| April 1999
Managing:Diamonds
It's About Time. It's About Opportunity. It's About Forever
Now's the time to plan how to take advantage of millennium fever
by Diane Warga-Arias
The countdown to 2000 has begun! Everywhere you look, from newspaper
reports to the countdown timer at the Post Office, millennium excitement
is under way. People are approaching the turn of the century with a mixture
of excitement and hope, skepticism and wonder. There's a wish to study the
past and predict the future. In the midst of this growing excitement, you'll
discover commemorative merchandise ranging from champagne flutes to furs,
limited-edition cigars to cars. As 1999 continues, look for millennium tags
to add cachet (and a price premium) to many more products and services around
the world. What one product has the image, the symbolism, the status to
truly commemorate the millennium? Diamonds. What other product can match
diamond's mystery, its timelessness or its romantic possibilities? What
else can more perfectly capture a couple's hopes for the future?
It's Never Too Soon
Now is the time to select which products to feature – whether from
the millennium collections that diamond jewelry manufacturers are introducing
this spring or from your own designs; to decide on a marketing theme to
unite your advertising, public relations and consumer communications; and
to educate your staff. To get you started, here are four sure-fire ways
to capitalize on the millennium. Customize them to fit your staff, space
and situation.
- Countdown. Create a countdown calendar showing time remaining until
Jan. 1, 2000; post it in a conspicuous place.
- Collect, collect, collect. Begin "tuning-in" your staff to
the millennium by collecting ads, newspaper articles, product sheets and
more. Post them on a bulletin board or make a collage to get your staff
excited about the millennium.
- Catch diamond fever. As you collect millennium messages, you'll find
it easy to describe why diamond is the enduring symbol of romance and the
passing of time. It's the perfect time to offer training to maximize sales
of better-quality diamonds. The opportunity to use the millennium to trade
up customers to substantial diamonds has never been greater.
- Get customers ready. Tell customers you're putting together a program
for the millennium. "It's still a secret, but we'd like to let you
know as soon as we announce it," tell them, and add their names, addresses
and diamond preferences to your database. The millennium offers a spectacular
opportunity to sell significant diamond jewelry to people who already are
thinking about a diamond. It also offers a reason to buy for those who
have put off a diamond purchase.
The diamond you sell today was around for the last millennium and will
be here for the next one. Remember the romance and find your customers their
piece of forever.
DPS Millennium Resources
To maximize the unique opportunity the millennium presents for diamond
sales, you must act now! To help you plan and execute marketing and training
programs, DPS has prepared the DPS Millennium Management Resource Guide,
which introduces selling strategies, includes an outline of marketing options
and materials, and covers how to train sales associates. An accompanying
video is designed to boost associates' enthusiasm for millennium diamond
sales opportunities.
To order this and other education, marketing and advertising material,
call DPS at (212) 210-7653. |
Diane Warga-Arias is the education expert for the Diamond Promotion
Service.
Copyright © 1999 by Bond Communications.
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