10 points on selling bridal to millennials Instore Magazine did a
great article about selling bridal and custom bridalto the
millennial Customer. MATTHEW EGO, director of operations for Unique
Settings of New York, presented at the InStore show a series of
clinics selling bridal and custom to millennials.
As you know the internet can be viewed as your foe in a store but in
this case it’s your friend. The article is terrific on how to sell
bridal to the younger customer, today’s jewelry customer. For many
jewelers Bridal is what’s selling-what’s keeping jewelry stores
alive. About 20% of bridal is bought over the internet leaving you
with 8 out of 10 bridal sales being made in your store.
Custom designing rings for bride & grooms to be leads us to ways to
sell tothem plus getting word of mouth (best sales tool available) to
their family and friends.
When designing or even ordering an engagement ring for them many
opportunities await you.
If you started with just the guy or both of them send pictures and/or
videos as the design is being completed.
-
If you’re doing a Cad design or carving a wax take a short video of
the process to send to them showing how the ring is being
designed/made. Allow the craftsman to speak in the video and give a
short narrative. -
When a wax is ready for them to view have the jeweler or
salesperson video them holding the wax up close letting them know to
come in for a fitting. -
After casting send some pictures of cast/file up/polish. Then of
the setting process. -
If you’ve ordered a mounting from a vendor for them have the sales
person make a short video opening the box and showing excitement on
it’s arrival and beauty. -
When complete and ready for pickup send pictures or videos from
your phone
The purpose is to relay excitement to the man or couple and they will
forward to their friends and family. This cements your store as THE
STORE for bridal.
Yes this could take a little bit of time but the publicity the
customer will generate for you by forwarding your communications will
more than pay foritself.
Here’s the article from Instore
Ego mentioned that that age group (roughly 25 to 34 years old) spend
$600 billion annually, and in 2014 they spent more on jewelry than
any other age group. By the time they come into your store, they’ve
done considerable research and they are ready to BUY. All you have
to know, Ego says, is how to relate to them and you’ll be able to
walk them down that aisle. How do you relate to millennials? By
customizing both their experience and their rings.
Here are 10 points to consider from Ego’s presentation:
HELP THEM SHARE: Keep in mind, when millennial customers (roughly 25
to 34 years old) are shopping, they want to share EVERYTHING with
their virtual friends on their mobile devices - from their
restaurant meal to their new shoes. Encourage them to take photos
and share them, because if they don’t, they may feel as if they
weren’t even there!
ENTERTAIN THEM: Shopping for jewelry is often a new experience to
millennials. If your store feels “old-fashioned” and intimidating,
and if they feel pursued by sales people, they will likely just
leave. Find ways to entertain them (a photo booth?), and give them a
little space to breathe. If you have prototypes in your store, make
it easy for them to try something on independently of your sales
staff.
TELL THEM A STORY: Train your staff to tell an interesting story
about your store. That helps millennials to feel like part of your
story. “Stories are memorable and descriptions are boring,” Ego
contends.
SELL THE VALUE: When selling bridal rings to millennials, emphasize
the lasting and symbolic value of the engagement ring, in contrast
to the money they are spending on things that won’t last, like their
cake and their flowers. “The majority of their budget should be for
the rings,” Ego says. “Because the only thing left after the band
has stopped playing and the couple has a hangover, is those rings.”
LET THEM CHANGE IT: Millennials want to customize their rings, just
like they customize their Chipotle burritos - or their own bodies
with tattoos. “Why wouldn’t we want that experience when it comes to
jewelry?” says Ego, a millennial himself. But it doesn’t have to
mean a lot of work on your part. To your customer, custom design can
mean making one little change to an existing style of ring you
already have in your showcase. Keep in mind that margins on custom
rings can be 15 to 20 percent higher than selling something out of
your showcase. If you’re not offering changes, you are missing out:
At least 42 percent of millennials already are buying rings they
consider to be “custom.” They crave both differentiation and input.
USE THEIR RESEARCH: Mobile technology is not the enemy. It’s makes
it easy for millennials to share their ideas with you and achieve
their dream rings. The majority of millennials do their ring
research online, but fewer than 10 percent are buying bridal jewelry
that way.
OFFER CUSTOM OPTIONS: Custom can be an easy option for you. How many
of your sales start with a customer comment like, “I like that ring
in the showcase, but I want something a little different.” If you
don’t currently offer custom, it’s possible to offer it by using a
prototype program and a website system such as Unique Settings
offers, Ego says. Once your system is in place, you can tell your
customer, “That looks like a simple change. I’m sure we can
accommodate what you are looking for. No one would have anything
like this. I can walk you through the steps and you can create
changes along the way.” Total turn-around time from submitting a
drawing or photo to presenting a finished ring to your customer
doesn’t have to take longer than about 10 days.
INVITE THEM BACK: If they choose the custom route, keep them
involved in every step of the process, from CAD to wax models, and
seek their input as you go along. It’s a great way to bring a new
customer into your store four times in a few weeks. How often does
that happen?
CREATE RAVING FANS: Once custom-design customers have been to your
store a few times, if you make them comfortable and establish a
relationship, they will become raving fans. And that represents the
kind of word-of-mouth advertising you just can’t buy, Ego says.
“They are not going to go anywhere else when a special occasion
comes along. They are going to tell the whole world that Susan down
at the local jewelry store is a wonderful person, because she helped
me create my ring,” Ego says.
SELL THEM A STORY: “Anyone can sell a ring, but to sell something
you don’t have; that is a skill and that is a story,” Ego says.
“It’s a story the groom can tell the bride, if the ring is a
surprise; and it’s a story the bride will certainly tell her friends.”