Advice From Mike Hauben

As if the American jewelry industry didn’t have enough to worry about, one critical emerging issue that needs to be addressed is the industry’s demographics–more specifically, how few young people are in this industry in the United States. This topic was discussed at the Plumb Club Forum last year, and it was also observed by management guru Tom Peters when he spoke at AGS Conclave in 2006. 

I recently had a conversation about this with one of our industry’s up-and-coming leaders, Mike Hauben. Mike is the son of uber-entrepreneur Howard Hauben, founder of the Centurion Jewelry Show and H2 Events. Mike clearly inherited his father’s innovation genes, as he himself is the founder of PrestigeJewelersVault.com. Mike has some very definite ideas about what the industry needs to do to embrace the next generation of consumers. I told him if he’d send them, I’d post them, so here they are, in Mike’s own words:

Let’s be honest–right now things are tough. I myself don’t claim to be an expert jeweler, gemologist, or designer, though as the son of Howard Hauben, creator of H2 Events and the Centurion Jewelry Show, I have formed relationships and experienced the industry both from a manufacturer and retailer’s point of view. I’ve seen the issues, I’ve heard the concerns, and I’m here to say that there is hope for everyone in this industry. Unfortunately, it requires everyone to do something that they are, quite frankly, dreading: stepping out of the box! Yes, that’s right, I said it: try something new, and find new ways of turning a dollar in this hard economic time.

Perhaps you’ve been doing things a certain way for some time, and it has worked up until now. Still, you need to think out of the box. Every major successful company has to do it in order to stay afloat. There are reasons why every car company in existence updates their car lines each year – they try to improve and think of new ways to attract their audience and tailor to their needs. If these car companies simply sat and kept the same selection of cars each year, people would be very, very disappointed! My point is, you need to do the same thing. You need to grow and evolve as any other company does. It is this stagnancy and this lack of proactivity that is hindering the growth of our wonderful industry.

Here are a few recommendations I feel will greatly push growth in your company.

Understand the new client.
As times change, so do your potential customers. Today’s client is younger, hipper, and more importantly, broke. While there will always be an older, wealthier, and more experienced generation to sell to, there is an enormous market of younger audiences. The next generation is content with buying pieces that cost less money but look nice, which could be troubling for many of the higher end designers and retailers. Therefore, it is important to understand how to communicate to this new, young audience. Understanding new types of customers will surely help you sell.

Embrace technology.
Technology has taken over the world. It’s common knowledge. So why not take advantage of this in every way possible? Social networking has become the biggest, easiest, and cheapest way of promoting your company. Websites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and more have long helped companies form relationships with their clients and promote their services and products—all for free. Traditional marketing methods certainly have their place, but there are new ideas out there that may prove to be extremely effective.

Have a visual presence.
If you don’t have a solid website, you don’t have a chance. You see, everyone today knows that any kind of information you want can be found online. So, if they can’t find you online, they instantly view you as not very legitimate. In addition, if you do have a website, but it looks like garbage, that may be even worse. (The only thing worse than not having an opinion of a company is having a bad opinion of a company.)  I personally will not do business on any level with a company in any industry who does not have a nice, polished website. It must be done. Plus, why wouldn’t you want to? It’s marketing for your company, where a customer can learn about you and what you offer. Many of you are spending thousands of dollars advertising regularly, so why not pay a one-time website creation fee that costs less than that and has a bigger promotional impact?  If you need help selecting an appropriate web designer, I can certainly point you in the right direction. Either way, this is something you have to do to ensure your success.

Be proactive.
You can’t just sit back and hope things will change. You have to actively try to improve. Also, at the end of the day, the old phrase is still true: you need to spend money to make money. The difference is where and how you spend your money. Sitting back and hoping for things to change does absolutely nothing. You need to be proactive, find solutions, and work through problems. Otherwise, they’ll just get worse.

Be nice.
You would be shocked at how many horror stories I have heard about relationships between retailer and customer—typically, there isn’t one! When a customer walks in the door, you need to have the same enthusiasm you did when you had your very first customer at your store. Think about it. I’m sure you got excited at the thought of your very first sale at your jewelry store, were extremely excited and welcoming to them. Nowadays, I hear many stories of customers walking into stores and basically being ignored—or worse, being treated rudely. At the end of the day, these customers are paying you for your goods, and the other pros in the industry will affect you in both the near and far future in ways you don’t yet realize. It would do everyone well to be polite and friendly to not only your customers, but also each other.