Instore Magazine • May 2025 • ASK INSTORE

What kind of displays do you suggest for cases that have smaller inventory levels? I don’t want them to look empty.

➤ Go for vignettes instead of linear displays. “Group like items together in ‘stories’ and convey quality in the pieces you do show,” says Larry Johnson, an industry consultant and author of The Complete Guide To Effective Jewelry Display.

What specific things can I do to improve our reputation as the local jeweler you can trust? To be honest, I think our name has been tarnished by a few negative encounters with customers in the last few years.

➤ Start with a reputation audit. Analyze the current perception of your store through customer feedback, social media mentions, and reviews. Understand the specific issues that led to your possibly damaged reputation and then come up with a plan to address them. Is there a need to make peace with a disgruntled customer who is bad-mouthing you? Are aggressive promotional tactics hurting your brand? Marking up to mark down? Stop it now!

Then comes the hard work. Building a good reputation takes time. Lida Citroën, a specialist in reputation management and branding and author of Control The Narrative, recommends the following:

➜ Enhance customer experience: Focus on improving the quality of your products and customer service. Provide more training for staff, ensure your goods are of high quality, and improve the shopping experience, both in-store and online.

➜ Leverage social media: Use social media platforms to engage with customers positively. Showcase customer stories, highlight any charitable initiatives, and promote new product lines.

➜ Community engagement: Get involved in the local community by sponsoring events, participating in charitable causes, or collaborating with local artists. This can help rebuild goodwill.

➜ Customer feedback loop: Implement a system for gathering and addressing customer feedback. Encourage reviews and actively respond to concerns or suggestions.

➜ Boost your online presence: Invest in digital marketing efforts, such as SEO and content marketing, to improve online visibility and present a positive narrative about your brand.

➜ Review and revise policies: Assess and enhance customer-facing policies, such as return policies and warranties, to show commitment to customer satisfaction and build confidence in your business.

➜ Showcase certifications and sustainability practices: If applicable, highlight ethical sourcing, sustainability practices, or certifications that can reinforce your store’s commitment to quality and social responsibility

Monitor the progress you’re making and adjust the strategies as you go along. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but whether a jeweler prospers or perishes hinges on their reputation.

Is there any point doing performance reviews when it’s very unlikely we will be handing out pay raises this year? I don’t particularly like doing them, and I imagine the staff will see no point.

➤ Ideally, a review should be a discussion about an employee’s performance, not about his compensation. And while you have no carrot to wave, it’s still important to let your staff know how well they are doing at their jobs, what plans you have for their development, what areas they could improve (and ideally targets for them to shoot for), plus a reminder that the payoff will come when times improve. As for you, a review gives your staff a chance to provide feedback. One thing to be mindful of, however, is that you need to try to take some action based on what is discussed in the review. Otherwise, it really does become a bit of a pointless exercise, from the viewpoint of your staff.

My partner drives me nuts. I’ll grant he’s creative and a big thinker, but our business is now mature and needs to be more procedural with future evolution to come incrementally. Is it time for us to go our own ways?

➤ The best partnerships are those where the parties bring different skills and approaches to the table — someone good at sales and someone good at the bench, someone with an entrepreneurial streak and someone with solid financial management skills, and so on. Similarly, an expansive mindset paired with a more narrowly focused one can work wonders, and it sounds like you have found success together. The problem is such couples can drive each other nuts. The hard part is to respect and value your partner’s thoughts and take action on them, even when your instinct is to dismiss them out of hand as unrealistic. Next time you find yourself getting frustrated with your partner’s contributions, try this: Look at their “solution” as a valuable gift that needs to be opened and examined with the same scrutiny you bring to your own proposals. The yin and the yang may once again create business magic. At the very least, adopting such an open mindset will foster a more positive atmosphere in your store and avoid a messy and expensive divorce.