When you decide to sell custom jewelry at your store, it opens up a world of new opportunities—but also a few new challenges and potential problems. Custom products require a unique mix of creativity and artistry blended with a high degree of professionalism and efficiency.
As a retailer, you need to focus on business matters much more than an individual jewelry designer does. As much as you want to give a personal touch and get excellent customer reviews, you can’t ignore operational tasks in favor of serving potential customers personally.
But every problem has a solution. The challenges that business owners face selling personalized jewelry listed below are quite common. Thankfully, you can find ways to deal with them, balance all sides of your unique sales model, and give the absolute best experienced customers possible.
Problem #1: How do you manage customer expectations?
Jewelry stores who carry regular inventory benefit from a personal touch. However, when it comes to custom products, you need to work one-on-one with the customer in order to satisfy them. Potential buyers may have unrealistic ideas of what you can deliver. They come to you with a specific vision in mind, and if you can’t meet their expectations, they’ll end up dissatisfied at best—and angry at worst.
Solution: Manage expectations through communication and examples
Never make grandiose claims. Give clear and detailed descriptions of what the jewelry items will include, what designs will actually work, how much it will cost, and how long it will take to create. This process will probably include multiple meetings with many photos, diagrams, product descriptions, and even physical examples of the materials they want you to create for them. This is an opportunity for educating them about what’s possible, what limitations exist, and how you can meet in the middle if needed.
Problem #2: Tricky time management issues related to custom sales
Managing the time it takes to fully discuss the project with the customer, produce the necklace, ring, or pair of earrings itself, and then working through any provisions is always complicated. As carefully as you plan the schedule, coordinating everything usually won’t always go smoothly from start to finish. The complexity of the piece may lead to delays, getting in the way of other important business activities.
This is especially challenging for businesses that have physical jewelry stores or a high volume of online sales of premade pieces. If a considerable amount of your brand success comes from the ordinary jewelry market, you can’t let the personalized jewelry sales take away from that side of things.
Solution: Don’t rush personalized jewelry jobs
Not only should you take your time with custom jewelry, but you must be 100% transparent with the customer every step of the way. Figure out a close expectation of how long it will take after the final design is agreed upon. Then, add additional time to give yourself leeway.
The classic business adage of, “ender promise and over deliver,” works very well for custom jobs. Communicate with the customers that unforeseen issues like material availability or technical difficulties could disrupt the timeline. Assure them that you’ll do everything possible to get things done quickly without compromising the highest level of craftsmanship and quality.
Problem #3: Custom design revisions for unique customer preferences
If the customer asks for a lot of revisions during the design process or, even worse, after production has already commenced, it not only slows things down considerably but also increases the cost. If you offer custom products, however, you have to expect this kind of thing to happen. They may change their mind on specific gemstones, the settings, or add on services like engravings. You want to give them exactly what they want, but, as mentioned above, their expectations may not always align with reality or practicality.
Solution: Do more pre-production work and limit revisions
The best way to deal with the problem of access revisions is to have more communication up front about what they want and what they can actually get. Talk about the purpose behind the piece and their stylistic vision instead of the exact details they want on the ring or necklace. Also, clearly express that there is a limit on the number of revisions they can make or create strict deadlines of when the design needs to be done so production can start. If necessary, charge more for extras.
Problem #4: Translating a custom jewelry sale into ongoing business
If your brand specializes in custom jewelry, there is a much lower chance of repeat business and ongoing sales based on things like jewelry trends or the seasons. After all, people tend to get customized items for special occasions. For example, many people want unique wedding jewelry, which is usually a once-in-a-lifetime purchase. So all that effort into building rapport with a client may translate into just one purchase.
Solution: The right marketing efforts and a personal touch will help
While unique pieces are less likely to generate repeat business, that doesn’t mean you have to give up the idea of making additional sales and building brand loyalty. Your approach to getting repeat sales will depend on whether you focus solely on custom jewelry or also offer a variety of regular retail options.
Either way, effective marketing comes down to personalization. A person who buys a custom-designed family gemstone ring may be more likely to want pieces for Mother’s or Father’s Day or will focus on heirloom style pieces. Someone who gets a wedding set created may be in the market for custom jewelry sets for their bridal party and groomsmen.
Conclusion
No matter what, exceptional customer service, clear communication, post-sale follow-up, and smart marketing messages to unique customer segments will always work. Request feedback and offer benefits for loyalty and repeat sales. Build your brand around the story you want to share with the people who hire you to create one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces they will love forever.
With a robust and powerful sales assistant software like Clientbook on your side, the issues of connecting effectively with your target audience, developing the right marketing strategy options, and instilling confidence in buyers becomes so much easier. When it comes to selling custom jewelry, retailers need to focus on the personal touch that you can only get by collecting and analyzing data about individuals interested in your brand. If you’re ready to see how Clientbook can help, book a demo today.
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