Online and Offline Marketing Advice

[Aaron Rome]

Hi Ahmed,

 

Thanks for the note. I am adding you to our group of small business owners who regularly share ideas. We are mostly in the US but have also some members in the UK canada and Australia.

 

I think they will have some ideas for you as well.

 

... To the rest of the group. Ahmed's post is below. Please give him some good advice!

 

Hello Aaron,

I read your mail with interest and find you approach of helping your customers very exemplary. I want to write back some experiences i have made, and some thoughts i have.
Here some informations about the problem of starting a new business - My Shop is brand new and i conduct it in part time.

First - a pure online shop is unknown - nobody knows it - nobody come and buy. So now i try some online marketing processes. But this took time and money and needs much knowledge.
As a second way of selling i use ebay - but unfortunatly ebay changes different things like "how to find" an article, the default sorting etc.. and further more, you have thousands of articles in one section. So even there - nobody finds you. And nobody wants to search throught hundreds of articles (and who can decide to buy something when there are so many alternatives)- and some big shops try to get new customers only with low prices i cannot do the same way.

But one big problem that i really fear is that customers don't want to buy jewelry online. Maybe they want to feel an compare them, they want to touch them.... - ok other shops are selling - i don't know how - but this argument i often hear from friends,...

So the possibility with home selling parties is a good thing - but how to initate them.

All the things like customer relationship - with newsletters, etc... first needs a base of customers.

So it is very frustating - all friends....who can see the jewels found them great (and some girl - friends even buy) - but nobody wants to buy from fotos-online.

One main-topic seem to be Marketing ! - Thats more important than the most other things.
Nevertheless, i found four engagement very exemplary - as americans say - "You made a good job" :-)  and want to wish you and your family a merry christmas - and a happy new year.

with kind regards from Vienna
ahmed

 

 

Thanks,

 

Aaron
401-709-4420 (Country Code: 001)

 

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----- Original Message -----

From: ahmed musa

To: Communi...@wholesalegemshop.com

Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 5:05 AM

Subject: Re: Identify New Wholesale Jewelry Suppliers

Hallo Aaron,

I read your mail with interest and find you approach of helping your customers very exemplary. I want to write back some experiences i have made, and some thoughts i have.
Here some informations about the problem of starting a new business - My Shop is brand new and i conduct it in part time.

First - a pure online shop is unknown - nobody knows it - nobody come and buy. So now i try some online marketing processes. But this took time and money and needs much knowledge.
As a second way of selling i use ebay - but unfortunatly ebay changes different things like "how to find" an article, the default sorting etc.. and further more, you have thousands of articles in one section. So even there - nobody finds you. And nobody wants to search throught hundreds of articles (and who can decide to buy something when there are so many alternatives)- and some big shops try to get new customers only with low prices i cannot do the same way.

But one big problem that i really fear is that customers don't want to buy jewelry online. Maybe they want to feel an compare them, they want to touch them.... - ok other shops are selling - i don't know how - but this argument i often hear from friends,...

So the possibility with home selling parties is a good thing - but how to initate them.

All the things like customer relationship - with newsletters, etc... first needs a base of customers.

So it is very frustating - all friends....who can see the jewels found them great (and some girl - friends even buy) - but nobody wants to buy from fotos-online.

One main-topic seem to be Marketing ! - Thats more important than the most other things.
Nevertheless, i found four engagement very exemplary - as americans say - "You made a good job" :-)  and want to wish you and your family a merry christmas - and a happy new year.

with kind regards from Vienna
ahmed









Another

-------- Original-Nachricht --------
Datum: Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:26:24 +0100
Von: "Wholesalegemshop.com" <Communi...@wholesalegemshop.com>
An: ahmed...@gmx.at
Betreff: Identify New Wholesale Jewelry Suppliers

Hi Ahmed,

I want to muse on a couple things that are relevant to your buisness:

• Buying Tips and Market Analysis
• Hedging/ Understanding the Economy

BUYING TIPS/ MARKET ANALYSIS

I do my best to be competitive but once in a while I am a little taken aback when a customer says to me - 'I just can't believe how low your prices are compared to everyone else!' That illustrates two points: 1) I follow certain principles which allow me to offer a very competitive pricing structure;  2) It is so so important to vette all your suppliers, because they are not all WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) as I strive to be.

1) I heard a quote the other day that I related to instantly - a kind of word of wisdom to young people - "Run away from those who claim to have all the answers and seek out  those who seek the truth" wow! How right on is that, especially in the online -era context - pills that clean your intestines overnight - pyrammid selling schemes to get rich quick - make $50,000 a month on ebay with no investement .. you know what I am talking about.

I can tell you right off, in a lot of ways I have no clue what I am doing, I experiment in business and my life all the time and simply learn from what works. Here are a few of the reasons that I believe I am one of the most competitive wholesale jewellery suppliers, and the characteristics you should look for in other suppliers:

- I have true partnerships with my customers and with my manufacturers and artisan partners. I have five partners around the globe, but to me they are not faceless entities. They are friends. I have been working with them for an average of 5 years each.

- There is trust and transparency - we understand each others' businesses and support each other. I don't haggle, not with them or you. They charge me the best price they can while providing a good wage to their employees. When times are tight and I don't have the money to give them business ... I do anyway, because it helps them get through hard times and pay their workers. Symbiotic.

- Volume. I give hundreds of thousands dollars a year to my partners and together we figure out how to make the most attractive, pragmatic, cost-effective, best-selling and desirable products in our genre.

2) These are a few of the reasons I have among the best quality products and prices. And great care is taken in every step of the process. In most cases it is not realistic to have only one supplier. In fact, it could be hazardous. So when you evaluate a new supplier, take the time to speak with them, or at least communicate directly via email/ chat to get to know them a little bit. Values (I am not talking the money kind) may not seem important in this business, but trust me, it is the most important characteristic I look for in a trading partner. I have a list of some of my competitors, believe it or not, on my website.

HEDGING/ ECONOMY

I have no idea what is going to happen in the next year but I am not too optimistic. One question I have thought about a lot is this: as a small business owner, am I exposed to greater risk or am I better prepared to ride out the storm than the average citizen. For me, I feel good about being an entrepreneur at this point in time. I have, more or less, control over my destiny.Although I worry about  how the recession will affect my family, at least I don't worry about getting fired, or losing my health insurance. I believe with my heart that this is no time to give up on my business, in fact I am taking steps to improve and expand it every day. And I don't think you should consider giving up either. But we al have to be smart: Diversify - jewellery selling slow? Mix it up with fashionable hats/ gloves or other utilitarian stuff. Build Inventory -  when you can, and while prices are low, this will help you retain money for later when credit may not be available and you do not have as much $ on hand. New Channels - Now is the time to try something new. If sales in your store are slow, organize home parties, bridal shower events... think outside the box. If your buisness is part time, remember this is a resource, supplemental income. Everything is gravy. Smaller Batches - procure less each time (we have no min order), sell the stuff quicker and re-invest. Don't tie too much money at a time. Find suppliers who always have plenty in stock and ship immediately (like me :)  ). Be a Laser Beam - Don't just get anything- go after specific items and price-points that you know your customer base will like. This way you will turn-over inventory faster. Need ideas? I am not a trendy guy, but my customers are, so I can give you some good tips!

Well, enough rambling. Just out of curiosity, send me an email if you get this far down and let me know if you found any of this information useful, inspiring, useless... whatever! The feedback loop helps me figure out how I can serve my customers better.

Have a GREAT weekend!!

All our newest arrivals can been purchased on this page, just added 100+ new items yesterday!
New Arrivals


Hope all is well :)

Thanks,

Aaron
www.wholesalegemshop.com
PO Box 1200
Charlestown, RI 02813
USA
401-709-4420










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Dipl.Ing.Ahmed Musa
Arnethgasse 62/12
A-1160 Wien
ahmed...@gmx.at
+43699/1879-0550
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[Wayne BAttiste]

Hi Ahmed,

 

My heart goes out to you because I've been in the same place that you're in.  I sell my jewelry at our local farmers market and at local craft shows in a small town in Canada and after 4 years, I am doing much better.  

 

I've made so many mistakes (I didn't even know it was possible to make that many)  but I didn't give up and now it's paying off.  What makes my business successful is I don't sell what I like but I make my products for the likes of my customers.  I spend a lot of time talking to my customers and if something is not selling, I try something else - I've seen many fail around me because they are trying to sell a product that people are not buying.  If you have a product that people want, it will sell.  If people are not interested in a product, there is no amount of marketing that will sell it. 

 

Online, there is another E-Bay option to selling your jewelry - it is  www.etsy.com .  It is a wonderful handmade marketplace and is very different from Ebay.  Here are a few tips (for those of us who are new to this):

 

At the top of the page, click on BUY.  On the white line below, select Handmade items:  tags, titles and in the other white box next to it type jewelry.  You'll see that there are over 600 people selling jewelry.  Click on any picture, look on the left and see what this seller's rating is and when they started selling.  As you can see, some are not doing well and some are doing very well.  I've been studying this site for a few weeks and this is where I am planning to sell some of my handmade jewelry.  I will list a good variety of products and will build on what works and what doesn't.  I'll keep the site fresh and interesting and expect to do well.  How well, I'll just have to wait and see...  You'll find that there is a lot of support and very valuable information at this site so don't get discouraged and keep trying. 

 

So, Ahmed, one of the most valuable selling lessons I've learned is if someting doesn't work, don't keep doing the same thing for too long, cut your losses and try something else.   For example, when I first started, I spent a week making hundreds of bookmarks.  I was so proud of them and was so sure the'd sell.  Well, guess what, I loved them, my family loved them, my friends loved them,  and everybody said they were very nice.  But my customers didn't buy them. 

 

 quickly found out that people are nice and want to say nice things, but unless there buying my product, those kind words don't mean much.  So instead of keeping my beautiful bookmarks on my table taking valuable place and trying to sell something that my customers weren't interested in, I took them home.  One year later,  I found it very hard to do but I took them apart and now I'm making children's bracelets with them and the're selling well.  Lesson # 2 - instead of buying more stuff, get creative with what you have and see if you can sell it in different ways, sometimes, when I can't sell some of my jewelry, I'll take it apart and sell the pieces as jewelry supplies.  Throwing more money at a problem rarely solves it but a creative approach can often result in a positive solution. 

 

 I hope this helps you a bit, Ahmed - stay positive and don't get discouraged.  Remember, you haven't failed until you've quit.

 

Happy hollidays!

 

Johanne

 

----- Original Message -----

[ahmed musa]

Hall Johanne,

Thank you for your informative and nice e-mail. Some points you mention are really similar to mine, and also thank you for your tips.. i will have a look at etsy.com - i haven't known it before.
My problem is that i have no customer contact like you have it on the markets - so i got no feedback - and therefore i don't know whats wrong. Maybe i will also try to sell it sometimes on a market or so - must think about it.
You're right - i found the jewels beautiful and automatically i thought that everybody must also do so - a big mistake.
What you mention under  Lesson # 2 - instead of buying more stuff, get creative with what you have - is also interesting - i will think about it - maybe i must think more in other ways.
Your words helped a lot - because it is good to see that not only i have such problems - but is it more better to see that they can be solved. Thanks for your tips and your advice.
Wish you a merry Christmas, a happy new year and a good running business,
Thanks
ahmed

-------- Original-Nachricht --------
Datum: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:52:37 -0400
Von: "Wayne BAttiste" <wbat...@nbnet.nb.ca>
An: wholesalej...@googlegroups.com, "ahmed musa" <ahmed...@gmx.at>
CC: "WGS-GoogleGroup" <wholesalej...@googlegroups.com>
Betreff: [wholesalejewelryforum:76] Re: Online and Offline Marketing Advice

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[Toni Allan]

Hi Ahmed

 

I was reading through your email to the group.  I have found completely the opposite here in Australia.  I am still in the design phase of my website and am hoping to have it up and running for online jewellery which i purchase from US, UK and Europe by March 09.  I have had so many great comments and even off line purchases with people to date. 

I always take with me a bunch of business cards and a USB in order to get feedback of products and prices with girlfriends, work collegues, other school mothers and even my children's dentist!

I am a true believer in if you put forward a positive approach and put 100% in what you are passionate about it will come to fruition.  Keep on with it, it will be great - just keep talking!

 

Take care

Toni

[ahmed musa]

Hallo Toni,
Greetings to Australia,

It is good to hear that you have a positive business starting situation in Australia. In my case, i also talked to my colleagues and friends about the shop and topics of the shop.
They liked the layout, they gave me tips to optimize some processes, eg. and some of them also bought some jewels.

Nevertheless, i have only very less customers over the internet. Now i try many things - but i think they need time - make online marketing, SEO, make better fotos ! etc...

But one thing is - many customers want to touch the jewels, see them in reality, try them,.. and i think that this is a problem by online shops. So this year i will rent a showcase, and try selling on a market...

You are absolutely right - feedback from the people about your shop and products is very important ! Here i have some deficits - but it is not so easy for me to talk with others- not well know people - about it. Yout apporach of getting feedback is very good - but not so easy to "copy".

So i will try many things - later i will write again - which of them were helpfull, which were not, and so on....

Aaron gave great tips about Customer Relationship - "Consumer binding" - i wanted to sign my problem of getting customers.

I wish you all the luck  that your shop will boom and it was good to read your positve words. Best wishes and

Greetings from Vienna , Austria (! - always confound with your country)

ahmed

-------- Original-Nachricht --------
Datum: Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:24:28 +1000
Von: "Toni Allan" <giggle...@gmail.com>
An: wholesalej...@googlegroups.com
Betreff: [wholesalejewelryforum:88] Re: Online and Offline Marketing Advice

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