Jewelry Customers

Advanced Jewelry Sales

Diamond Council of America © 2010
Jewelry
Customers
In This Lesson:

In an average work week you might deal with a couple of

dozen different customers. During peak business periods the
number could jump to a hundred or more. That adds up to a lot
in just a year – and possibly a large multitude over the course of
your career. But if you want to be the best you can be at selling
fine jewelry, each and every one of those customers is important
to you.
This is true no matter what the interaction – whether you’re
presenting merchandise, performing some service, or simply
saying “Hello!” With presentations it’s true whether or not you
make a sale on that particular occasion. And with sales it’s true
regardless of the amount.
Besides being important, every customer is unique. For this
reason, it’s essential to get to know each person you serve, and to
tailor your sales approach for an exact fit.
At the same time, it’s also accurate to say that most jewelry
customers fall into certain categories and behave in fairly predict-
able ways. In your own experience you’ve no doubt found that
there are typical customer profiles and selling scenarios for each
kind of merchandise you offer.

Advanced Jewelry Sales 2

 The ability to recognize and respond to these typical patterns
is a crucial advanced selling skill. It gives you a head start, so you
don’t have to “reinvent the wheel” with each customer.
A good way to begin exploring the patterns is to examine
statistical information that has been gathered on large numbers of
consumers who buy fine jewelry. Reliable information of this kind
comes from a variety of sources, including government agencies
and private market-research companies.
You might think of it like this: Knowing about the 4Cs enables
you to explain what makes any diamond special, and being aware
of the separate steps in selling lets you manage the whole process
better. In much the same way, comprehending the “macro” of
jewelry consumers in general can make it easier to connect with
the “micro” of individual customers the way you need to.
So, this lesson will help you see and understand patterns that
exist among American jewelry consumers, and make the transition
from macro to micro.

When you have successfully completed

this lesson, you will be able to:

Your success in jewelry sales largely depends on knowing who

your customers are, what they think and feel, how they act, and
why they think, feel, and act the way they do. To determine these
things, you need to learn to analyze your own customers in terms
of three factors that apply to all consumers. Those factors are
and
 – These are statistical characteris-
tics that divide the general population into segments,
or smaller groups which are distinct and meaningful.
Such characteristics can include age, education,
income, gender, and race or ethnicity. Other possibili-
ties extend to religion, lifestyle, geographic location,
employment, marital status, and similar variables.
Businesses use demographics to identify and attract
customers for products and services. For example, an
automobile manufacturer might decide to develop an
economy model for young adults who live in the city
and have moderate incomes.

– These are psychological character -

istics related to personal attitudes, values, motivations, and
so forth. An example would be the order in which someone
ranks price, size, safety, dependability, and fuel economy
as factors to consider when buying a car.
Psychographics are often the basis for adding features
that heighten appeal for specific demographic segments.
They’re also used to formulate benefits for promotion and
sales.
Knowing that many young consumers frequently listen to
iPods and similar devices, the auto maker might put an
MP3 port in its economy model. Ads for the car could then
spotlight the ability to “take your music wherever you go.”
– This encompasses all the mental and phys-
ical activities that are involved in acquiring and using a
product or service. Driving is a main activity associated
with car ownership, but behaviors that are part of car
buying include visiting dealers’ lots, comparison shop-
ping, doing test drives, negotiating the purchase price, and
arranging financing.