Promoting Colour in Creative Ways

Diamonds are forever, or at least that’s what the major diamond companies continually try to hammer into the consumer’s mind. In the face of this kind of constant promotion, how can you successfully promote the beauty, value, and desirability of coloured gemstones?

Here are three ideas for promoting colour in creative (and effective) ways:

1. Link colour to life. It’s all too easy to fall into the rut of old habits each day, especially in these challenging economic times when people feel compelled to “play it safe” with their finances. There’s no reason why coloured gemstones cannot be promoted as an easy, cost effective way to bring a little bit of colour and glamour to life.

   Create opportunities to talk about coloured gemstones every chance you get. For instance, you might speak to a local retailers’ association about the different ways a simple splash of colour can help spark interest and attract customers; team up with a local fashion retailer and pair a coloured gemstone necklace with an outfit in the display window, show how coloured stones can add a sense of glamour to even the most conservative business suit, or suggest different colours that can be used to create different feelings and emotional responses.

2. Pair coloured gemstones to create distinct impressions. Show customers and potential customers several ways to pair and combine coloured gemstones for the purpose of creating specific effects and impressions. Take advantage of the drama of red rubies, for instance, by pairing them with pearls, sapphires, or lighter coloured rubies in a cluster setting. Or, show the rich colour of a dark sapphire combined with the glow of a yellow diamond, citrine, or the softer blue tones.

3. Maximise the display power of coloured gemstones. The background colour used in your coloured gemstone displays can have a dramatic influence on the radiance and attractiveness of the gemstones. Whenever possible opt for strong and dramatic background colours, such as darkest black, purest white, emerald green, or royal blue. These strong colours combined with the right lighting will make coloured gemstones literally leap out at potential customers, highlighting their beauty and increasing their desirability.

   Remember, there is no single right way to promote interest in and attraction to coloured gemstones. The most important thing to keep in mind is to let your creativity lead the way; don’t settle for the same old displays, done in the same old ways, and don’t fall into the same old patterns of advertising or promoting the same gemstones in the same way each week. Try different pairings of colour, combine colours into different topics or themes, or take a chance and try something completely different to anything you’ve ever done before.

   With a bit of thought and open mindedness to trying new things, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the many different ways you can successfully promote the beauty and desirability of coloured gemstones in creative ways.

Please add your suggestions by clicking here and let us know what works for you.

What is branding???

I recently read an interesting discussion thread on LinkedIn (which I recommend you join by the way) in which people were answering the simple question: What is branding?

It was interesting to see the range of answers. They touched on the issues around price, design and availability. Others seemed to think it was generated from the customers rather than the organisation. Some seemed to suggest that it was a much more emotional connection with people’s heart. Some talk about adding value to your product and how it differentiates you from your competitors. Others see it as something that will you will pay you a premium for, while other questioned why you’d ever want to do it with something cheap (I guess Asda, Wall Mart, Tesco et al have also missed the point).

Lots of people seemed to write about what brands do and don’t do, but most people failed to answer the question ‘what is branding?’
Now I’m not saying I’m a master marketer or brander, I’m not the brand evangelist and I am not the last word in defining all things conceptual. What I do know is that I didn’t get a clear understanding of what people thought branding actually was.

Ok the easy part is to pick apart other people’s thoughts and definitions. Time to state my position: Put simply, branding is the identity you give your organisation and the voice you use to communicate with your customers.

From this everything else comes: Price, position, marketing channels, logo, usp you name it, sometime your product. Once you have your identity and your voice then you bring your product into alignment.
In the luxury field, perception is everything and everything is perception.  The brand should stem from the core of who you are (your identity), transcend everything you do (your inner voice) and represent you in the way you want to be seen (your outer voice). Think about your identity (inner and outer) and ask yourself what am I trying to say and what are my customers (inner and outer) hearing.  Somewhere in between the 2 are your brand values. Once you’ve defined them align your products, sales strategy and marketing message to this and you’re on your way to fulfilling your brands potential.

Please let me know where you stand on the subject and post your thoughts.

Promoting Colour In Creative Ways

Diamonds are forever, or at least that’s what the major diamond companies continually try to hammer into the consumer’s mind.  In the face of this kind of constant promotion, how can you successfully promote the beauty, value, and desirability of coloured gemstones?
Read more

Colour Combinations Grab Customer Attention

Grabbing the attention of customers and potential customers is a big part of your overall success.  After all, if you can’t get them to notice your gemstones and your jewellery pieces you are not going to get them to actually make a purchase.  Coloured gemstones can be a huge benefit in grabbing customer attention Read more

Building Customer Relationships One Gemstone At A Time

There are lots of ways to attract customers and make sales, if you have an unlimited advertising budget and are willing to spend it freely.  Chances are, however, that you don’t have this kind of tremendously large budget so it’s critical for you to take a smarter, more efficient approach to attracting customers Read more

Protect Your Margins With Colour

Making money in the fine jewellery business can be tough, especially in these days of online and large scale retail competitors.  For a small to medium sized business it might seem impossible to compete and make any money.  With coloured gemstones, however, you have a great opportunity to protect your profit margins and be successful. Read more

Welcome to Colour in its Element

Colour in its element is the gateway to TheGemBank.com (where you can search my stock of Gemstones and Coloured Diamonds) and Gemrunner the Concierge service where I look for stones not found in my stock). It is somewhere to read an article about the trade, or other business matters and comment on them if you wish. You can even visit the free picture gallery and send a friend a postcard form there.

In time you’ll be able to do a lot more from this site. Please let me know how I can improve the site and your experience of it. Feel free to let me know what topics you are interested in or even write one yourself for posting. You can do all that by leaving a comment below or emailing me

Thank you and enjoy
Richard