Nov 30, 2016
To jewelers all over the United States, it comes as no surprise that business has picked up in recent weeks. And it is expected that business will continue to flourish in the weeks ahead as the holiday shopping season marks the busiest shopping season of the year. Jewelry, as most people are likely aware, is very often highly sought-after as holiday gifts. And it appears as if Americans have been purchasing jewelry as holiday gifts for a few months now!
At least, this is what one can assume based on some recent findings by the U.S. Commerce Department. They have noticed that jewelry sales across the nation have been on the incline. As reported by Ken Gassman of IDEX Online Research, “total sales of fine jewelry and fine watches in the U.S. market rose by an estimated 6.7 percent to $5.4 billion in September 2016, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Commerce Department.”
Gassman notes that the gain was above forecasts made by IDEX Online Research. They had predicted that jewelry sales would only have risen by approximately three percent in the final half of the year. Evidently, Americans have jewelry on their holiday shopping lists. And, in fact, specialty jewelry is in high demand. Gassman reveals that specialty jewelry sales have been especially strong in recent months.
“After weak sales earlier this year, specialty jewelers in the American market posted estimated sales of $2.1 billion, a gain of 6.2 percent in September, while other multi-line merchants who sell jewelry generated sales about $3.3 billion, a gain of 7.0 percent,” he reveals, “The strength of jewelry demand was almost equal between specialty jewelers, who hold about a 40 percent market share, and multi-line merchants who hold about a 60 percent market share.”
So what does this mean for holiday season jewelry sales? There is evidence to support the belief that U.S. jewelers will have one of their best holiday seasons in a while. Gassman writes that the outlook is very optimistic for holiday season jewelry sales. “All of these trends bode well for the all-important holiday selling season of November and December,” he writes, “Our outlook calls for moderate sales increases over the next few months, primarily because the U.S. economy continues to show only modest overall growth.”
How can you ensure that your sales meet these predictions? At TK Enterprises Inc., our experience tells us that the most successful of holiday seasons comes as a result of strong advertising. Reaching out to customers to inform them of your special discounts, sales and in-store events is an ideal way to ensure strong sales throughout the holiday season. And it’s our job to do that reaching out for you!
Our Retail Event Marketing services incorporate a very talented team of phone agents that make more than 250 calls per person, per day. We specialize in making friendly, personal connections with your customers on behalf of your business. By inviting them to your upcoming in-store event, our services ensure that you are able to reconnect with those customers to promote long-term loyalty – not just great sales numbers during the holidays.
For more information about our Retail Event Marketing services, please don’t hesitate to call us toll-free at 1-877-622-0195. You may also email us at heidi.tke@tomkaufmann.com.
Nov 23, 2016
It should probably go without saying that the people who live in the areas closest to your place of business are most likely to make up the majority of your customer base. By virtue of their nearby living proximity, it only makes sense to cater to their needs. This is especially true during the busy holiday shopping season when most consumers will want to get in and out of stores as quickly as possible.
This is why it’s so important to reach out to the members of your local community. All month long, our team, here at TK Enterprises Inc. has been working the phones, putting in calls to customers who live nearby our clients. We’ve been contacting them directly to offer personal invitations to special Black Friday in-store events which, of course, are all taking place in a couple of days.
However, once Black Friday is over, there is still another full month to go until Christmas Day. We’d highly recommend that you select a day in December when you’d like to have your customers visit you for another special holiday in-store event. As you’re well aware, jewelry continues to be high on the list of “must haves” during each holiday shopping season. And, for many consumers, shopping local is the way to go.
In fact, just yesterday, this topic was addressed by Kathy Mitchell in the Decatur, Georgia-based The Champion Newspaper. In her article, Mitchell interviews Brian Mattingly who is the founder and CEO of Welcomemat Services – an Atlanta-based organization made up of small business owners who work to improve the visibility of fellow small business owners. He believes that small businesses are the “heartbeat of America’s economy”.
“When people shop locally, they keep dollars in their own communities,” he is quoted as saying, “When local merchants and consumers come together that translates into a community that’s stronger economically with a higher quality of life—better parks, schools and the like. Also, many owners of small shops live in the community so shoppers are buying from their neighbors.”
At TK Enterprises Inc., we are big believers in growing small businesses through the help of the community. But, we also believe that it all starts with outreach from the businesses themselves. Even when people live nearby to a business, it’s difficult for them to catch wind about it when there are no efforts made towards advertising. And, in our experience, there is no better form of advertising than offering personal invitations over the phone.
If you’ve enjoyed support from members of your local community in the past, this holiday season is the absolute perfect time to reach out to them. History has shown that previous customers of a business are far more likely to support it than people who have never supported the business before. In addition, making direct personal contact with customers is far more inviting than impersonal advertisements.
At TK Enterprises Inc., we specialize in making strong connections with your customers through personal invitations to your next in-store event. For more information about how our Retail Event Marketing services can help drive traffic to your store from your local community, please don’t hesitate to call us toll-free at 1-877-622-0195. You may also email us at heidi.tke@tomkaufmann.com.
Nov 16, 2016
We’re willing to bet that there isn’t a time in U.S. history when jewelry wasn’t popular. And, based on a recent study, it doesn’t appear as if there will ever be a time when jewelry goes out of style. According to The U.S. Jewelry State of the Market Report, jewelry sales in the United States have steadily risen thanks to millennials – an age group that is spending more on jewelry than any other.
As reported by Erika Winters on PriceScope.com, in 2014, American consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 spent 28 percent more on fine jewelry pieces than the average household. Members of this young generation, however, appear to be very savvy spenders. The study finds that in spite of their penchant to spend money on jewelry, they are not overspending. In fact, they spend less on each piece they buy, getting more for their money.
The ways in which millennials spend money is also putting on display a new and ever-growing trend. Online shopping, reports Winters, is one of the main methods that millennials are using to make their jewelry purchases. She points out that, thanks to increased spending by this younger age group, jewelry sales grew by 1.4 percent in 2014 for a grand total of $68.8 billion in sales. Watches appear to be among the most popular purchases.
The U.S. Jewelry State of the Market Report reveals that watch sales increased by 7.7 percent for a total of $9.8 billion. “Per household, the average fine jewelry expenditure reached a record $434,” reveals Winters, “With watches added, the average household jewelry expenditure rose to $612.” Evidently, our younger generation is continuing, and even growing, the trend of appreciating the beauty of jewelry.
Jewelry industry analyst, Edahn Golan authored the report. “The US Jewelry State of the Market Report contains precious data never before seen in the diamond industry, including detailed demographic breakdowns of who is buying what and for how much,” he is quoted as saying, “It proves that millennials, today’s 20-35 year olds, are driving consumer demand for diamond jewelry in a way that is different from their parents. They are spending more and buying less in a market that is sometimes overwhelmed with product choice.”
What do these findings mean for your jewelry store? Well, firstly it indicates that there is always room to add to your customer base. The younger generation is very interested in what you have to sell and, as a result, you should be looking for ways to advertise to them. You have a very special opportunity quickly coming up in Black Friday. But even past Black Friday is the rest of the holiday shopping season to invite jewelry hunters to your store.
At TK Enterprises Inc., we specialize in making strong connections with your customers through personal invitations to in-store events that you host. Our talented team of phone agents makes over 250 calls per person, per day and with over 6,000 square feet of office space and about 100 callers working at a time, we can reach a large number of customers in a short span of time. Our clients have enjoyed great success with the help of our Retail Event Marketing services.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to call us toll-free at 1-877-622-0195. You may also email us at heidi.tke@tomkaufmann.com.
Nov 9, 2016
If you ask us, the fact that phone calls are more effective than emails is an obvious one. But, with the ways in which so many business owners conduct business these days, perhaps it isn’t so obvious to everyone. With the advent of the internet, all those years ago, came the popularity of email. And, don’t get us wrong, it’s great. Making it so much easier to send messages to people all over the world, email has revolutionized the ways in which we communicate with each other.
There is, of course, something that email can never do. It cannot provide you with a warm and friendly voice that endears you to the person you’re communicating with. It can’t immediately respond to your questions or listen to what you have to say in response to questions asked of you. Quite simply, it cannot provide the personal interactions you often need to help your business to grow.
There are numerous reasons why phone calls are more effective than emails. Here are three:
1. It helps you to conduct business a lot more efficiently. Communicating through email requires a lot of back and forth and it can take hours or even days to complete a single conversation. However, when you’re on the phone, the back and forth flows quickly between parties. As mentioned earlier, questions can be answered, banter can be exchanged and genuine connections can be made in short spans of time.
Matt Smith of Real Independent News & Film shares his thoughts about why telephones make for more effective communication tools than emails. “Emails can often land in an inbox and remain unopened or not-actioned until after the date that any action needed to be taken has passed,” he writes, “On a call, all information can be relayed, and answers or conclusions can be made and actioned there and then, without having to wait for replies.”
2. It helps to resolve problems a lot quicker. Misunderstandings happen. Every so often, we communicate our thoughts and ideas to our co-workers, colleagues and business partners and they are misinterpreted. Sometimes, this is because the messages are being passed along by a middleperson. Other times, it’s simply based on a typo. However, when two parties are on the phone, it enables them to hash out misunderstandings right away.
“If the subject matter of a conversation is of a complicated, technical, or particularly sensitive nature, an email can often lead to unnecessary confusion and misunderstanding, leading to long and drawn out email exchanges,” says Smith, “Simply picking up the telephone and dialling those that need to be involved can eliminate any room for misunderstanding.”
3. It strengthens business relationships. At TK Enterprises Inc., our incredible team of phone agents is used to making more than 250 calls per person, per day. And that means that they have a lot of experience getting to know individuals intimately. Utilizing our team to invite your customers to your next in-store event is guaranteed to provide you with a greater return than if you were to email them all. And that’s because of our team’s relationship-building skills.
“Email can prove incredibly impersonal and picking up the phone can add an extra element to an otherwise faceless, soulless exchange,” writes Smith, “Telephone calls offer you the opportunity to build stronger relationships and remain in closer contact with your business contacts.”
Contact TK Enterprises Inc. today to learn more about our Retail Event Marketing services that can help your jewelry store use the power of the phone. Please don’t hesitate to call us toll-free at 1-877-622-0195. You may also email us at heidi.tke@tomkaufmann.com.
Nov 2, 2016
Everyone knows what December 25th is. But this year, November 25th is also a pretty special day. It’s the date of Black Friday. And, as retailers all over the country know, it’s a time when they can cash in big! The day after Thanksgiving in the United States has been known as a huge shopping day since the 1920s. Stores notoriously lower their prices in order to invite stampedes of shoppers through their doors. Literally.
The term “Black Friday” is thought to draw its origin from the concept of businesses being either in the red (encountering losses) or the black (making profits). Needless to say, this year’s Black Friday is one when you could really take advantage of the fact that shoppers from all over the country will be out bargain hunting. And it should go without saying that jewelry will be highly sought-after this holiday season – as it is every year!
How can your jewelry store take advantage of Black Friday? At TK Enterprises Inc., we highly recommend that you host an in-store Black Friday event. Historically, most retailers wait until Thanksgiving or, at least, the week of to begin advertising their Black Friday sales. We’re of the mind that to get a leg up on your competition, it’s wise to begin advertising an event a few weeks in advance.
The event, of course, is meant to do a lot more than simply advertise that you’re offering special deals. Its purpose is to invite your customers into your store so that you may engage in more direct and personal forms of communication with them. Not only should they be intrigued by your reduced prices, but they should be dazzled by the incredible pieces that you have to offer. The in-store festivities, however, represent much more than a sales event.
Hosting a Black Friday event will give you the opportunity to grow and better develop the relationships you have with your customers well into the future. Naturally, you’d like for them to return to your store long after the holidays are over. Making good impressions on the people you meet and making personal connections are ways to secure a much larger loyal customer base. In our experience, in-store events are excellent at doing that!
How can TK Enterprises Inc. help you to make this year’s Black Friday a big success? Our specialty is re-establishing the connections you’ve made with your customers over the past year. Our talented team of phone agents is used to making more than 250 calls per person, per day. And with over 6,000 square feet of office space and about 100 callers working at a time, we can reach quite a lot of customers to invite to the Black Friday event you host this year!
Our experience has proven to us that there is no better way to invite someone to a special occasion. Not email, not a letter and certainly not an impersonal advertisement. Our Retail Event Marketing services have been helping jewelry stores all over the United States host highly successful Black Friday events for many years. We encourage you to contact us to learn more about how we can make this year’s Black Friday your best one yet!
Please don’t hesitate to call us toll-free at 1-877-622-0195. You may also email us at heidi.tke@tomkaufmann.com.
