Introduction
Gold, diamonds, platinum – whatever your base element, jewellery means charm, allure and desire. Jewellery industry is a flourishing industry with humans constantly craving variety and exclusivity. Astro strategist Hirav Shah has a 7 step strategy for jewellers, big, medium and small so they can continue their operations for generations to come.
Brand is an identity an organisation or firm creates for the products or services it offers. Branding is a whole sector in itself, where companies strive to make their product or service stand apart amidst high-level competition. A brand is what sets one product or service apart from each other in a myriad of offerings.
Every business goes about the process of branding itself from the word go. In fact, even before the launch, the products are tested among select groups, advertising and media plans checked and rechecked to gauge their reach and then the big day arrives when the product or service is finally introduced to the customers.
During the process of branding, companies take utmost care to be bang on when it comes to targeting their select audiences. Minor aberrations can cause a product or service to reach an audience that it is not meant for. In a world of brands and intense competition, branding acquires great importance.
Similarly, for already established brands, rebranding themselves from time to time to suit the changing aspirations of their target audience is vital. Today, we discuss the impact of branding in gold industry.
While gold is still brought in stores that are traditionally known through families, there are certain brands that have made their mark over decades and are at least a century old like the Cartier, Chopard, Bvlgari, Tiffany & Co, Chanel, Harry Winston, Boucheron among others.
These brands are internationally sought-after and each piece of jewellery is made with utmost dedication and precision. While fashion changes from time to time, it also comes a full circle and old designs and motifs make a grand re-entry at a later day.
Brands that stand the test of time realise the fact that fashion is all about making a statement that is timeless and classic.
How branding plays a special role in gold industry
1) Leverage your online brand advocates instead of traditional word-of-mouth marketing
Social media is the modern-day word-of-mouth marketing. High-end brands are quite adept at changing the game at short notice. They quickly take to new methods of advertising and marketing and their sales and marketing teams come up with strategies to come up with a string of various messages suited for multiple media. Here, the message itself is the medium.
On the other end of the spectrum, the medium and smaller brands too have realised the need for online presence. This bracket needs customers posting reviews and posting real pictures to lure them to go for a particular brand or store. The idea is to keep such loyal customers happy by giving them discounts, gifts with purchase, exclusive offerings and private sales to push them to post more.
2) Flip the coin and market with your customer stories
The very big brands sell through stories of their legacy. That is what their customers expect of them. These are done in ultra niche and uber rich pockets.
But then there is a huge market comprising medium and small stores and brands that cater to the long-tail customers. For example, in India we have brands like Gili by Gitanjali, Nakshatra, Tanishq, etc. Then, there is De Beers, which has promised the world that it wouldn’t sell blood diamonds or conflict diamonds. Such stories reinforce the faith of customers in the brand and encourage them to flaunt their jewels for the causes they advocate.
For the entire medium and small brand segment, it is highly important to rely on customer stories. It is these stories that will tell the brand story. So, it is vital to collect photos, captions and little nuggets of information about the special moments for which the jewellery was brought. Convince your customers to share their happy moments and memories and make space for these on your website or other marketing initiatives. It could be anything, an engagement, anniversary, graduation or other occasion. Just share the memorable moments of your happy customers.
3) Make sure to run social media campaigns or print campaigns through-out the year, instead of planning them around holidays
Unlike in the past, when an occasion called for buying of jewellery, today, customers buy gold throughout the year, unless the gold or jewellery prices shoot up abruptly.
So, it is important to keep in touch with them throughout the year and an effective way to do this is to run social media campaigns. Small and medium brands can try holding social media contests. It’s also vital to create your own hashtag and request your customers to post it. This works even for real high-end brands as social influencers push others to invest in a classic piece of jewellery by turning brand ambassadors.
Here, it is important to note that every like and comment matters. Once the customers reach out to potential customers, that’s when the real magic begins as it means more sales, right now or at a later time.
Of course, it takes time to build a good customer base through various channels, but once the base is built, they will convert into loyal customers.
4) Competitive positioning
Brands need to go back to the drawing board and consider various factors such – did the customer preferences change? Who is the right customer in today’s time? What are their needs and expectations from a brand? What is competition doing to service these needs?
By simply positioning their designs, a brand may not be able to create the necessary differentiation in the long run. Brands have to keep this in mind to create a sustainable edge.
5) Consider key options
i) Product offering
ii) Nature of expansion – local, regional or national
iii) Type of store formats – traditional high street, malls, large vs small formats
iv) Channels – offline, online, omni-channel v) marketing, communication and consumer schemes.
6) Avenues for expansion
a) Own funds to control brand: while this gives control, there is need to evaluate the impact on balance sheet and working capital considering huge investments in inventory.
b) Franchising to bring to the table speed to market, favourable locations and local market know-how
c) Acquisitions to build capabilities: Traditional jewellers investing in pure-play online jewellers to build their digital capabilities.
7) Internal readiness
This is very important for brands of all kinds and is often neglected by brands in the medium and lower segments. This is characterised by: i) The right team to support expansion covering retail execution, merchandising & digital functions ii) Value chain capability to ensure prompt service and product availability iii) Standardised processes to address scale and efficiency.
A brand could be well-established and world renowned. Or you could be a brand looking to reinvest itself. Astro strategist Hirav Shah has a holistic plan of action for your branding and rebranding:
For good business growth and future prospects, astro strategist
Hirav Shah says it is important to have the necessary ‘luck’ in the personal chart of an individual. However, apart from that, there are a variety of factors that push forth ‘luck’ in business. The name of the business, its logo, the partner’s luck, etc, all determine the success of a business, he shares.
Hirav Shah insists that whatever hard work one puts in or whatever talents one uses to put in smart work by strategizing and implementing those strategies in terms of advertising, marketing, sales, HR, production or service… things have to move smoothly and seamlessly.
According to astro strategist Hirav Shah, that is called the ‘luck’ of the company. So, if the structure of the company or organisation is proper, it helps in utilizing your potential and growth in a productive and positive manner.
Just ponder
How does food taste without salt?
How does a piece of jewellery look without proper design?
How can a footballer make a goal if the field is not well-maintained?
Similarly, in business, if the structure of the organization is great (ie, business name, great partners, correct registered and administrative address, logo, web-print-digital presence, brand name, etc), by seeking the help of an astro strategist, a business can make and execute decisions within a perfectly timed framework to maximise success.
Here are the 7 factors that astro strategist Hirav Shah considers before giving a road map for branding and rebranding
1. Name of the organisation
We have all heard of Shakespeare’s famous line — What’s in a name? On the contrary, when it comes to branding, it’s all in the name. Astro strategist Hirav Shah will help you name your organisation or brand or product in sync with numerological and astrological calculations. Look at brands like Cartier, Bvlgari – they bring out ads or social media inputs with social influencers and make sure to point out that they are for those with the right taste and right social standing to make a purchase.
2. Correct partners
Checking the compatibility, strengths and weaknesses of all partners and administrators is crucial as one weak piece can spoil the beauty of a jewel.
3. Percentage of shares of all partners: Hirav Shah ensures that each partner share is correctly balanced, so there are no disputes or disagreements in the long run.
4. Registered address and administrative address
They should be astrologically compatible with the name of the organization and key people in the company
5. Logo of the organisation
We have already seen how important the logo of a company is in the case of Cartier, Bvlgari and even medium brands like De Beers. Hirav Shah helps you create and finalize the right logo that reflects your values and attracts the right kind of energy.
6. Web, print and digital presence
In today’s world, where one needs to be seen and heard on various media platforms, Hirav Shah ensures that your digital, print and marketing collaterals are aligned and in harmony with your brand’s purpose and vision.
7. Brand
Last, but surely not the least, astro strategist Hirav Shah makes sure that your brand assets are auspicious for the company and have a positive impact on team morale.
