The PR Adviser: Dear Lilian

I became successful at Tourneau by positioning myself to my customers as a trusted advisor. I made it my business to know everything about every brand we carried. Thus when I made recommendations to customers, they knew I did so with an understanding of how a particular brand fit their personal aesthetic. 

Whenever manufacturers sent us catalogs and other materials, I quickly hoarded them from my other sales associates to make sure I had enough for my own customers.

Now, before you tsk tsk me, take note that we all did this. It’s just part of the job when working in an all-commission environment. Those materials became the equivalent of having a carton of cigarettes in prison--when you need a favor from another salesperson, a catalog was your bartering tool. 

Moving on …

When the catalogs came in, I’d go through my trusty notebook and see which of my customers has asked for a particular type, style or brand of watch. If the current catalog fit what a customer was looking for, I’d staple my business card, which displayed the Tourneau logo, onto the cover. I slipped my Tourneau-logo-ed business card as bookmark into the pages showing my recommendations and wrote a quick note on Tourneau stationary explaining why I was suggesting these watches. The note and catalog would be placed in a folder with a Tourneau logo and mailed in a large envelope, which also displayed a Tourneau logo.  

Pop quiz: What company was I working for at the time? 

If you said Tourneau, by George, you’re paying attention! 

When my customers received the package, they didn’t wonder if they should call Mayors or Ben Bridge to get more information about my recommended watches. They called Tourneau and, more specifically, they called me. And although I left Tourneau at the end of December 2004, those same customers continued to call Tourneau for watches because I passed my trusty notebook on to a salesperson I knew would take good care of them.  

Which brings us back to my earlier point:  properly train your sales team and nothing will dilute your brand. 

I’m going to assume your follow-up question is, what do I do when I have a mailing list of potential customers who have yet to experience the A-1 service of my sales team? 

Second pop quiz: Why did you answer Tourneau in the last pop quiz? 

Here’s a hint: How many items with the Tourneau logo did I include in my package to customers? And don’t forget--I didn’t stamp the catalogs with a Tourneau logo. I stapled my business card to them.

For the customer receiving my package, the first thing he sees is the Tourneau logo. When he’s perusing through the catalog, he’s going first to the pages I bookmarked with my Tourneau logo-ed business card.  

He may be looking through an IWC catalog, but he’s doing so subconsciously thinking Tourneau. And, thanks to my business card, he’s thinking of me, the trusted advisor that works at Tourneau, as the person who sent him the catalog. 

Never allow materials to leave your store without a business card attached. Encourage your sales team to staple a card to the front cover of every catalog. The more ambitious types like myself should also drop one or two extra cards in between catalog pages.  

I know this can seem like extra work, but trust me when I say potential customers are more likely to pick up the phone and call when they have a person to speak to rather than randomly calling a store to get information. Personal service is the hallmark for any successful sales transaction. That personal service should start with your very first contact with a customer.

Now, when it comes to co-op advertising vs. collateral materials, there’s really not much alteration you can do in designing the advertising campaign beyond what the vendor is willing to pay. And as you mention, that’s often only including your store logo. 

But you should understand: a logo (or an ad for that matter) has no value unless someone is reinforcing what that logo means.  

That someone is the salesperson who answers the phone after a potential customer sees the billboard or magazine ad with your logo; the salesperson whose business card (with your logo!) is attached to the materials a potential customer receives; and the salesperson who warmly greets that potential customer when he or she finally walks through your front door. 

Stop worrying about not being able to tell your complete story with an ad paid for by a vendor.  

Manufacturers only offer co-op dollars to sell more of their products--and whether that’s with you or with your competitor down the street is all the same to them. The manufacturers choose you, however, because you’ve proven to them that you’re the worthier investment.

What does it matter if a potential customer comes into your store looking for the Cartier watch or necklace she saw in a Cartier ad with your logo? Once she sets foot through your doors, she’ll see what else your store has to offer. 

Advertising, including co-op, social media, public relations--all of these are just marketing tools intended to generate leads. It’s what your sales team does with those leads that keep you in business. 

Lilian Raji is a strategic marketing and public relations adviser that helps luxury lifestyle brands sell more products to luxury buyers. Send questions for The PR Adviser to nationaljeweler@lmrpr.com or contact her at lilian@lmrpr.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.