AuctionsMay 05, 2025
Nancy Astor’s Cartier Tiara Heads to AuctionThe turquoise and diamond tiara hasn’t been on the market since it was purchased by Lord Astor in 1930.
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Clienteling Isn’t a Buzzword. It’s an Essential Business Model.
More shoppers are walking out without buying. Here’s how smart jewelers can bring them back—and the tool they need to do it right.
Brought To You By Clientbook
A couple lingers by the case—early twenties, dressed casual but polished. She points out a solitaire; he nods, but they don’t ask to see it. Just a few questions, a few smiles, then the classic finishing line: “We’re just starting to look.”
They leave with a thank-you and a business card. Maybe the associate jots down a note, maybe not. Maybe there’s a plan to follow up, maybe there isn’t.
Two weeks later, you see it: A photo on Instagram. A ring. A proposal. A jeweler tagged—not yours.
In the luxury jewelry world, this is death by a thousand maybes.
Because when someone walks out your door without buying, the story isn’t over unless you let it be.
The Opportunity: Drifting Shoppers
Foot traffic feels like the win. You got them in the door, right? That’s usually the hard part. And yet, in this industry—where purchases are emotional, considered, and rarely impulsive—walking in doesn't mean closing.
Jewelers often focus on how to get more people in. But not nearly enough are asking: “What’s happening after they leave?”
Here’s the truth: the customer’s buying journey rarely ends in one visit. For brick-and-mortar stores, conversion rates typically range between 20% and 40% on a shopper’s first visit. This means that up to 80% of in-store visitors leave without making a purchase. They’re in orbit—researching, browsing, being influenced. That’s your opportunity.
But without a strategy to keep them in your orbit, they drift toward someone else’s.
The Problem: A Follow-Up Leak
Now comes the problem. You can’t follow up with someone you barely remember.
Too often, follow-up depends on who had the conversation, how good their memory is, and whether they scribbled a name down somewhere between lunch and closing. It’s inconsistent, it’s unscalable, and—if we’re being honest—it’s costing you sales.
And those lost sales? You usually don’t even know they’re gone. They don’t announce themselves. They just don’t come back.
What’s worse: your sales associates feel it too. When they don’t have a system to keep track of leads, they lose motivation. They chase whoever’s right in front of them. But clienteling isn’t about chasing—it’s about cultivating.
The Solution: Clienteling As an Essential Business Model
Clienteling is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but it’s not just a trendy phrase. It’s a model that should shape your every interaction. And in that model, Clientbook is your engine.
It’s not about flooding inboxes with mass emails or handing out punch cards with “Buy 5, get 1 free.” Clientbook turns every casual browser into a contact, every visit into a profile, and every “just looking” into a warm potential client ready for a thoughtful follow-up.
Let’s say someone comes in, tries on a few pieces, and leaves. With Clientbook, their preferences, notes, and contact info are captured before they hit the parking lot. One week later? The associate sends a message:
“Hey, I know you loved that cushion-cut halo. We just got something in that's really similar—want me to text you a pic?”
It’s not salesy. It’s thoughtful. And it works.
With Clientbook, retailers see up to 7x more conversations happening with those post-store visitors.
Following the New Rules of the Game
Getting someone in the door is the beginning. What happens next determines if they'll ever come back—or buy at all.
Here’s how successful jewelers are making that shift from occasional visitors to loyal customers, using Clientbook:
Capture the right info—every time
Before a client leaves, your team should know:
- What they looked at
- What they liked
- Who they’re shopping for
- When they might need it by
With Clientbook, that info is captured in seconds—no clipboards, no lost sticky notes. It becomes part of a searchable, sharable client profile that your whole team can access.
Make personalized follow-ups second-nature
Most sales are lost to silence. Clientbook changes that by automatically reminding sales associates to follow up based on key behaviors—like visiting the store, liking an item, or hitting a birthday or anniversary.
We’re not talking about generic texts. We’re talking about:
“You mentioned your anniversary was next month. I found a few pieces that match what your wife loved last time—want to see them? I put together a wishlist just for her.”
That’s personal. That’s powerful.
Make it easy for your team to be great
Clienteling shouldn’t be a chore—it should be a shortcut to doing things the right way.
Clientbook gives sales associates daily to-dos based on their actual clients. It’s like a cheat sheet that tells them exactly who to talk to and why. No guesswork. Just momentum.
Track what works (and fix what doesn’t)
You can’t improve what you’re not measuring. Clientbook gives managers visibility into who’s following up, who’s not, and what kind of outreach is actually driving results. That means better training, deeper conversations, and more predictable sales.
The Bottom Line: It’s Not Just About Who Walks In. It’s About Who Comes Back
Not every visitor is ready to buy. And that’s okay. What matters is whether you’re ready to follow up when they are.
Clienteling isn’t about pressure. It’s about presence. It’s about making sure that when they are ready, you’re the one they remember.
So keep your foot traffic. But make it count. Because in this business, it’s not just about who walks in. It’s about who comes back.
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