Jewelers know just how dynamic the industry has been over the past decade. The rise and dominance of ecommerce platforms such as Blue Nile have forever changed the way customers shop for gold jewelry. Retail giants such as Amazon and Wal-Mart have likewise provided shoppers with a plethora of options to buy online. How can traditional jewelers compete? How do we get shoppers back into the store? What is the value of the in-store jewelry experience?

Sadly, most jewelers fall in love with their products rather than their customers. They are obsessed with their one-of-a-kind designers and labels rather than truly understanding what their customers want and need. How people shop for jewelry has fundamentally changed, but most jewelers are struggling to sell the only way they know how.

During the ECRM Gold EPPS, to be held February 19 to 21 in San Diego, Bill Carmody, founder and CEO of Trepoint, contributing writer for Inc and internationally recognized keynote speaker, will demonstrate how mapping your customer’s journey can provide your jewelry business a 77% greater return on your marketing efforts and can help you to out maneuver the likes of Blue Nile, Wal-Mart and Amazon.

Future is Up for Grabs
How is that possible? Because the future of jewelry sales is still up for grabs. What has worked for Blue Nile, Wal-Mart and Amazon in the past is not likely to satisfy the needs of your ideal customer prospects. That gap, in turn, provides an incredible growth opportunity for those who are willing to think different about how they attract, engage, transact and build advocacy with their customers.

For example, one of the biggest and most disruptive macro-trends in jewelry today is that customers want access to everything and ownership of nothing. This macro-trend is what put Blockbuster Video on the map and also the very same trend that put Blockbuster out of business when Netflix came along. It is why Uber has forever disrupted the transportation industry, and why Airbnb, at $30 billion dollar valuation, is worth more than the top three global hotel chains combined!

Carmody’s presentation will show how this also applies to the jewelry industry. He’ll reveal how companies like Adorn, Hautevalt, Rent the Runway, and Rocksbox (to name a few) are all working to “crack the code” in the jewelry space, and how you can do the same.

Central to this is applying your best insights to the needs of your customer. Mapping the customer journey is about rethinking how your ideal customers discover you, engage with you, transact with you and then advocate for your business. This may mean that the way you sell your products must change and evolve to fit the evolving needs of your customer.

To compete effectively, you need understand the gaps between what your customers expect from you and what you are currently delivering to them. This session will show you how to do that.