How Can a Jeweler Partner with Local Businesses to Work with Brides?

“I am really loving the trainings in your videos. I am not a wedding vendor per say, I sell the jewelry they will be wearing. In learning more about how brides work and think it is really helping me understand how to reach out to people.

Do you know how I can reach local businesses and work with them? Thank you for the amazing videos. I am learning so much.”

– Yolonda

Learning how brides think is the perfect place to start!  The key to targeting your ideal clients is to really understand who they are, what they want, and their biggest challenges and frustrations.

Let’s walk through this process for your business.

1. Write down a detailed description of your ideal bride client.  Who is the bride who buys your jewelry?  What is her style?  Her demographic, cultural background?
2. Identify the local businesses who also work with these brides.  In particular, consider the bridal salons and boutiques that carry styles your brides would love.
3. Identify the wedding and bridal events in your local area.  You’re looking for venue tastings, bridal fairs, fashion shows, honeymoon and travel expos, etc.  These are likely places where you can connect with brides.

Here are a few ideas for partnering with local businesses that you should explore:

• Bridal fashion shows.  Loan your jewelry to the models and perhaps give a few pieces to the sales staff at the venue.  When brides comment on their jewelry, it’s an easy referral.
• Venue tastings.  Wedding venues often invite couples to a tasting in order to choose their meal.  Partner with a bridal shop, DJ and florist to perform a fashion show for the occasion; it builds a relationship with the venue by making them look good and introduces you to a bunch of brides.
• Bridal boutiques.  Partner with a high-end boutique to put on an invitation only fashion show.  You do the heavy lifting involved in organizing, they invite the brides, and it’s a win-win.
• Host a jewelry scavenger hunt.  Check out how one jewelry store attracted 500 engaged couples and got free promotion with a “Ring Race.”
• Connect with other jewelry store owners for ideas.  Join some groups on LinkedIn or other industry associations and ask non-competitors in other markets what’s working for them.  Model their success stories.
• Offer a DIY bridal jewelry workshop.  This may seem counter-intuitive, but hang in here with me.  Host a workshop and charge brides a fee to learn how to create their own jewelry.  You’ll get paid for your time and brides who discover how difficult it is to create a truly beautiful piece of jewelry end up buying from you.  This DIY workshop strategy has worked well for a florist friend of ours.

 These ideas won’t all be a fit for your business, but hopefully it gets your neurons firing.

How do you connect with local businesses to get leads?

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