The look and the feel of jewelry represent prestige, and this is something that shoppers find irresistible. They can’t get enough of it and even if there’s a huge crowd in the jewelry shop, they will get their hands on the gold necklace or the diamond ring if they really want it. However, this is no more possible. Covid-19 has caused the once-bustling jewelry stores during seasons to become silent and empty. Jewelry pieces on the showcase counters remain untouched. People are beginning to forget how owning a perfect jewelry piece can make their day. Well, this is when you step in to remind them that it still can. All they need is a screen and a working Internet.
The importance of the digital revolution seems to be understood and felt now more than ever before. Traditional industries like retail and other customer-driven services grow anxious day-by-day as the losses pile up. Some are already shifting base to the Internet, and this is actually not a bad idea at all, even for the luxury and the jewelry industry.
Using social media and various other platforms for your business has always been beneficial, and is even more advantageous during this uncertain time. It’s crucial to remind your customers that you’re still around to serve them what they need. We’ve listed below some ways you can implement to grow a virtual audience including your existing customers and help serve their needs.
Build Your Virtual Base
Right now is a good time to let your customers know that you’re there for them and are ready to listen to their jewelry needs. The best way to do this is to set up your profile on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook. Sending out a mass email or WhatsApp message about your Internet presence is also a good idea for making yourself more visible to people.
Virtually Engage With Your Customers
Now that you have your profile built, it’s good to immediately show your activeness on it as well as your enthusiasm to connect with people. Begin with posting online, and gradually increasing the frequency of the posting. Use helpful tools like going Live and posting on IGTV on Instagram. Put up posts that encourage your audience to communicate with you and excite them enough to check your collection on your page or website.
Understanding them and their requirements is key to maintaining an active audience. Your posts can’t all be about your products, so make sure you have other posts that also talk about them. It could be about the pandemic and how they’re coping, and it can also be about the kind of designs that they hope to see in the foreseeable future. These inputs are very useful, as this gives you information on current trends and what could become trendy in the future. It also provides an insight into what customers are looking for.
The great thing about the Internet is its connectivity. This is a fantastic way to engage with potential customers belonging to different geographical markets you hadn’t even thought of, and it’s a good idea to keep them close.
Tease with Exclusivity
Once you’ve managed to maintain an active profile and an active audience, you can then be confident enough to tease them with some exclusive promotion or demo show. A collection that can only be viewed by a select number of people is exciting for both the customers and you. Inviting exclusive people to private meetings, especially on Google Duo, Zoom, Skype etc. is a great way to create hype for your products.
An excellent way of creating hype is by adding some bloggers or influencers to the exclusive viewing party. The number of followers they have on their social media profiles is a huge benefit for you, as you will receive great amounts of traffic to your own pages and websites, thus creating a virtual hype greatly beneficial to your business. Further, several wedding based jewelry purchases have been postponed due to the lockdowns. It would be a great time to introduce your wedding jewelry collections to such customers that you know are looking out to buy their wedding or engagement based jewelry through these virtual meetings. And who knows, you might just obtain some jewelry orders through these virtual meetings.
Build Confidence and Faith in Your Customers
The trust of the buyers has been greatly affected, to the point that even the most prestigious and gorgeous designs on gold or diamond pieces won’t be able to calm their insecurities enough for them to freely enter your store. To reassure them, it’s crucial to first demonstrate your own confidence and faith in your own business, and the only way to do this is to make sure that you are taking all the precautions possible to keep everybody safe. Employees must be trained in appropriate social distancing norms and precautions should be prepared for customers as well when they enter your store. (To know more about how you can prepare for reopening once the lockdown is lifted, check our blog here. *attach hyperlink to previous blog*)
Once you have planned out how you’ll be taking the right precautionary steps, it’s then important to communicate this plan with your customers. Inform them how the showrooms will be sanitized, and how the collections will be safely handled. Let them know that upon entering, they will be provided with a sanitization station and that all employees and customers will be practicing social distancing. Don’t be shy on providing information, as it is this assurance that will make them feel safe and comfortable enough to enter your showrooms once the lockdown ends.
Since the start of capitalism and global trade, the motive behind these systems has always been to connect the world together; to create a global village that brings the world together and makes things more accessible for everyone. The pandemic has clearly shown how crucial and important these principles have become in our lives and to an extent, even our survival. That’s why we urge you to follow these steps and to implement these principles to your business’ survival as well.
