Does your jewelry store offer custom designs?
This luxury service delivers strong profit margins and attracts customers who are willing to pay premium price points for jewelry. If these customers are satisfied, they’re likely to come back to the same store for their next jewelry purchase. That said, to earn their business, you need to create a great experience at every stage of the jewelry design and production process.
The key to successfully producing custom jewelry is to listen to your customer carefully and guide them through the discovery of what they want. You can do this with custom jewelry consultations — dedicated moments where you give the customer the floor to describe exactly what they’re looking for.
Running effective custom jewelry consultations leads to happy customers, while a dysfunctional consultation can cause misunderstandings, mistakes, and expensive revisions down the road.
In this blog, we’ll explore five simple steps to run high-quality custom jewelry consultations from start to finish — helping you boost sales for your jewelry store.
Let’s get started.
Custom jewelry consultations often take time and careful planning. The process starts with a customer discussion and includes designs, prototypes, and finally, jewelry production. Here are five key steps to successfully creating custom jewelry that your customers will love.
When a customer first comes in for a custom jewelry consultation, start by making them feel comfortable and listening attentively to their interests. Rather than immediately suggesting what to make for them, let them identify the jewel, material, and style they have in mind. If they aren’t sure or have several ideas, offer informed recommendations to help determine what makes them happy.
During an initial consultation, ask questions like these:
When you meet with a customer, demonstrate your expertise on different jewels and be clear about costs and production timelines so you can set realistic expectations. In doing so, you build trust.
Allow customers to look at examples to help them decide, and take detailed notes about their thoughts. Some customers are confident in what they want after just one appointment, while others may need multiple consultations before making a final decision. If so, your notes can help you focus the conversation on what matters most to them.
Staying organized throughout this process is an important part of providing a personalized and professional experience. Customer relationship management (CRM) software allows you to save customer data, including past purchases, maintenance, customer service interactions, and consultations. Luckily, point of sale (POS) systems often have built-in CRM features, giving you access to these tools in one place.
Related Read: How To Differentiate Your Jewelry Store: 8 Tips & Tools
The design process begins when you start giving visual shape to a customer’s ideas. This might involve sketching with a pencil and paper or using a computer-assisted design (CAD) program.
If someone has requested an engraved bracelet, for example, you might create a few different mockups with various fonts, styles, and patterns, then let them choose their favorite. Providing visual choices helps guide their ideas.
As you design, keep them informed throughout the process. Show them sketches, images, or 3D models of what the finished piece looks like and get their feedback. The more input they give you early on, the fewer revisions you need later.
Once a customer approves the final design, the manufacturing process begins.
Continue to send updates throughout the production process. With CRM software, you can communicate through text and email, and most systems allow you to automate these messages. While automated updates work in many cases, customers appreciate personalized messages. You may also need to reach out individually to request additional input or inform them of unexpected delays.
A personalized message might read, “Hi [customer name], we’ve finished the casing for your custom ring. Before we set the jewel, please take a look and let us know what you think. Thank you!”
Make sure to document all communications with customers, any notes they provide, and your design files. CRM software offers an ideal place to store all of this information. When you keep the customer involved, you build confidence in the finished product.
In addition to CRM tools, some POS systems include work order modules that let you track all the information related to a custom item — like progress, team members involved, and the materials required.
Related Read: Jewelry Customer Management: 10 Tips & Tools
Eventually, you’re going to have a custom piece of jewelry to present to the customer. When you do, be open to any last-minute ideas or feedback they may have — while staying realistic about what changes can still be made. Although it’s not feasible to change direction completely at this stage, some small changes may be doable to ensure the piece is as close to the customer’s vision as possible.
If you’ve created a pair of custom earrings, this stage is too late to change the choice of gem or casing, but you can make a small adjustment to the finish or engraving. If the customer notices any rough spots or other mistakes, this is the time to make minor repairs as well.
After the customer is satisfied with the final design and confident in their decision, they complete the purchase.
Related Read: How To Improve Your Jewelry Store Profit Margin: 8 Strategies and Tips
Jewelry stores thrive on long-term customer relationships. That’s why it’s a good idea to follow up with customers after meaningful purchases — especially custom pieces — to see how they’re feeling about it.
Try sending a quick email or text message about a month later to ask if they’re still loving their custom earrings, bracelet, or necklace. You can even invite them to leave you an online review if they’ve had a good experience.
Following up keeps your business top of mind and makes it more likely for customers to choose you again.
Related Read: Jewelry Customer Lifetime Value 101: The What, Why, and How
To successfully offer custom jewelry design, you need a structured consultation process and comprehensive tools to track information and communicate with customers. During the initial consultation, listen intently to the customer’s ideas and make targeted recommendations to help them find the custom piece that’s right for them.
As you’re designing, keep them informed so your ideas don’t veer too far from what they had in mind. Be sure to provide updates and ask for feedback throughout the production process.
To avoid missing the important details and to keep everything organized, you need a POS system that can handle custom jewelry consultations. Jewel360 is an all-in-one POS solution designed specifically for jewelry stores.
Its CRM features make it easy to record information from your interactions with customers. You can also send personalized and automated communications to help create exactly what they want. With these features, your business has everything it needs for successful custom jewelry consultations.
Our cloud-based software also has a full suite of general and jewelry-specific features, including inventory management, e-commerce, and payment processing. To see what Jewel360 can do for your store, schedule a demo today!