Holiday Countdown Series: Marketing

Personalize marketing pitches for regular clients

By Catherine Dayrit

October 15, 2009

Tucson, Ariz.--At Marshall's Jewelers, vice president Victoria Marshall and her team may not have any idea of who's been naughty or nice this year, but with the holiday season approaching, they do know who will be shopping in a timely manner and who won't.

That is why the family-owned operation, with two stores in Tucson, Ariz., will invite women to fill up their wish lists at a ladies' night in late November, but will wait until one week before Christmas to host the men's night.

Knowing one's customers and cluing into their habits--as Marshall's did in scheduling a last-minute event for their notoriously down-to-the-wire male shoppers--is one way to ensure your marketing plan will work, say experts.

And while seeking out potential new clients via social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter was a hot topic this year, it seems retailers' favored marketing strategies for the upcoming season are tried-and-true methods directed at their regular customers.

"This is the year of focusing on who your existing customers are and making sure they come back," says Ellen Fruchtman, founder and president of Toledo, Ohio-based Fruchtman Marketing. "You're going to have the largest propensity of buyers from [those customers] who have already experienced your store."

Florida-based Birks and Mayors, which operates 31 stores under the Mayors name in Florida and Georgia, focuses on store regulars with a follow-up program that has been in place for more than 20 years, says Al Rahm, senior vice president.

"We'll call a client within 30 days of a purchase or two weeks of a repair," he says.

Mayors' sales associates send out thank-you notes, and later phone or e-mail those clients to let them know that a new piece they might be interested in has arrived, or to invite them to an upcoming event. Dubbed "We Care," the program pinpoints customers who spent more than $500 on jewelry or $100 or more on repairs.

"We started this back in 1988, and it's still in effect today," Rahm says. "Anytime we can do a person-to-person marketing initiative, we will. Our business is a relationship business."

That's something well understood by a number of jewelers. At San Diego's Harold Steven's Jewelers, Ryan Krasner, the store's vice president and an avid surfer, draws an analogy: "If I got a phone call from [surf brand] Quicksilver, and they said, 'We would love for you to try these new boards or this new suit,' I would, because they took the time to actually call me. I think that's extremely effective."

While perhaps the way of the future, marketing via social networking sites can be a gamble given that users are bombarded with a variety of messages, Krasner says.

At Harold Steven's, for small events such as a gemstone roundtable taking place at the end of October, the retailer will draw up a list of clients who have made past gemstone purchases, and then will send each of them a letter and then an e-mail before putting in a direct phone call.

Birks and Mayors' holiday events will also include more intimate gatherings for top customers, such as a Patek Philippe dinner with 16 clients at a Boca Raton resort and a private in-store event for clients who have made purchases of $20,000 and above.

Events such as these, Fruchtman says, are not only fun ways to generate excitement, they are opportunities for the retailer to say thank you.

Cutting spend

Birks and Mayors has decreased its holiday marketing budget for this year, a shift commensurate with the current economic situation, says Rahm. It's not alone. Each of the retailers interviewed by National Jeweler planned to spend less on marketing, while also getting the most out of the dollars they did plan to spend.

Smyth Jewelers in Timonium, Md., is sending out one catalog instead of the usual two and is also upping the number of e-mail blasts it sends out to save on printing costs, says Ruthanne Carroll, director of advertising.

Krasner, of Harold Steven's, says management anticipated sales to be down for the year by roughly 15 to 20 percent, so the marketing budget was adjusted accordingly. Instead of printing and sending a 2009 holiday catalog, the store will send out a direct-mail piece that features a gift card and directs consumers to browse the store's online catalog.

Another change is that in addition to high-end, aspirational pieces, the catalog will feature more fashion pieces in the $200 to $1,000 range, such as designs from Italian brand Rebecca, whose gold-plated bronze creations have been a strong seller through the recession.

Fruchtman says if a retailer decides to go the direct marketing route, materials should be focused on existing customers and "win-back" customers, those who haven't purchased in the last three to five years.

"The other thing people should focus on is e-mail marketing because it's obviously a very inexpensive way of getting in front of the customer," she says.

The key to success with this strategy, as well as any form of personal contact with the customer, lies in keeping accurate records.

"Every minute, at point of sale, [sales associates] should update all the information," Fruchtman says.

The customer's take

Another inexpensive form of marketing is viral marketing. Used in conjunction with Internet review sites, it essentially turns up the volume on traditional "word of mouth" referrals.

Andy Malis, president of advertising agency MGH, whose clients have included such jewelry retailers as James Free Jewelers, Robbins Diamonds and Samuel's Jewelers, is among those championing this technique.

Malis and his team work with jewelers to harness loyal customers and turn them into store "ambassadors." The team sends out surveys and selects the store's top "fans" based upon customer responses to questions such as "How likely are you to refer a friend to store XYZ?"

Top-scoring customers are invited to be ambassadors and are asked to help out by writing reviews for the retailer on Yelp, Yahoo! Local or WeddingWire.

"A lot of jewelers don't even know what people are saying about them," Malis says of online review sites. "And most people only write when it's been a bad experience."

Ambassadors are not paid, but Malis encourages retailers to show their thanks in other ways, such as extending an invite to a special preview the day before an event.

"It's amazing how when someone is really satisfied with a product or service, they'll do things for you," Malis says. "But for any good customer, you should surprise them with a thank you. Jewelers should be doing this anyway."

It's an inexpensive strategy and one that can be highly advantageous for the local jeweler, especially if local competitors include national retail chains, Malis says.

No matter what the approach, Fruchtman says, a successful marketing plan boils down to being proactive and in touch with customers.

"The most successful jewelers we have believe in the planning process, work hard in their business and hire professionals to do what they do best," she says. "I've seen one common thread of the real successful ones: It's people who are connected and out there. Because people like to do business with people they like and trust."

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