[Jewelry making - Article 01050] - Re: [Orchid] Women and self-purchases

[David L. Huffman]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

Hello Suzanne;

>     I'm working on an article for Lapidary Journal on the
>     opportunities and challenges of selling women's jewelry to women. 

    I have noticed, for some time, that women are buying their own
    jewelry more these days. I think working with women customers is
    great, and generally, it's easier than working with men. Women will
    be more direct, they don't need to impress you. But never make a
    women feel silly expressing her concerns. Why would you do that if
    not out of bad social conditioning? 

    I don't have a lot of contact with walk in customers any more, just
    private clients who find me through recommendations. Most of these
    customers are women. I'm doing custom designs and some repairs for
    these customers. I think what has inclined these customers to seek me
    out has been the confidence they've been given by their friends and
    work associates that I provide quality work and am trustworthy with
    their jewelry and materials. But what I do, I think, that is driving
    my word-of-mouth business is to provide an open, obvious willingness
    to listen to what they want done and try to help them. These women
    want a jeweler who is receptive to their concerns about family
    heirlooms being repaired by someone who understands their importance.
    And they want to know the jeweler will work with them to make sure
    they aren't disappointed with what they get when a custom piece is
    finished and get no surprises about what it will finally cost. I
    find that if you try to create a solid relationship between cost and
    value, the price is right more often than not. What I mean is, make
    the piece as affordable as you can for the customer yet charge what
    still makes you feel you are being fair to yourself. And always to
    the best work you can. If they know you're being honest, and it's
    more than they wanted to spend, then you work with them to find a way
    to make something in another way to bring it into a price range they
    are comfortable with, if you can. It's easy, really. Treat them with
    respect. Understand that they are perfectly capable of making their
    own decisions, so present them with honest help and information.
    Never make assumptions about what they want to spend. 

    Trust is number one in this trade, with any customer. But I don't
    think women are drawn to advertising as much as men are, I think they
    ask their friends and associates for recommendations. That means good
    service is paramount. Sorry to go on about this, but really, you
    don't need to keep things hidden up your sleeve to do a good
    business. People have instincts about these things, and women know
    how to use theirs. 

David L. Huffman


____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________