Who's going to buy your jewellery?
It's not your competitors, so you can forget about them (I noticed entrepreneur Peter Jones is dishing out this advice on his new 'Making it' show). They won't buy your jewellery and who's to say anyone's buying theirs? Nope, contrary to what most business degrees teach (at least when I was at Uni) watching everyone else stumbling around (largely in the dark) won't help. Knowing your customers will.
That doesn't mean to say go bury your head in glib market research reports. You know, the ones that tell you how big the market is. How it's growing and how, just like in nearly every other retail sector you can think of, the same vaguely defined factors affect purchase behaviour. These reports won't help you target customers.
You are better off siting in a dark room. No really you are. Sit there and think. Use your brain and imagination. You could be surprised how much information is up there.
People buy products and, like most people, you probably know a fair few others. Friends, family, work colleagues and so on. Taken as a whole they are certainly quite a varied bunch. And, you're interacting with them all the time. You'll have an opinion about all of them and probably know a little about what they like, buy, what's important to them, etc. Think of them as your cross section of society - OK it might not be totally representative, but I'll bet it covers a fair swaithe.
So put that mental capacity to work on your reference group. Think of when they might buy jewellery, who for, what would likely drive their purchase - a bargain, designer label, individuality, environmentally friendly, exclusivity, low prices, a great deal, swankiness? And, if you come up with a whole load of questions, get out there and ask them.
Got lots of people, occasions and drivers? Great, now you need to make some decisions.
The first thing to decide is what drivers are you going to appeal to. What buttons are you going to press - exclusivity or eco-friendliness? swankiness or individuality? You can't be everything to everyone, so pick one or two to be your main selling point (nothing's unique anymore!) - or, in other words, your market positioning. This should inform all of your design work and pricing.
Clear positioning, though powerful, won't make for best-sellers on its own. For each and every piece you design, you need to decide who's going to buy it and when. People don't just buy jewellery willy-nilly. And, they don't buy it just because it's pretty. It has to be 'appropriate' - for want of a better word.
Jewellery is often bought for someone else and often for an occasion. To a certain extent, this dictates budget and what they want to buy. Of course, budget is relative, so you need to mentally check back to your reference group for thoughts on that.
Design 'an ideal valentine's gift' for a 30-something wife of a young professional and perhaps one of them will buy it. Design a random piece that could be given on Valentine's but doesn't really 'say romantic' and is a little pricey for this occasion and target and it probably won't.
Think of this way and you will be designing to sell, from the outset. The next challenge will be getting your jewellery in front of them.
That doesn't mean to say go bury your head in glib market research reports. You know, the ones that tell you how big the market is. How it's growing and how, just like in nearly every other retail sector you can think of, the same vaguely defined factors affect purchase behaviour. These reports won't help you target customers.
You are better off siting in a dark room. No really you are. Sit there and think. Use your brain and imagination. You could be surprised how much information is up there.
People buy products and, like most people, you probably know a fair few others. Friends, family, work colleagues and so on. Taken as a whole they are certainly quite a varied bunch. And, you're interacting with them all the time. You'll have an opinion about all of them and probably know a little about what they like, buy, what's important to them, etc. Think of them as your cross section of society - OK it might not be totally representative, but I'll bet it covers a fair swaithe.
So put that mental capacity to work on your reference group. Think of when they might buy jewellery, who for, what would likely drive their purchase - a bargain, designer label, individuality, environmentally friendly, exclusivity, low prices, a great deal, swankiness? And, if you come up with a whole load of questions, get out there and ask them.
Got lots of people, occasions and drivers? Great, now you need to make some decisions.
The first thing to decide is what drivers are you going to appeal to. What buttons are you going to press - exclusivity or eco-friendliness? swankiness or individuality? You can't be everything to everyone, so pick one or two to be your main selling point (nothing's unique anymore!) - or, in other words, your market positioning. This should inform all of your design work and pricing.
Clear positioning, though powerful, won't make for best-sellers on its own. For each and every piece you design, you need to decide who's going to buy it and when. People don't just buy jewellery willy-nilly. And, they don't buy it just because it's pretty. It has to be 'appropriate' - for want of a better word.
Jewellery is often bought for someone else and often for an occasion. To a certain extent, this dictates budget and what they want to buy. Of course, budget is relative, so you need to mentally check back to your reference group for thoughts on that.
Design 'an ideal valentine's gift' for a 30-something wife of a young professional and perhaps one of them will buy it. Design a random piece that could be given on Valentine's but doesn't really 'say romantic' and is a little pricey for this occasion and target and it probably won't.
Think of this way and you will be designing to sell, from the outset. The next challenge will be getting your jewellery in front of them.
Labels: jewellery that sells, selling jewellery
posted by Suggy at
22:35
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