Instore Magazine • May 2025 • Manager’s To-Do

MANAGEMENT Invite 10 customers to form an advisory panel for your store. Schedule three meetings throughout the year and ask them to discuss what they’ve seen, what they like, and how they would advise you to improve. “Pay” them with lunch and gift cards!

MARKETING Ramp up your blogging this week. Comment on what’s new in Las Vegas (JCK is June 6-9) and what has people buzzing. You don’t actually have to be at the show to do this. Just offer your opinions based on the trade press reports (if you need inspiration, check instoremag.com each morning).

MARKETING Do you have an “origin story” about your store to tell customers and employees? A good tale goes a long way toward making people feel they’re part of something special. Build your own company mythology.

STORE With summer here, this is the perfect time to do a sensory audit of your store. Take big lungfuls of air and consider it. Does it smell clean? Full of spring air? If not, get the carpet cleaners in, have the bathroom scrubbed and the AC serviced.

FINANCES Update all of your information with the Jewelers Board of Trade. Suppliers will be more likely to extend credit to retailers who share the full story of their business rather than those that seem to have an aura of mystery. In particular, the JBT has asked its members to include when special terms and conditions are offered.

MANAGEMENT Start thinking summer reading. Set yourself a target of reading one business book a month for the next quarter. For business owners looking for an innovative take on time management and productivity, consider The Plan by Kendra Adachi. For everyone else, dive into Financial Intelligence by Karen Berman and Joe Knight to gain a deeper financial understanding of what your books are truly saying about your business.

ADVERTISING Father’s Day is done. Your ads and website should shift to get male customers thinking about buying anniversary presents.

TELEMARKETING It’s been six months since Christmas. Ask holiday-season customers to bring in their jewelry for a free checkup.

MERCHANDISING Gather with your staff to inspect your show finds and go through what you ordered during the recent buying season. Develop a product launch plan and schedule training sessions to ensure the successful sell-through.

GEM QUIZ A humble brown stone from the poorest continent on earth with an odd, almost extra-terrestrial sounding name, I have risen to the point where you can see me regularly on movie stars and millennials looking to express their individualism. A little heat, a lot of polish, the right accent (I’m thinking a cut that brings out my purplish tinge or sapphire-like blue) and a new name helped make me who I am today: a glorious testimony to reinvention. WHO AM I?

Guess this gem for a chance to win a “Jewelry Geek” T-shirt. (Be sure to include your full name and the name and address of your store.)

1 To kick off National Iced Tea Month, set out some tall glasses, prepare some double-strength tea and ice cubes, and via Facebook or a casual email invite your customers to drop by. Seriously, who could resist a low-pressure, low-calorie nudge like that, especially with the mercury climbing?

8 According to polls, we are spending less time than ever with our closest friends. On Best Friends Day, do your bit to fight the “friendship recession”: Roll out a special discount or gift for a customer who comes in with a pal. Encourage them to post their finds on social media so their other friends can comment.

15 For a demographic that claims to be low-maintenance and easily satisfied, dads are a tricky target for retailers. Do nothing but lay out some watches and cufflinks, and you’ll probably get a so-so return on Father’s Day. Take some risk with inventory and men’s jewelry (80% of men wear some sort), and the rewards could be handsome. The key is in the marketing. As Dad, used to say, “Go for it!”

26 ^It’s National Handshake Day. Test yours and your employees’ grips. Your goal is a firm, friendly, double pump that lasts no longer than three seconds.