As a senior product manager here at Stuller and a life-long lover of jewelry, I get lots of questions about cleaning and jewelry care products. One question that arises from jewelers most often: why should I carry a line of jewelry care products?
Well, offering a jewelry care line is a clever, strategic business decision. Here are the top five reasons why:
1. A branded jewelry care line helps to market your store
When a customer takes home a branded product, they see it repeatedly, allowing multiple brand impressions over its life. Promotional products commanded advertiser recall among roughly 85 percent of those surveyed by the Advertising Specialty Institute in 2014.
2. Offering jewelry care products gives you the opportunity to educate your customers
Teaching customers about jewelry care helps to cement the relationship between jeweler and customer. Your expertise is reinforced, and the customer learns valuable information about routine home care, as well as the importance of bringing fine jewelry back into the store for annual inspections.
3. Jewelry care lines generate add-on sales
This can have a real impact on the bottom line. When you add a $15–$20 sale to a percentage of your transactions, the dollars really start to add up.
4. Jewelry care products are the only consumables offered in a jewelry store
Eventually, your customer will run out of their cleaner or need a fresh polishing cloth, and they’ll come back to stock up. Traffic is always a good thing. Your customer might just find a new favorite piece when they stop in!
5. Did you know 82% of women own jewelry that they don’t wear because it’s dirty?
Yet only 16 percent of those same women had received jewelry cleaning education from their jeweler. When you help your customer learn to care for her jewelry, she will wear and enjoy it more. If she’s happy with her purchase, she’s bound to come back and offer referrals to her friends who admire its sparkle.
When starting a jewelry care line, consider the needs of your customers first. If you specialize in fine jewelry and diamonds, be sure to offer a fine jewelry cleaning formula. If pearls, beads, or fashion jewelry are a big segment for you, offer a non-ammoniated gentle jewelry cleaning formula. Polishing cloths are perfect for cleaning and polishing gold, silver, and platinum jewelry and watches. You can mix and match your assortment or offer cleaning kits, which hold a jar of cleaner and a polishing cloth. We also encourage you to offer care and cleaning education with the products, so customers leave your store ready to keep their jewelry sparkling.
What’s your experience when it comes to educating customers on jewelry care products? What tips do you give? Share with us in the comments below.
