Marketing but not selling

[Ozladie]

TL DR: I’m doing loads of marketing but not selling anything and I feel stuck.

Basically I can’t handmake jewellery in the UK and sell it for less than £1500 (and that’s the low end, lots of stuff will be up to £7-8k). People keep saying “why don’t you do silver, it’s cheaper so it sells better?” Thinking you can sell silver jewellery for £100. Which you can if it’s machine made or produced by child labour in Asia.

From my perspective, using cheaper material doesn’t make the jewellery much cheaper. I still have the same expense in terms of my time spent on design and manufacture. The same time and money spent on marketing and software. The same expenses for my accountant, solicitor, insurance, bills.

Knocking a few hundred quid off the materials doesn’t massively reduce the overall price of the jewellery, because of all those fixed costs. I’ve got more chance of selling gold and gems at a price that covers those costs vs silver.

So my difficulty is finding people who can pay £1500. It’s not your average person on the street. Nobody impulse buys a £1500 ring at a craft fair so there’s no point attending those. There are plenty of people spending that amount but I’m obviously not getting their eyeballs on me.

I’ve done free work for exposure, just for the cost of materials, in order to get pictures to post online. I’ve written articles for arts magazines, given a talk at an art gallery, gave a guest lecture to university students, went on arts podcasts as a guest. Made sure there was evidence online of all that stuff so I look like a professional. I’ve made a few pieces with my own money, I have those in stock to show people as examples, but I can’t make any more because I don’t have the money to keep buying materials.

I can’t keep doing all this free work but not getting any paid work. I started trading in November and I’ve only had two paid commissions, both from the same client, who is someone I knew previously. She could easily have shopped elsewhere but wanted to support my new business, so she asked me to make her engagement ring, and she loved it so asked me to make her wedding ring to match. I haven’t had any other requests despite all my marketing.

Don’t say there isn’t a market for stuff at that price point. There is. I see other people running successful businesses and selling at that price and more. I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong?

There isn’t a market for your stuff at that price point within the marketing you have done. Is it okay to say that?

Who exactly is your target group? You may have to put your boots on the ground and develop relationships with jewelers in your target population to sell on your behalf for a commission.

Post a couple of pictures on here with the price and ask for feedback too.

There is a market at that price point though. I see other people selling successfully at that price. I don’t know what else to do to access that market? I’ve posted on social media, done outreach, written articles for magazines where people might see them. No enquiries at all.

You sound quite cross that you haven’t found the right market for your product. It must be very frustrating, as not an easy market to break into. What research have you managed to do about how others got their break?

Have you tried paid ads? Either Google or Meta? You can target quite specifically on Google, and on Meta by things like hobbies and interests,
so you could target people interested in fashion/jewellery/make up etc?

I usually run an ad once a month, just a tenner, and the post will get maybe 1000 or so views.

Worth a shot?

Perhaps there is a market but there isn't room in it for anyone else?
Its going to be quite small and if its saturated you are going to struggle to break into it. Are you waiting for people to ask you for an order? I have seen a lot of people think that marketing will bring them business but the marketing they are doing is around "raising their profile" and expecting people to get in touch.
You will need to sell as well as market

Where are you actually selling? Do you have an online shop? Or are you hoping for commission pieces only?

University students are not going to buy so guest lecturs won't bring in customers.

You need a shelf at a jewellers.
Or sell in the first class lounge at an airport. Or jewellery shop in a cruise ship.
And actual items that people can buy - not just send an enquiry. Nobody is going to chase you.

You are looking for someone who WILL buy 1500 worth of jewellery on an impulse.

I’m not cross. I’m just upset. I researched and said yes there is a market for this product at this price. It isn’t a huge market but I can see how I could take a share of it by differentiating my work and my services from the competition.

I don’t really see the difference between selling and marketing? Yes I’m raising my profile and hoping people will see me and enquire about custom work. I have a few samples to show but it’s too expensive to have a shop window full of stuff.

I’ve read articles about how others got started. One jeweller was saying she produced a few pieces and she had people coming to her house to look at them and buy them from her. She said she was woken by a knock because a French lady had come straight from the airport, and she showed her the jewellery while wearing pyjamas, and sold her the 3 pieces she had made as samples, and she literally had to tell the woman she couldn’t buy the wedding ring she was wearing on her hand. Then after each sale she used the money to make the next piece. Which sounds perfect except nobody is coming to my house!

I don’t know how you get in front of people who want to buy. I’m doing the usual stuff, raising my profile, making myself visible, social media. But no orders.

My friend has a jewellery business and set up a shop in a craft village, she makes at home and sells in the shop. It's in a tourist village. Could you get a stall somewhere like Snippets Paradise in Brighton. She also rents a shelf in cabinets in nice hotels and sells on commission, the Grand, Metropole, Ockenden Manor etc. she is in her local chamber of commerce, FSB etc and has a great name locally

I have a website with photos of samples, you can contact me for custom work in this style or any other style you want. I do videos and talk about materials and stuff.

I can’t sell retail. I tried that already. A retail store wants a trade discount which eats up my entire profit. Like they literally want to buy it off me for cost price or else they aren’t interested.

People do buy stuff without seeing it. Look at interior designers - people book them to do a room and they can’t see the completed room in advance, they just book the designer to do custom work. People book carpenters to make custom furniture, artists to paint custom portraits. All custom work is done without seeing the finished item.

I’ve registered with those organisations, chamber of commerce etc. I’ve registered with an environment scheme to be certified because I calculate my carbon footprint and use eco materials and stuff. But I work from a studio in my garage, I can’t afford a shop. If I could afford a shop I think I’d get a lot more business - but first I have to sell enough pieces to pay for a year of rent on a shop.

Stating the obvious, at that price point customers need to have confidence in what they're getting. Ordering online feels risky and they haven't yet had validation via either seeing the goods in person, or seeing them on a famous person or in a magazine. I'd suggest you need a pop up or similar in a respected jewellery quarter or very high end shopping street and/or a suitable influencer. It's not going to be cheap or easy I'm afraid, but you're not selling cheap jewellery. As PP have said, there is a disconnect between the marketing you're doing and the type of customer you want to attract.

This is the difficult part. I don’t know what else to do! I don’t have access to a celeb or influencer. I looked at a high end trade fair and it was 10k to have a stall for 2 days.

Have you looked at getting a stall at a wedding fair and marketing custom wedding rings there? I agree you need to get in front of your target market, and ideally people need to see them IRL and not on a screen (at least the first time they buy from you).

Just did a quick google and this came up - not sure where you are in relation but they seem to have wedding fayres across Kent and stalls start at £45:

www.lkweddingfayres.com/faqs

I would not pay thousands for jewellery that I had not handled and tried on (or held against ear if earrings), because I would need to know that it was exactly what I wanted and I would not get that from an image. IMO, it is too expensive to sell without face to face interaction. Perhaps you should rethink your marketing channels, whether that's a Cabuchon/Avon style agents, or through appropriate retail (not necessarily jewellers, but up market fashion/beauty outlets).

People do buy stuff without seeing it. Look at interior designers - people book them to do a room and they can’t see the completed room in advance, they just book the designer to do custom work. People book carpenters to make custom furniture, artists to paint custom portraits. All custom work is done without seeing the finished item.

They do, yeah, but then you’re trading on reputation - so people need to be able to see a lot of examples of what you’ve done before, testimonials, touch samples, understand your process.

I’d second that while guest lectures and articles are a good idea to generally raise your professional reputation, they won’t necessarily help with leads or sales right now - they’re not active buyers.

“I would not pay thousands for jewellery that I had not handled and tried on.”

I literally can’t do that. No custom jeweller can. In fact neither can anybody who makes custom work in any field. Because the piece your ordering is custom, it doesn’t exist yet.

I don’t have the money to make stuff before I sell it. When the client pays, half of the money pays for the materials so I can make the piece. Lots of custom makers work like this.

I can show samples of stuff I’ve made to prove the quality and workmanship. I have some samples to show on request. But nobody is requesting.

I done some guest lectures and articles to fill my time while I have no jewellery orders. Thought it was better than doing nothing because at least it raises my profile.

is this for a full time income?

You need to target HNWIs I think, but I don't know how you would do that. And many of those will want a known brand surely?

I would also research their buying trends. But by default, it's a tiny pool. I presume you already focus heavily on engagement & wedding rings?

Honestly I think you need major funds or backing to promote in order to reach high end customers or you need to start small and do local makers' markets in areas where those people who patronise the markets have the money to buy jewellery and build up a following that way. Do you have a particular style or USP? There's a lot of jewellery made by independent craftspeople which is very similar. You may need to start at the lower end of the market to get established or accept there's no market at the prices you need to charge.

There are a lot of really skilled craft based businesses making beautiful work. Sadly the availability of cheap, mass produced stuff means the workmanship and cost thereof is not valued or you are competing with established brands with a following. Also some business which appear to be flourishing and successful are not what they appear.

How much stock do you carry? It sounds as though you can only afford to make when you have an order? If you can't afford to make stock speculatively then I don't think you have a viable business.

Being blunt - perhaps people don’t like your product or style. That might be totally not true, but it could be easy to blame the marketing when the product is the problem.

I've re-read your posts OP and think that you probably need to pay for a marketing consultant and to raise more funds e.g. get investment.

Not necessarily HNWIs. I married a joiner and spent 4k on a ring. My friend spent 5k and her fiancé is a web developer. And my teacher friend married a shop assistant and spent 30k on her wedding as a whole, including 7k on rings. When my friend graduated her mother gave her a 2.5k necklace.

Yes only HNWIs will impulse buy at that price. But a lot of middle class and upper middle class people save up for a special purchase. There is a market, I just can’t access it.

No I can’t make stock speculatively. I can carry half a dozen samples to show customers.

If your customers like the 6 pieces , can you sell it or does it have to be a commission?

That's probably your biggest problem - you need a backer so you can have more stock.

Would you have bought your 4k ring from someone like you?

A huge part of running your own business is having to adapt and adopt, you follow the money and create what’s needed and in demand.
Id start by doing lots of market research.
What is there demand for?

Im sorry if this sounds harsh, but it sounds like you’re creating what you want, and just hoping sales will come, rather than creating what people actually want?

Id also suggest high end retailers, just up your selling price if their margin is too large?

Also do you have a strong signature or style? That will help build your name and reputation.
Perhaps sketches of designs you can make?
linking them to something topical that’s selling well.