The Alexander Report

Ok marketing the iphone is not the exact same as marketing fashion. But I admit but do have to take a second to tip my hat to the amazing marketing job those folks have done over there at Apple. Our industry, for the most part isn’t about week long lines and switching networks or the general fiasco that preceded the iphone launch. However one thing that fashion can take from this nifty little gadget and the Apple company in general is the lengths people will go to once they are inspired.

I thought about it a while ago when I was working with one client on how they could gain more business from their existing retailers. I sat there dreaming up incentives, planning a media calendar, magazines they could advertise in, even an itemized budget…. then it occurred to me that for the most part customers don’t really don’t really need all that. People don’t really need a $500 dress, a designer yoga mat or a handbag that is equivalent to the down payment of a Midwestern home.

People just want to be happy…they want to be inspired to find the necessity to buy your product. This is not to say they don’t appreciate quality or a designer’s style acumen and attention to detail. It’s just to say that people are typically looking for a return on investment that is much more emotional than financial.

So no you definitely don’t have to be a self help guru to know you can’t buy happiness…however the average company who aspires for long term success needs to pay attention to the psychological focus of their customers. (more…)

By Ajeet Khurana

Cost and quality are the many concerns of any jewelry buyer. Very often we don’t want to lose out on quality just to save a few dollars. Unless you have been saving money for a long time, loans are a great way to finance large jewelry purchases. Today, many jewelry stores offer financing and unsecured loans on site, and many banks also are currently offering lines of credit specifically geared towards diamond purchases. Here you will find out what kinds of unsecured loans shall be available to you in the jewelry business.

The first kind of unsecured loan is a revolving account and it works in a fashion that is very similar to a credit card. You will probably get a card that has the store logo and information on it with your account number. You will be able to make minimum monthly payments against the balance of the cost of the purchase over a specified time period. Generally this is around 36 months or 3 years. You may have to put a minimum down payment on the jewelry and you can expect this to be around 10$ of the total cost of the purchase. Put as much down as you can upfront, this will decrease your overall balance from the get go. Here your monthly payments will depend on the amount that is still pending, and how much you put down. Good qualifiers for this kind of loan would be good credit history and limited cash flow. If you think your history may prevent you, you might have to get a co-signer. (more…)