After four and a half months of collaboration with a web developer, McLean, Va.-based fine jewelry chain Liljenquist & Beckstead has debuted an interactive website that allows users to get a glimpse of the artistry behind the store’s luxury brands.
Users are met with a sleek home page designed to look like a real-life store that offers entry into different portals, based on category and brand. Once inside a brand-dedicated page, smartly edited videos detail the history behind each label, providing windows into how collections—including Bulgari, Chopard, Omega, Rolex, and Raymond Weil—are made.
High quality photos offer a magnified view of the chain’s extensive range of watches and jewelry. The custom services page aligns goldsmith sketches with images of the final results.
Screen shots of Liljenquist & Beckstead’s new website, courtesy of the company
Liljenquist & Beckstead senior partner Sherrie Beckstead says education engenders a greater appreciation of future purchases. “We carry very complicated brands and products,” she adds. “We want our clients to be able to have the same depth of education online as they do in our store.”
While educating (and romancing) customers is the site’s forte, marketing and driving traffic to the stores and social media sites is its mission. “We realized that the majority of people look on the web before walking into the store,” says Andrew Max, CEO of ARTYSO, the web development company that created the site. “We wanted to communicate the store experience on the site with marketing that connects properly.”
The site also allows users to request appointments, meet staff members, and browse products and services in each of Liljenquist & Beckstead’s five locations, in addition to learning about store-specific events. Items can be “liked” on Facebook, shared on Twitter, and posted to Pinterest—all efforts to expand Liljenquist & Beckstead’s social media presence.
Finding the right team to execute the process and represent the company’s mission was paramount to the site’s launch, adds Beckstead. She interviewed five web designers before choosing ARTYSO, impressed by the level of the team’s professionalism. “That was on our list of the most important factors going forward,” she notes.
“The online world is changing everything that we do and the jewelry industry has finally recovered from the economic crisis,” she says. “It is time to invest in technology.”
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