GradingAug 22, 2025
Former Head of GIA India Promoted to Oversee Global Operations Sriram “Ram” Natarajan is now GIA’s senior vice president of laboratory operations and is based out of the lab’s headquarters in Carlsbad.
IndependentsApr 24, 2017
Marketing Minute: The Importance of Being Early
Jim Ackerman encourages jewelers to get to prospects very early in their buying journey, perhaps before they even realize that they want to buy jewelry.
im Ackerman is a retail jewelry marketing expert who has spoken to jewelry retailers at JA New York, JCK, The Smart Jewelry Show and others. He can be reached at 800-584-7585, ext. 3, or by email at mail@ascendmarketing.com.
Here’s the way it normally goes …
You advertise for people to come buy from you because you want sales and you want them now. Your ads are designed to get people who are in the market to come into your store and plunk down their hard-earned money, preferably TODAY!
For example, you hold a bridal show in hopes of attracting people who want to buy an engagement ring. You want these people to buy from you because it usually represents a sale substantially larger than your average ticket.
There’s only one problem with all this.
Every competing jeweler in town, not to mention online, is chasing that same business at the same time with advertising that, frankly, just isn’t appreciably different from yours.
Let me make the case for a different approach. Adopting it will take great insight and courage on your part because adopting it will mean taking a whole different approach to your marketing.
You see, the approach I’ve outlined above is like hunting. You go out and find that sale and knock it down. Have success and you eat tonight.
Below, I’m going to suggest a farming-like approach. You plant your seed in fertile ground, cultivate it, nourish it and, ultimately, harvest the fruits of your labor. Have success with this approach and you eat for a long, long time.
I’m suggesting that you get in early. I’m suggesting you shift to a lead-generation approach on your advertising, wherein you attempt to get to prospects very early in their buying journey, perhaps before they even realize they’re a prospect.
With this process, the goal of your advertising is to capture a name and contact information. And to do that, you’ll have to provide them with a safe incentive. Usually, that’s in the form of information-- guides, tools and materials that are cheap or free to deliver, but that the prospect would find valuable early in the process.
When you offer to educate a prospect early, you have a chance to render value in advance.
But you also get to do these 3 key things:
1. Establish a relationship;
2. Render up-front value; and
3. Help them set buying criteria that inevitably leads right back to you and only you.
Establishing relationship refers to getting that precious contact information. It may be as little as a first name and email address, but it comes with permission for you to market to them further and directly.
Rendering up-front
value invokes reciprocation. You’ll have performed a service and given a gift. The prospect will almost certainly reciprocate by giving you a chance to sell and also by preferring you over the competition.
When you use your educational materials to help the prospect establish their own buying criteria, it’s fairly easy to “stack the deck” in your favor, virtually insuring that nobody else measures up to what you uniquely have to offer.
Your job is to program a multi-step process of contacting, leading, teaching, securing additional information, nurturing the relationship and making offers, until the prospect makes the logical decision to buy. Your program may consist of emails, direct mail, phone and text contacts, and more.
There may be many steps in the process between initial contact and the ultimate purchase. However, those steps will almost always lead to the prospect buying from you instead of the competition.
Once you have a system that works, you lock out the competition, and it is highly likely it will continue to work for a long, long time to come.
Jim Ackerman has addressed jewelry retailers at JA New York, JCK, the Atlanta Jewelry Show and others. He has teamed up with Shane Decker again this year for two Ultimate Jewelry Sales & Marketing Boot Camps. Ackerman also is providing National Jeweler readers with a free email marketing evaluation and consultation through April 30. Send an email request with your name and phone number to mail@ascendmarketing.com.
When you use your educational materials to help the prospect establish their own buying criteria, it’s fairly easy to “stack the deck” in your favor, virtually insuring that nobody else measures up to what you uniquely have to offer.
Your job is to program a multi-step process of contacting, leading, teaching, securing additional information, nurturing the relationship and making offers, until the prospect makes the logical decision to buy. Your program may consist of emails, direct mail, phone and text contacts, and more.
There may be many steps in the process between initial contact and the ultimate purchase. However, those steps will almost always lead to the prospect buying from you instead of the competition.
Once you have a system that works, you lock out the competition, and it is highly likely it will continue to work for a long, long time to come.
Jim Ackerman has addressed jewelry retailers at JA New York, JCK, the Atlanta Jewelry Show and others. He has teamed up with Shane Decker again this year for two Ultimate Jewelry Sales & Marketing Boot Camps. Ackerman also is providing National Jeweler readers with a free email marketing evaluation and consultation through April 30. Send an email request with your name and phone number to mail@ascendmarketing.com.
More on Independents
The Latest
CollectionsAug 22, 2025
Piece of the Week: Retrouvaí’s ‘Diamond Vein Bond’ CollarThe one-of-a-kind collar represents the beauty of imperfection and the strength to rebuild.
MajorsAug 22, 2025
Kendra Scott Returns as CEO of Her Jewelry EmpireThree C-suite executives, including former CEO Tom Nolan, have resigned as part of what the company describes as a “transition.”
Brought to you by
Rallying Call for the Jewelry Industry on Tariffs and Other Key IssuesJewelers of America is leading the charge to protect the industry amidst rising economic threats.
MajorsAug 21, 2025
Claire’s Finds Buyer, Could Save up to 950 StoresThe retailer, which recently filed Chapter 11, inked a deal to sell its North American business and intellectual property.
Weekly QuizAug 22, 2025
This Week’s QuizTest your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
MajorsAug 21, 2025
Target Names New CEO as Sales Continue to Lag Target CEO Brian Cornell will step down in February and be replaced by the company’s chief operating officer, Michael Fiddelke.
Policies & IssuesAug 21, 2025
JA, IDMA Talk Tariffs With Execs in DC The group met with the president's senior trade advisor earlier this week to express the industry’s concerns about the effects of tariffs.
Brought to you by
Taking the Moment Head On: How Rio Grande Champions the Present & Future of Fine JewelryAs a leading global jewelry supplier, Rio Grande is rapidly expanding and developing new solutions to meet the needs of jewelers worldwide.
MajorsAug 21, 2025
Tiffany & Co. Pops Up at 2025 US OpenThe pop-up will display this year's Tiffany & Co. Singles Championship trophies along with a diamond-encrusted tennis racket and ball.
CrimeAug 20, 2025
Another CA Jewelry Store Rammed With Car, RobbedThe latest incident happened Monday at a store in Oakland, California, continuing a pattern JSA first warned about last month.
WatchesAug 20, 2025
Oris Launches Watch Benefiting NYC Harbor Oyster RestorationThe new aqua green New York Harbor Limited Edition II is the watchmaker’s second collaboration with the Billion Oyster Project.
Events & AwardsAug 20, 2025
Take the Jewelers for Children ‘Trinity of Purpose’ ChallengeParticipants who attend any three Rings of Strength events will be awarded a special medal.
SourcingAug 19, 2025
Dubai’s Jemora Group Buys Diamond Miner LucapaThe investment company, founded by Dev Shetty, has acquired the struggling miner and its assets, including the Lulo mine in Angola.
ColumnistsAug 19, 2025
Peter Smith: The Arrival Fallacy and Jewelry RetailSmith shares wisdom he gleaned from a podcast he was listening to one morning while being walked by his dog, a Malshi named Sophie.
CrimeAug 19, 2025
Customs Seizes 7,300 Pairs of Fake ‘Alhambra’ EarringsThe counterfeit Van Cleef & Arpels jewels would have been worth more than $30 million if genuine.
MajorsAug 19, 2025
MJSA Apprenticeship Program Is Nationally RecognizedThe MJSA Mentor & Apprenticeship Program received the Registered Apprenticeship Program designation by the U.S. Department of Labor.
WatchesAug 19, 2025
Casio America Names New Timepiece Division ManagerCasio executive and watch enthusiast Masaki Obu is the new general manager of its U.S. timepiece division.
MajorsAug 18, 2025
Verragio’s Michael Barabash, a ‘Kind Soul,’ Dies at 58Barabash, Verragio’s client relations representative, was a vital member of the team and is remembered as being warm and full of life.
CollectionsAug 18, 2025
John Hardy’s New ‘Dot’ Collection Is on PointOriginally introduced in 1992, the “Dot” collection is back with a capsule featuring five archival designs and three new creations.
Events & AwardsAug 18, 2025
IJO Announces 2025 Vendor of the YearAllison-Kaufman has received the honor for the fourth year in a row.
FinancialsAug 15, 2025
In Q2 Results, Pandora Talks Tariffs, Q4 Plans The company had a solid second quarter, with sales of non-charm jewelry outpacing sales of pieces in its core collections.
EditorsAug 15, 2025
Piece of the Week: Etho Maria’s Showgirl-Approved Ruby Drop Earrings Taylor Swift dons the vibrant pair in new promotional imagery for her upcoming album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” set to release in October.
WatchesAug 15, 2025
Audemars Piguet Acquires Majority Stake in ManufacturerIts investment in micromechanics expert Inhotec will preserve skills essential to the watchmaking industry as a whole, said the company.
MajorsAug 15, 2025
Rio Grande Names New Marketing DirectorNicolette Bianchi joins the wholesale provider with more than 15 years of cross-industry experience in marketing and product development.
CollectionsAug 14, 2025
In Midst of ‘Sardine Girl Summer,’ Pippa Small Looks to ‘Flounder Fall’Her new “Ocean” collection was inspired by Myanmar’s traditional articulated fish jewelry, with depictions of flounder, catfish, and more.
MajorsAug 14, 2025
Casio America Names New CEOLongtime Casio executive Yusuke Suzuki is the new president and CEO of Casio’s U.S. subsidiary.
SourcingAug 14, 2025
West Coast Orgs to Host Trading Event, Mixer in LAThe full-day sourcing and networking event, slated for Aug. 18, will be followed by the fifth annual Mega Mixer Summer Soirée.
