SPEAKER_00
I'm Larissa and I want to help you find the best strategy for communicating the magic and wonder of your jewelry brand so you can thrive by doing what you love and filling the world with beauty and creativity. Welcome to the Joy Joya Jewelry Marketing Podcast. Hi, I'm your host Larissa Worstiek.

Through this podcast, I aim to empower and inspire jewelry entrepreneurs and innovators so they can thrive by doing what they love. I'm passionate about digital marketing for jewelry brands and I'm excited to share my passion with you. This is episode 123123 and today I'll be sharing my interview with Michelle Peranto, a marketing and brand strategist for luxury brands.

Throughout her impressive career working with luxury and jewelry brands, Michelle has built her experience and expertise in all aspects of consumer brand and omni-channel marketing, including advertising, digital marketing, social media, content creation, CRM, and more. She's a true marketing generalist so she has an amazing bird's eye view of all the moving parts associated with marketing for luxury. These work for companies like Harry Winston, Balmain Mercier, Platinum Guild International, Lagos, and more.

In this episode, Michelle and I chat about marketing specifically for luxury brands. What do luxury consumers crave and how can luxury brands position themselves effectively? We cover all those topics in this fun and informative episode. But before we get to that, I want to share some marketing-related news and insights from the past week that caught my attention.

So first, I saw an article from Think With Google, which is Google's internal magazine. In this article, Google attempts to prove the value of influencer marketing in an effort to better understand their return on investment because as you know, if you've tried influencer marketing, it's sometimes a really difficult thing to measure. One of the first points that they make is that impressions and likes don't necessarily mean that the message from an influencer is getting through to the audience.

So of course, impressions are essential for getting the word out, but they say very little about the impact of the marketing message. So it's important with influencer marketing to not leave it up to vanity metrics to assess the return on an influencer marketing partnership. They also say to focus on brand lift to isolate the impact.

So what the heck is brand lift? It's really just referring to any sort of positive shift in how the prospective customers perceived your brand. So if the influencer marketing is causing consumers to see your brand in a new way, in a more positive way, in a way that makes them feel like they're more likely to buy, that's positive brand lift. And being able to secure that allows you to quantify the ROI of any sort of creator sponsorships that you have.

You also definitely want to contextualize the results of your influencer marketing campaigns within your broader marketing mix. So backing your partnerships with numbers helps it become more credible within the marketing mix. How is it supporting email marketing? How is it supporting the overall social media strategy? What else is it helping your brand unlock in other areas of marketing and growth? That can also be a really important way to quantify influencer marketing.

So I saw another article on CNBC that shared the results of a Pew Research Center study all about YouTube as a social media channel. So YouTube actually saw the most significant growth of any social media app among American users during the pandemic. That was kind of surprising, but not surprising to me at the same time, but it was interesting to see the actual numbers.

So this growth growth was especially high among 18 to 29 year olds, and it grew from 73% in 2019 to 81% in 2021. Facebook usage still remains high with 69% of US adults saying they visit the network. However, that figure has remained relatively fat, flat, flat over the past five years.

So YouTube seeing a lot of growth, Facebook, not as much though usage remains steady. And then finally, you may have heard about this, but if not, I thought it was interesting. So Signit, the jewelry brand that owns stores like K, Jared, etc.

One of the biggest mass market jewelers in the world, they recently purchased the jewelry subscription service Rocks Box, which is a Silicon Valley startup. So like two very different companies, Signit purchased them. Rocks Box founder Megan Rose considers the company a part of retailers new frontier, retails new frontier.

I can't talk today. So she says, quote, consumers are the decision makers today. We're moving from a transaction oriented mindset to one based on relationships.

It's using data and technology to create a more personal experience. And quote, I just think this is super interesting that a company like Signit is looking to or did acquire a brand like Rocks Box. It shows that they're kind of in tune with what consumers are looking for, you know, this sales experience based on relationship rather than transaction.

I think this is kind of foreshadowing a lot of the future of how jewelry sales will be. And it will be interesting to see what Signit ends up doing with Rocks Box and how it ends up changing the company in any way. So I would definitely keep that on your radar, keep it as a thought in the back of your head.

If you want to get the links to the articles I share in this segment of the podcast, you can sign up for my email newsletter by visiting joyjoya.com slash sign up and you'll get a digest with the links every time a new episode drops. So let's get to my interview with Michelle.

So Michelle, please tell our listeners a little bit more about your journey in the jewelry industry. How did you get to where you are today?

SPEAKER_01
Thanks, Larissa. I am a proud luxury marketing and communications professional who spent 20 years in the fine jewelry and watch space. I got my start in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I went to work for Lagos jewelry at a time where I had absolutely no jewelry experience whatsoever. And I am always grateful to Steven Lagos for taking a chance on me. But that really ignited a wonderful career journey to many brands and places and people along the way.

But most interesting is when I started my career, I worked for a brand that manufactured their jewelry on site. So I love to share that with people because I didn't know anything and I knew that I didn't know anything. And so I literally would go and sit next to a jeweler and say, tell me what that stone is or tell me about that metal or where are you in the process? And I think it really gave me a bird's eye view on the craft that is jewelry and certainly a great respect and appreciation for it as well.

And it's really made me want to tell these brand stories to consumers all across the globe. So from Lagos, I went to Platinum Guild International, which is the worldwide marketing organization for platinum jewelry. And it's wonderful to work for an industry organization because you can work with students that are just coming out of FIT or the big brands that play in the space, the Tiffany's, the Cartier's, the Harry Winston's of the world.

And you kind of get an insider's view of these businesses, both from a retail, a consumer and a brand standpoint, to really understand the ecosystem and what makes it hum. From there, I went to Beaumont Mercier, a wonderful watch brand under the Richemont family. And though I worked for a watch brand during my time there, I had exposure to the jewelry brands that were in house as well and of course made friends with those folks to understand what they were doing.

And then my final stint was at Harry Winston. So I really had the pleasure of working at a crown jewel within the category. So you can see that there's been wonderful progression.

I've made a million friends along the way and my own jewelry box is quite full as well. So personally, I just love the category.

SPEAKER_00
I love that. I really enjoyed what you said about your first experience at Lagos and how you would like sit with the jewelers and try to learn more about the craft. First of all, I think that's so important and I loved your sense of curiosity.

I'm curious to know like how did you find that that informed or helped the marketing that you did for that brand?

SPEAKER_01
Oh, for goodness sakes. Larissa, it probably made me much more prepared. So for example, at Lagos, we did a lot of trunk shows.

So we would go to Neiman Marcus and Saxford Avenue and Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom and showcase the collections to the end consumer. So because I had the benefit of the experience seeing firsthand how the product was made, I could be able, I was in a position to tell that story about how that piece came to fruition from its infancy stage as a design to actually being produced in the manufacturing facility to being packaged up by our customer service team to get it to where I was that day. And I found that consumers love stories.

They love brand stories. They want to know the how, the why, the what. Not just the what is it, but rather what brought this to life.

And to this day, whenever I run into someone and I compliment them on their piece of jewelry, I find that people are very quick to tell me their own story. Oh, thank you so much, my necklace. Oh, I got that for a special birthday or this ring.

This was an anniversary gift. And I think all of those stories are really what makes the jewelry industry so special and probably different from other industries as well.

SPEAKER_00
That's so many great insights. And it's true. Like no one's probably going to say, oh, thank you for the compliment.

This is 18 karat gold and a two karat diamond, a VS to whatever, whatever. Like no one's going to tell you that. They're going to tell you the story behind it.

SPEAKER_01
And I have, I will share with you, I have my very own story. I, of course, working for all of these beautiful brands had the privilege of wearing a lot of the product, purchasing a lot of the product myself. But I made a promise to myself that when I got of a certain age, which was just a few years ago, that I actually would purchase for myself diamond stud earrings.

I didn't own them. I wanted to be sure that I could make a purchase of a certain size and more importantly, a quality that really was reflective of my love and my passion for the jewelry world. And I did make that purchase all on my own.

In fact, my own partner, Billy said, I would love to contribute to that. And I said, no, no, no, this is for me. This is sort of marking the moment and milestone in my life in a very personal way.

And I wear those earrings almost every day of my life. And they continue to bring me great joy. And so I think because I'm a customer myself, it helps make me a better marketer in the category.

SPEAKER_00
Yes, I love that story. For me, that purchase that I have not made yet would be some inside out diamond hoops that I one day hope to get. But I totally like understand where you're coming from with that.

Absolutely. So I really want to focus the conversation today specifically on luxury marketing, because you have so much amazing experience with luxury brands and to kind of set the tone for the conversation. If you can define what does luxury marketing mean to you and how is it potentially different from other marketing for other types of categories?

SPEAKER_01
It's a great question. Luxury marketing is really about understanding the brand's history. In many cases, it's heritage, it's lineage and being able to tell that story to the consumer.

Craftsmanship traditionally plays a very big role in luxury marketing where jewelry is concerned. Because many of the brands seek to set themselves apart from their competition by the materials that they source as well as the process by which something is brought to life. From a luxury marketing standpoint, I think it's always been very important to pay very close attention to the way in which a brand is communicated to the customer.

And what I mean by that is word choices. So for example, you would never in the luxury marketing space say that something was free. You would say it was complimentary.

You know, it's just a different tone. It's a different way to communicate. The use of white space in collateral materials or advertising is usually quite prevalent in the luxury marketing space for jewelry.

A tone is set about a brand. I find that humor can be introduced but in a very sort of subtle, educated kind of a way versus brands would stay away from advertising. Brands would stay away from anything that was considered crass, if you will.

I always say, I think about my grandmother and what would be acceptable to her in terms of properness. But luxury marketing is really a spirit or an essence or a DNA of a brand. And it's really paying homage to where the brand was in terms of where it's going in the future.

I think, you know, one of the things I learned working at Platinum Guild International is platinum as a medal is the most expensive medal that one can purchase for their jewelry. And so because it can look like other metals as well, be it sterling silver, white gold palladium, it's really about what are the features and benefits of platinum that make it special. And it became very important that we as an organization and in my role as the marketing manager that I was able to effectively communicate that both to the trade as well as to the consumer.

So it was about romanticizing. It was about telling the story. You know, one of the fun facts that I don't think I'll ever forget in my life is if you took all of the platinum metal in the world that's been mined for jewelry usage and you put it in an Olympic size swimming pool, it actually will only come up to your ankles.

What? I never heard that before. So I think, you know, sometimes it's really about that's that's a great example of speaking to the features and benefits of a metal that certainly carries with it. A very luxury lens, but you're, you're lending features and benefits and credibility to why it does have a higher price tag, why it's more rare, why it's more scarce in the world.

And the consumer response quite positively to that.

SPEAKER_00
Yeah, and also putting it in terms that really make an impact like this image that you just gave like standing in a pool. I mean that makes it feel more real than just telling someone like a statistic or like a percentage or something like that so finding ways to really communicate that in an impactful way.

SPEAKER_01
And I think with luxury marketing for the jewelry category, the sales professional plays such a pivotal role in the marketing of the brand. You know, even with COVID and so many stores being closed for a long period of time, those relationships that sales professionals have with their customers became so important. They're so well aware of their preferences, special occasions in their life.

And there was already a dialogue in most cases in place. So it didn't feel awkward that someone was reaching out to find out how they were, or I know that you have a special anniversary upcoming. That's about a luxury marketing experience from a sales perspective but you're using marketing to create that experience for the client.

SPEAKER_00
So speaking of the consumer and speaking of COVID times. What would you say that luxury consumers crave in this world where we're hopefully like emerging from COVID and you know moving beyond that to a new era.

SPEAKER_01
Absolutely. You know, I think some of the observations that I've made during this period of time during the pandemic, both personally but also speaking with with friends and industry fellows is that the jewelry business never stopped during the pandemic. If anything, in some cases it increased.

And I think that's because those really personal moments that one experiences in their life, getting engaged, getting married, anniversaries, birthdays. It's a random Tuesday I remain gainfully employed my friends and my family are healthy and so I want to celebrate. Those all became really moments in time for purchasing jewelry.

And I think, you know, for a long time the pendulum had swung to everything that was experience oriented or travel oriented. And I think the pandemic actually really brought back the whole idea of the meaning of jewelry and and how it does help you mark those really important moments in your life. I don't know about you Larissa but I actually had the pleasure of attending a couple of zoom weddings during this period of time.

And if, if the couple didn't have jewelry as part of that exchange. In some ways it wouldn't have felt complete. You know, yes, there was a dress yes there were flowers, but it's really the rings no matter you know what kind of a wedding it is that really marks that moment and you say to yourself as the observer, they're married now.

So none of that really stopped during this period of time and I really do think that that personal connection to jewelry is going to continue to be important in the marketplace and I think is as more and more of our local stores are opening back up. And even some of the chain stores, I think they're experiencing almost like a pent up demand if you will for these personal items. And let's face facts, as you and I are communicating right now on zoom.

So, your ears become take on a different meaning your neck takes on a different meaning, even your fingers to some extent. I know many women who keep what they affectionately referred to as zoom earrings at the ready. So that, yes, you know what, you may have some casual wear on, but you have something that's really spectacular dangling from your ears.

And it's a lot of confidence. It helps you, you know, be able to watch yourself all day long. And it really kind of makes it an experience a bit more special.

SPEAKER_00
Oh, absolutely. So many great points that you just shared. So thinking about how the tactics that luxury brands can use in marketing because there are so many directions, they can go social media, email marketing, SMS marketing event marketing, a combination of these, what have you found works the best or a combination.

I'd love to hear your experience about that.

SPEAKER_01
In my experience, I have found that you have to take a full 360 degree perspective. I think especially for the luxury consumer. Additionally, people who travel quite frequently, they have homes in multiple places.

And so if you just stayed in one lane of the highway in terms of being reliant on that means of communication or interaction with the customer, you actually might miss out so I have so I've always found it's important to take that 360 degree perspective. So from a brand perspective, it definitely means advertising. I think in the luxury jewelry world, brands continue to utilize print advertising and in fact over this last year's people have returned to print where they're able to dream and be inspired and kind of step away if you will for a little bit.

I think we're going to my prediction is you're going to see more traditional print advertising coming from a lot of the luxury brands. I also think that events play a very big role. Jewelry is something that people want to touch and they want to feel.

And so if you can create the opportunity for them to do that. So while you're telling the story about the brand about a collection, the people behind the collection. I think that's, I've always found that to be an initiative that where consumers respond quite well.

Email marketing is absolutely important. But you have to do it in a cadence and in a tone that respects the client at the end of the day. So, unlike perhaps our friends at the gap that like to send us emails three and four times a day.

The luxury brand will be very considered in their timing. So they might send out a communication just once or twice a week. And they're only doing it when they have something to say, not just for the sake of because I think that today's consumer can sniff that out right away.

So I also think that that sales associate as I said before is a very important part of that mix. You know, in luxury jewelry. There is nothing like a handwritten note.

Dear Larissa, thank you for visiting us today. It was a pleasure to clean your ring for you. And I hope that we see you soon.

And that makes such an impact on people. It's a simple gesture, but it's an elegant gesture and it makes people feel taken care of and tucked in. So I think that that's always been an initiative that's been very important.

And surprise and delight the consumer activities. We know it's your birthday. We want to send you something to help you celebrate be it a bottle of champagne, some flowers, some balloons, something that's unexpected, but makes you feel good and then reflects quite positively on the brand as well.

So again, I think it's really important that you engage a number of initiatives around the client from a marketing standpoint instead of just relying on one or two.

SPEAKER_00
I thought it was really interesting what you said about email marketing and about the cadence of it and your comparison with the gap. No shade on gap. That's right.

Not at all. Not at all. But of course, a luxury brand is probably not having a sale or a discount or free, as you said so those emails can't be focused around the discounting strategy like a lot of like more lower price retailers are.

So what do you have suggestions for like the content of that email campaign.

SPEAKER_01
I think absolutely in the in the luxury space, things don't go on sale. You know there there is in a please use this code for the discount. So it's really about how do you communicate value.

Let's face facts. I use this example a lot. If there was a customer out there that said it's a very special anniversary.

And I've set aside a budget of $20,000 to do something special for my significant other that consumer has a lot of choice in the ways in which they can spend that money. I mean it certainly could be jewelry, it could be a timepiece. It could be a piece of artwork, it could be travel someplace it could be a new piece of furniture for the home.

And so why choose your brand and why choose the jewelry category in general. You really need to communicate that that value. And I think tugging at those emotional heartstrings is always really important.

So that you can closely aligned that piece that brand with those special moments in your life. I think, you know, there are wonderful, more mass oriented jewelry brands out there who I think do a magnificent job from a marketing standpoint They follow a different playbook if you will, in terms of how they reach their customer and how they're able to turn over inventory quite quickly. I think in the luxury space the difference there is people want what's unique, they want what's special, and they want things that not everybody else has.

I have a dear friend of mine in the jewelry industry and she coined an expression which I've adopted as my own and it's Michelle. I do not want to see myself coming and going on the street. I want to know that what I own is quite special, and that it doesn't look like everything else that's out there.

And I think that it's up to luxury brands to be able to give the customer a reason to buy at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_00
So many great points. And I think, I mean, it's so true a customer, a consumer at that level say they have $20,000 budget like you said, they have so much choice like really anything is available to them so distinguishing yourself, providing value all these things that you said showing the uniqueness of the product like that's the thing that's going to make that consumer who basically has the world at their fingertips ultimately want to buy. So really great points.

So what would you say is the role of branding for luxury goods businesses and how can they ensure that the brand identity that they have or that is evolving or that their building is actually resonating with the target customer.

SPEAKER_01
I think this is the biggest challenge in the marketplace you know when I started in the business. The brands really controlled their brand strategy and and their brand story. And certainly with the introduction of social media and more of a focus on digital.

The consumer is really taking a much more active role in storytelling on behalf of the brand and deciding their relevancy or their irrelevancy in some cases. And so I think it's really important that brands do engage in a two way conversation with the consumer and not be in a conversation where they're just speaking to. I think that that engagement is what draws the luxury consumer in specifically and keeps them a customer for an extended period of time versus having them just move on to whatever is next.

SPEAKER_00
Do you know of any luxury brands that are really doing that to a conversation well.

SPEAKER_01
I think that's something really interesting that that I've observed during this past 14 months. I think that the auction houses, specifically those who are focused on jewelry. I was just thinking that.

It's a very exceptional job. I think they're helping to really increase awareness of jewelry and it's sort of happiness power, if you will. I think that if you think about auctions in general, it's product that was owned by someone else.

So there's this legacy bit to it and the storytelling and a bit of mystery, if you will, as well. And I think the auction houses have done a great job from a social media standpoint. I think their imagery is just gorgeous.

And I've noticed that many editors who cover the category have really taken to helping amplify that content through their own social media platforms as well so I think it's been really interesting to watch how that's all unfolded. Back to the more specific brands. I have a very special place in my heart for a lot of the smaller luxury jewelry brands who are family owned and run.

I think because I've gotten to know the people behind the last name, if you will, and I visit their stores on a regular basis. I love their social media. So when I think of the Gamushian family and those amazing women who started a business.

It's global. I think their designs are smart. I think they're sexy.

I think that they know jewelry and they know women. I think they're doing an exceptional job. I love Quiot.

That's a brand that's near and dear to my heart. It's a brand that's on my own hand. And I think that this next generation has really embraced the digital ecosystem.

You know, they've done some great Instagram lives during this period of time. They do great events in their boutiques. They really seek to bring people into the family, if you will, and make them feel very special.

I think, you know, some of the industry organizations, I think the Natural Diamond Association has done a great job. I think raising the consciousness and awareness of real diamond jewelry, I think is exceptionally important from both a mass as well as a luxury standpoint as well. And they have a big megaphone.

They're social media platforms, their website, their alliances, their partnerships. So I'm definitely continuing to watch them with great interest.

SPEAKER_00
Great examples. It was very funny to me that you mentioned the auction houses because for some reason while we were talking this popped into my head and I had my wheels spinning about it. I've been following heritage auctions.

I think they're based in Beverly Hills. They just sent me like a direct mail campaign a few days ago and I was very impressed by the photography and the presentation and the storytelling. And I think, like you said, these auction houses, which I kind of whatever I sort of paid attention to, but over the past year, year and a half suddenly they're like more on my radar.

I'm more interested in this like mystique kind of thing like you're talking about. And I don't know if I would consider myself a luxury consumer, but it almost makes me feel like it's sort of in my reach like it becomes an aspirational thing that maybe wouldn't be on my radar otherwise like I can kind of see myself towing into this world. That's slightly beyond me.

You know, and I've definitely like gotten that from their marketing and I kind of love it.

SPEAKER_01
And I think, you know, it's, you have probably developed and not even recognized it a deeper appreciation for design and stones. I mean, when I look at some of the pieces, you know, the internally flawless diamonds that are going up for auction pink diamonds, blue diamonds, ruby reds rubies that are these Bermay, Bermay's red rubies that are absolutely exquisite and so very rare, rare sapphires emeralds. I think it to me, it looks like a pool that I just want to jump into because one piece is more beautiful than the next.

And I think you're absolutely right. I don't think that any of these auction houses have compromised from a luxury standpoint I think that they've kept a certain tone, the way that they're doing their collateral materials the way they're positioning themselves. So do you think that they're probably doing an amazing job to cultivate sort of the next grouping of people that will be quite comfortable to make a purchase that way.

And so hats off to them because I think it will help it will help all of the boats kind of rise within the category.

SPEAKER_00
And I think that's a great point. Yeah, I even saw like they have the auction previews which I guess you can consider a form of event marketing. Yes. And it's like, you know, make an appointment to come to this preview and I'm like, I mean, I don't think that I am the right customer for this but just like you're saying it's almost like grooming you and making you feel like you could be part of part of this if you wanted to.

SPEAKER_01
And what's amazing is I've, I've, in my day I've been able to go to some of these previews in person. And the professionals that work for these auction houses are walking Google resources of the jewelry world. I mean, they can tell you about stones and about metal and about design through the ages.

And so even if someone were to go there and not yet be in a position to make a purchase but they're educated and they're inspired. It's like I almost wish I had a camera to follow that person through the years because it may have ignited a passion for jewelry that maybe another marketing methodology may not have done for them. So I think that they have pretty big platforms on which to stand.

And the fact that they've pivoted to a lot of digital activity gives a lot more people access to that right now.

SPEAKER_00
Absolutely. So curious, because I know some of my listeners are not all luxury brands, you know, maybe some of this is not super relevant. But I do think there are tactics strategies approaches that can crossover and apply for like fashion, demifying even lower and fine jewelry.

So where is that crossover what can they learn from from this.

SPEAKER_01
The brand story is a brand story and whether it's a luxury brand whether it's a demifying brand whether it's a more mass brand. If you're able to communicate to your customer, the why and the how I think that those are very important tenants that they need to follow. Again, service is so important.

And that is down to how can someone communicate with a brand on the website, you know, is there a chatbot that pops up is there a customer service phone number or an email address. And to recognize that no matter how big or small you are or luxury or non luxury you are the way in which you treat a customer can either win or lose your customers in the future because word of mouth is still a very important part of the marketing mix and you want people to talk positively about their experience with your brand. So while I think the luxury space really focuses a great deal on these kind of service oriented details that white glove approach.

I think that those are applicable to anybody within the space, you know, how do you breathe someone when they walk into your jewelry store. I learned from a great jewelry trainer many years ago that if you walk into a store and someone says, can I help you. And then, inevitably, the answer is no.

And the conversation is done. But if you walk into a store and say, what is it you're looking for today, you have to answer with more than a yes or a no question. And then sales professional gets a little insight into what brought you in and then you can begin the conversation, begin to show you the product that fits what your needs are.

That happens at Harry Winston on Fifth Avenue and that probably happens at Larissa's jewelry store in the middle of the country. And I think that those are principles that are just important in the business overall.

SPEAKER_00
And those are just great points. I was recently having a conversation with someone and they said to me, it can be argued that marketing is the way that you answer your phone and like, totally agree with that and doesn't. I think that that can be translated across digital platforms as well.

Like marketing can be the way you answer your DMs, marketing can be the way that you engage on your chat platform in your emails, whatever platform it is, like the message that you are sharing with the customer, especially on a first touch, like that is marketing free for you. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01
Absolutely. And I think that, you know, especially after this last year or so, that close connection to a customer that relationship building and that focus on getting to know the customer, I think is more important than ever because if we found out that all of a sudden, next Wednesday, a store had to shut down again. Do you have your customers contact information, their email address, so that you can continue to build and deepen that relationship that's become I think paramount to what could be potential success in the marketplace.

SPEAKER_00
Oh yeah, such a good lesson to I mean I hope that a covert kind of thing never ever happens again. We don't have a global pandemic ever again, but read, we should learn a lesson from this so that at the last minute not scrambling to like fix whatever issue there is instead setting yourself up for potentially like the worst that could happen. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01
Absolutely. A great learning lesson I think for all of us. I think, you know, CRM systems, probably our conversation topics that many brands are having now, the how are they communicating with customers how often what's the information that they need.

And of course, in concert with all of the laws and regulations that are associated with client data these days which you have to pay very close attention to, but really building that relationship with the customers just so important.

SPEAKER_00
Absolutely. This has been such a lovely conversation Michelle I'm curious do you have anything else you'd like to share or other topics or insights that we haven't covered is there something else we can talk about.

SPEAKER_01
So, I think that you know the jewelry industry I say I'm still working in it as a consultant. I'm also working in the home space and and when someone says well how do you go from jewelry to the home space and I say it's a dormant of a different kind. You know, things like lamps and pillows are just embellishments just like earrings and bracelets.

I you I'm utilizing a lot of the same marketing principles, but I will definitely say that the jewelry industry is a strong category for retailers across the country. I think that, you know, for hundreds of years people have found ways to adorn themselves. What you have to do is go to some of the exhibits at the Met and look at you know jewelry from hundreds of years ago it's existed.

It's not going to go away. It's not all the sudden going to be replaced. And so, if someone is considering a career in jewelry, I always say go for it.

It's a beautiful business, comprised of really amazing people who make absolutely beautiful things that are enjoyed by so many. So who wouldn't want to be a part of that.

SPEAKER_00
I mean I'm on board with that. Well thanks for your time Michelle it was fun to have you on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01
Oh, it was such a pleasure to be here and thanks for such a great conversation.

SPEAKER_00
It was such a pleasure to be able to talk to Michelle and share with you some insights about marketing for luxury brands. I definitely learned a lot and I hope that you also did too. If you want to learn more about Michelle and connect with her, you can follow her on Instagram that's at shell pronto.

So that's S H E L L E P E R A N T E A U or you can email her Michelle Peranto at gmail.com that's M I C H E L L E P E R A N T E A O at gmail.com. And as a reminder, my book Jewelry Marketing Joy is now published and ready to ship. If you want to learn more about the book and purchase a copy directly from me for $15 and free shipping, visit joy joya.

com slash book. Thanks for listening. Remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

For more information about marketing services for your jewelry brand, visit joy joya.com where you can download our free ebook Proven Conversion Strategies for E-commerce jewelry retailers.