Marketing your Service and Repair Warranties

Gas prices up, record foreclosures, higher food prices, not a lot of good news these days. How you respond to these business challenges is paramount to your survival.

Yes, there will be fewer jewelers in the months and years ahead, but the end result will be a better, healthier and more profitable industry. Position yourself now to survive and thrive!

If you tune in to CNBC or read the Wall Street Journal, you will be informed about the specific changes companies are making to weather the economic storms . Can you imagine watching an interview on CNBC, where a CEO is questioned about what measures they are taking to combat their company's sagging profits and weaker sales, and the CEO responds by saying, "We are not doing anything but hope that the economy or a new administration turns things around."

I have been on the phone over the last 3 months talking to hundreds of jewelers. When I ask,"How's business? Many of them tell me how store traffic is really weak." When I ask, "What are you doing to bring customers into the store, the answer is nothing."

When I really pin them down, they tell me that they have been running a newspaper ad, but it really hasn't produced any store traffic. Why then, if something doesn't work, why would someone continue to do it? Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result.

Part of the reason is habit. If you always do, what you have always done, you will always get what you've always got. If you want to survive , you will need to change or at least try new things.

It is hard for me to fathom that during these difficult and challenging times why jewelers are not bring proactive or creative in giving customers a reason to come into the store. It's surely not that they are so busy making sales that they don't have time, it's not the cost, since, communicating with customers has never been easier, faster or more cost-effective.

I thought I would offer a no-brainer way of getting customers into the store. I figure if a jeweler says no to this, then maybe it's time to just stop the bleeding and hire a 'going out of business consultant.'

But if you are serious about doing whatever it takes to get customers back into the store that doesn't require a whole lot of thought, that makes good business sense and provides a legitimate reason for coming into the store, then, there's no excuse not to try it.

Go through your customer list and first select customers that bought an engagement ring or mounting in the last 6- 12 months and pull the names by month.

Then send a personalized postcard out to these customers reminding them to bring in their ring, pendant, bracelet, etc, for their six month checkup. This reminder can help document and validate your repair warranties.

In addition to the salutation being personalized, you can also add even greater personalization, by adding a very specific aspect of the purchase to the card. For example, Six months ago you purchase a Tacori engagement ring and we recommend you bring the ring in for an inspection of the prongs.

You can also mention that you have the matching wedding band for this engagement ring.

By showing the customer you know about their specific needs increases the effectiveness of the direct mail effort. In addition, creating a special offer can also help improve response rate.

Target mailers offers these postcards (www.targetmailers.com) for $.58 each (4" x 6") with no minimums and that includes 1st class postage. Target mailers offers these postcards (www.targetmailers.com) for $.58 each (4" x 6") with no minimums and that includes 1st class postage.

Try this simple, inexpensive direct mail strategy and see if the right medicine at the right time doesn't provide more sales opportunities.

James S. Porte
Porte Marketing Group
www.portemarketing.com
Target Mailers
www.targetmailers.com
800-444-6112