Hope in the mirror
Reflecting on the past is one way retailers can compete in the future.
“As a retailer you don’t market price, you market quality,” says Moss, adding he’s repeated this to his clients many times before. “You separate yourself. There’s always going to be somebody cheaper than you and, certainly in the case of the Internet, there is someone cheaper than you because they have no overhead.”
It’s also vital to recognize the work the consumer has done, though in a positive way. It keeps the possibility of future sales in the mix, Anderson explains.
“I have had a few situations, just like everyone else, where we have lost a sale to the Internet,” he says. “But interestingly enough, the same people returned to the store and ended up buying their wedding bands with us—at full price, without a discount.”
If, however, the retailer cannot win over a consumer fixated on price, Wizman notes there still value in keeping them in the store, and selling for the future.
“So you didn’t hit a home run with the diamond ring,” Wizman starts. “Build the relationship for next time. It takes months to make a customer; it takes seconds to lose one.”
His advice is to look at the long-term potential. A retailer may not make much profit if he has to match the price of an online dealer, but offering to design and make the mount is an avenue for future sales and creating a lasting relationship with the client.
“There could be diamonds in the mount. And what about the diamond wedding band that comes down the road? What about winning over the customer for when they want to buy other jewellery?” asks Wizman.
It’s not an ideal situation, he acknowledges, but the retailer may gain a client. After all, they came to you, regardless of the online quote with which they may have brought with them. While they may have been using the quote as a bargaining chip to negotiate a better price, they also came to see the product and start a conversation with the person they may see as a diamond expert.
“The best costs more to make,” Wizman says. “I would rather explain the quality, than apologize for absence.”
Jeff Green is a Hamilton-based journalist and freelance writer. He’s covered breaking news, business, and sports for daily and weekly newspapers, as well as for the Canadian Press. Green was nominated for a pair of Ontario Newspaper Awards for his work in this, his first year as a full-time journalist.
