The recession is killing my friend''s sales.. help please! Important!

[jvLin]

My best friend is almost out of a job. He''s been in the jeweler business for 20+ years and runs a high-end Japanese jewelery store. By "Japanese," I mean that most of his customers are Japanese, and the quality of his work meets the expectations of the average Japanese market. His store is in a very private area, not open like a store in a mall. About 95% of his customers know of him through word of mouth, but have since moved back to Japan. He makes three trips to Japan every year, taking orders and mailing them overseas when done. The problem is that he now doesn''t have enough work in the United States. His client pool has diminished severely over the past few years, and is especially being hit hard during the recession. He has tried placing a few advertisements, but they haven''t done enough for what they cost.

Please, if you have any suggestions or similar experiences, please let me know! Anything helps, even if it''s just moral support. I would really like to help him and am worried.

Thank you in advance!

 

[CJ2008]

Does he have a website? If he doesn''t, I would recommend that he put one up, and optimize it to bring traffic not only from Japanese people but other locals...this way he''s not relying just on word of mouth to bring in business...

 

[perry]

This is a difficult time - and I do understand (and have been there).

A website may or may not help. It does not guarantee anyone will find it and some people end up spending more time and money maintaining their websites than they get in return.

Far more important is focused marketing if your freind is going to stay in the same business. For example, they might do a one time contact with their existing customers and ask if they are thinking of anything specical or for referrals. This needs to be one time though - as I really get tired of companies who keep contacting me (and am discontinuing business with one over it).

Your freind my also wish to consider carrying another line as well. This can be fraught with danger - but may also provide huge rewards.

For example, since your freind specializes in a certain class of jewelry (probably high class at that) - perhaps he opens a different line that would appeal to the masses - or another market segment right now. As an example: In my area we have bycycle and ski shops. Bycycles sell in the summer - and skis sell in the winter. Swimming pools and pool tables also seems to go together for similar reasons (although there are some pool table sales in the summer).

A lot of this - or even if it is possible - will depend on your freinds interest and skills.

I''d love to have a chat in person to just bounce ideas; but, that is not the way Pricescope works.

If nothing else though.... I offer moral support.

Have a great day - and I wish your freind all the best,

Perry