How to grow your bespoke engagement ring sales
Finding customers who love your work is not always the easiest part of running an independent jewellery brand.
GoldDust course founder Kate Baxter talks through her top tips for finding (and keeping) new bespoke clients.
Referral bonus
Offer a ‘referral discount’ or bonus
Groups of friends often get engaged around a similar time period, so it makes sense to not only ask your current engagement ring customer to recommend you to their friends, but to give them an incentive to do so. Consider ideas like a discount or credit towards their wedding band, or just a fixed cash amount.
Be sure to set some terms and conditions to the offer that you are comfortable with, such as it only stands if the referred job goes ahead, for example.
Show the process
Spend time and energy sharing the bespoke journey and showcasing your services
A lot of customers are apprehensive at the prospect of commissioning a bespoke engagement ring or piece of jewellery.
By breaking down the process step-by-step, either with a visual story on Instagram, or a ‘How it works’ section on your website, you can reassure them and make bespoke feel like a more accessible and approachable avenue for them to explore.
Remember that bespoke and bridal is a high performing sector for any fine jewellery business, with an ‘evergreen’ market (ie people will always be getting married or celebrating love) so it’s always worth the investment in creating this kind of content.
Some brands go beyond just posting on Instagram for this market and create video showing the bespoke journey, from the clients visiting the studio to the ring being made. Make sure you keep your actual customer in mind when creating this kind of content though - do they want to see the stone setting process or are they more interested in how your studio looks and feels?
A cohesive style
Make it easy for customers to understand your style
One of the central themes we work through in GoldDust is showing your customers what your brand is about. You need to be ‘known’ for a particular style, even if you’re only making the simplest of solitaires. Does your brand feel traditional, for example, or young and modern, or does it have a more ‘artistic’ or fashion-led feel?
Whatever your own particular brand aesthetic or focus point, it needs to shine through every element of your business in order for the customer to connect their values to yours and want to make a purchase.
