by Ellen Fruchtman, President By now you’ve probably read countless articles about the state of retail. There have been countless articles about its demise. There have been countless articles about what many believe to be permanent changes. To sum it up, here’s what we know: Independent guild jewelry stores thrived in 2020. Yes, there were some store closings for...
by Ellen Fruchtman, President Lately, I have seen a rash of advertising advice from other marketing professionals in our industry. Some are providing me a significant amount of angst. Because after reading those recommendations and not-so-solid ideas, I’m quite certain the advice is actually bad. Not just bad because they are from some competitors, because I have...
By Shane O’Neill, Vice President We’ve been dealing with zombie jewelers for years now, but the new COVID outbreak has escalated the infection. It’s more important for retailers to test themselves and make sure they aren’t turning into a…ZOMBIE JEWELER. A New Infection, a New Dawn “Where did he go?” It was a question I was often asked about...
By Angie Ash, EVP Some schools are going 100% virtual this fall while others are a classroom and online hybrid. More states are mandating masks to walk into any place of business, and the virus isn’t dying down this summer as we all hoped. Restaurants are still struggling, evident by all the banners and signs posted that...
Ellen Fruchtman, President Before Fruchtman Marketing was entrenched in marketing for jewelers and the jewelry industry, we were entrenched in local and regional political marketing. Yep. We were instrumental in getting the first African American Mayor of Toledo elected, who served our city from 2002 - 2006. We worked on many campaigns for City Council, State Representatives,...
By Ellen Fruchtman, President With the baseball season (and many sports seasons) clearly in the rearview mirror, there’s a great business analogy spoken by one of the all-time greatest baseball players, Babe Ruth. “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” At the time, he was likely talking about the game and never anticipated how it could be a great...
By Guest Columnist Lori Dixon, Ph.D., Great Lakes Marketing Research Consumers got a taste of having more power over place and time, and they will not easily go back to their old ways. There is not going to be a new normal. Normal implies: conforming to a standard, usual, typical, or expected. Ha! We are smart enough to...
by Ashley Bowen, Account Coordinator As you look to reopen your store and capitalize on sales, especially for Mother’s Day and anniversaries, consider offering your best customers a little something to show you care at no charge. There are numerous options to consider, both big and small, such as flowers, wine, or simply a nice handwritten card....
By Kate Peterson, Performance Concepts These are trying and uncertain times, and the challenges we are facing as an industry are undeniably massive. We are not new to overwhelming challenges though, and even in the most difficult of times, people still get engaged, get married, have babies, and celebrate significant occasions and achievements. Adversity often makes those moments...
By Shane O'Neill, Vice President Video is quickly becoming the hottest marketing trend for businesses. Why? Simply stated, video on social can generate up to 1,200% more shares than static images or text. In addition, 9 out of 10 brands have reported a significant lift in brand recall when using 6-second bumper ads on YouTube. If you’re still...