that otherwise can get overlooked. We suggest that you help your staff make good use of this downtime by taking on important projects such as examining your merchandise assortment and starting your advertising campaign for fourth quarter, cleaning up your data base, and hosting an event to draw in customers during a traditionally slower time of the year.
June should mark the beginning of retailers’ fourth quarter planning and summer should jumpstart the tasks on your to-do list.
Merchandise Assortment
JCK typically triggers retailers’ largest merchandise purchases of the year. Retailers make decisions as to what product their jewelry cases will be filled with come the critical fourth quarter. As purchases continue to be made, we recommend you make certain they are fitting into your overall merchandising plan by creating the assortment by both product type and price point that meets your customer’s needs. This selection of goods hopefully includes new looks and designs which will influence the merchandise mix of the entire store, the advertising campaign, and ultimately the sales for the year’s finale. These key purchases allow the opportunity to reinvent and proclaim a store’s image. Showcasing new lines and brands offers retailers a new story to tell and the venue to create excitement in the marketplace.
Advertising Campaign
June is when it all begins. As merchandise is selected, advertising plans should be laid out. Mr. Retailer, this year will be a race to see who can make themselves heard following the excessive media static. To be heard/seen & recognized; a campaign with multiple reaches must be put in place and ready for action. A last-minute effort will not be enough.
A bit of quite time from the continual flood of minute by minute press coverage has inundated customers the past several months. Retailers need advertising and special events to reach consumers in a way that captures attention, motivates and brings people into your store. Your approach must be unique and inviting to separate you from all the media coverage consumers have intently been watching or trying to escape. More than ever this year, ADVERTISING MUST BE CREATIVE & CAPTIVATING!
Database Clean-up
Database clean-up is one of the less glamorous parts of advertising but a necessary element. As you decide on your campaign for the upcoming months consider exactly who you want your message to hit. Will you pursue a broad reach attempting to bring in new customers or will you personalize your message and focus on your loyal customers from year’s past? Either way your mailing list could probably use refreshing. Certainly, you keep your list current by omitting names when mailings are returned but consider dividing your list into several parts. Sort your list by the last time a purchase was made or the amount of the purchase. As an example, these two sort considerations could narrow what you thought should be a invite list of 5,000 to 2,500. Spend your advertising dollars wisely and get a bigger impact for your dollar by getting the right message to the right customer.
Summer Event
Consumers although intrigued with the press also become tired of it and are looking for a breath of fresh media air. Consider a summertime event as a positive distraction. A summer event doesn’t need to be big, but it should be fun and remind your most valued customers of your presence – which will play as a prompting in fourth quarter. You could host a traditional repair, appraisal or virtual trunk show. What might you do to make yourself stand out in a positive way to a customer who is tired of the media, and the uncertainty of the economy?
We hope these summertime hints will inspire you to tackle a few of the necessary yet easily put off task in your store. Although life has been uncertain for longer than any of us would like to admit there are definitely strategic moves you can make to ensure your success. We encourage you make this summer productive and move towards a confident future.