wirejewelry's Tip #5 for a Successful 2009!

We’re winding down to our final two tips for a successful year in 2009. In our previous tips we’ve discussed some different ways to effectively market to your existing customers and how to attract new business.

It’s funny, just this morning I received an email from a lady (we’ll call her Jill for now). We had exchanged a few emails regarding a promotion that we were running. Jill’s comment was, “Thank you Brandon, but do you realize people are out of work and there's a recession going on? How can I possibly make any money selling jewelry at a time like this?”

Now don’t get me wrong, the market is completely different today than it was a few years ago. And it is sad that so many people are losing their jobs due to companies going out of business. However, that doesn’t mean that businesses aren’t still flourishing. And that doesn’t mean that you as a jewelry maker still can’t post positive returns each quarter!

Did you know that Google, which has a business stricture that is directly tied to the economy and how much people are spending, is having a record 1st quarter? In the midst of a recession, with people losing their jobs and not spending as much as they have in the past, Google is going to have a record quarter and possibly a record year!

How did they do it? How do we follow their example?

My plan was to focus on building relationships with other companies and utilizing those partnerships to attract new business during these final two tips, but the email I received this morning made me think hard about the direction we need to take with these tips.

So, with that being said, during these final two tips we’re going to spend some time speaking about some ways that we can emulate Google and achieve record quarters all around the board!

The biggest reason that Google is doing so well right now is that they haven’t limited themselves to a specific region. Let’s say that you own a  jewelry making business in Hooper, UT. By utilizing most of the marketing techniques we’ve spoken about the past few days, you’re limiting yourself to people that are within a few miles radius around your home.

Now, let’s say that one of the largest employers in the area goes out of business. Suddenly, all of your marketing isn’t going to bring in too much business because the majority of people won’t have a job. You’ll still get some business, but it won’t be as much as it was before the employer went out of business.

What if you would have been marketing on a national level? Hooper, UT might not being doing too well financially, but you are marketing to everyone else in the country.

Now the big question----How do you market to everyone in the country without spending a ton of money? The answer is quite simple: a website. Websites have gotten to the point where you can build one for a very reasonable amount. You can realistically get a professional looking website up and running within a matter of a few days and for only a few hundred dollars.

Not only does having a website allow you to focus your marketing on a national level for a very affordable fee, it also builds credibility with people that you have a face-to-face relationship with. When you hand someone your business card and it has a web address on it, it tells that person that you’re for real. It tells them that you’ve invested into the business, so you’re not going to go out of business within a few weeks.

I’m going to speak briefly about some important aspects to consider when you’re building your website.

1-    The #1 conversion tool on a website is being personable. If you can be personable on your website, people will feel comfortable there. They’ll feel “at home” and won’t have a problem browsing around to view all of your unique custom made jewelry. You can accomplish this by putting images of people. Instead of images just of jewelry, take some photos of you holding the jewelry. Putting a face to a name will do wonders!

2-    Have you ever gone to call a company for questions or concerns before ordering a product? You dial the 800 number and go through a 163 different queues only to be answered by some guy in a country that you can’t pronounce the name of and you can’t understand a word he’s saying?

We all have gone through that and all of us know how FRUSTRATING that is! Make sure that somewhere towards the top of your website and in very large and clear font you have a phone number for someone to contact. Telling people that an actual person will pick up their phone call and take care of their questions will help you convert a lot more sales on the site.

3-    When creating a domain name for you website – keep it simple! I have a good friend who owns a jewelry business. They sell a lot of elk tooth ivory rings. He recently told me he was building a site. I asked him what the domain name was and he said, “www.Elktoothrockymountainivoryrings.com ”. Do you think I remembered that when I got home? NO! Keep it short and sweet!

4-    Give your customers some sort of guarantee. Let them know you stand behind the quality of your work and you’re not afraid to guarantee the work. People will feel much more comfortable purchasing your jewelry this way.

There is a lot to talk about when speaking about putting together a good website, but I think we’ve covered some of the main points.

I’ve learned a lot about websites in the past few months. Some of the owners of wirejewelry.com own a e-commerce company called ClaimTheWeb.com. They’ve been in the business of creating online stores for quite a few years now. They’ve shared a lot of their expertise with me over the last few months and it’s been extremely beneficial in helping other jewelry makers with their marketing strategies.

Stay tuned for the last tip of this series! I’m going to share with you some ways that you can make that website turn into a machine that automatically puts customers in front of you without doing any ongoing work.

Until Next Time!

Brandon Hutchins
wirejewelry.com