Making the move to a multi-channel model

I recently had the opportunity to speak on a forum panel at the National Jeweler Network (NJN) Online Retail Forum in New York City during the massive JA Show. Yikes, there was a lot of bling in that building! Even more eye-catching was the audience mix — I’m talking generations of independent jewelers. Grandparents, children, and grandchildren all sitting next to each other learning about e-commerce, with one common interest: How could they change the way they operate an “old school” business not just to maintain their local market share, but more importantly, to survive price-driven competition on the Web?

It’s not an easy question to answer. To thrive, these businesses need to adopt a true multi-channel model. They need to sell their individual value-add and to clearly articulate that value-add online and in-store. Competition online in the jewelry segment is very much price-driven, which is very different from the in-store experience. So, how do you reconcile an online price versus an in-store price? Sell YOUR value. Articulate the online experience versus the in-store experience and be honest that your cost of sale in-store carries a much higher overhead than it does online.

The relationship becomes true multi-channel. Those “cost only” shoppers that walk into your store with a website printout of three other jewelers can be directed to your website for a competitive sale. But, if they want to buy in-store after getting touchy/feely with the goods and being educated by you, they’re going to pay a premium for that benefit (and maybe get the benefit of some extras they wouldn’t receive online, such as free trade-ups or cleanings).

There was a lot of talk about “multi-channel,” “email marketing,” and “SEO.” It was buzzword bingo for many of the sessions. But it struck me that these businesses already have their “multi-channel” and “email marketing” tickets punched!

Think about it… we’re talking jewelers here. These businesses could request the contact info and email address of every customer that walks in the door, then give the customer something in return. How about an email reminder for a loved one’s birthday, their anniversary, Mother’s Day, Christmas, or Valentine’s Day? (Did I miss any?). They can then combine this information with the customer’s purchase history and send a reminder including a purchase recommendation that can be completed online or with an “in-store pick-up” option. That’s multi-channel, and a service husbands, sons, and daughters everywhere would love to have!

In fact, I’m going to send this blog post to my favorite spot for diamond jewelry in Boston and tell Eric to get it going! Not to mention the fact that he needs to e-commerce enable his own website as a Yahoo! Store. And maybe you can think of a way to apply these same ideas to your business? If so, we’d love to hear them.

Mike Ober
Yahoo! Small Business