Smart Marketing Move

Like many jewelers, Sissy Jones, CEO, Sissy's Log Cabin, Pine Bluff, Ark., attends The JCK Show ~ Las Vegas every year. But unlike many jewelers, Jones lets her customers know about the trip.

By way of a color postcard mailing—while Jones is cruising the show floor—some 3,000

customers receive a handwritten message from the store owner noting that some of the "Sissy's Log Cabin Family" is at the "jewelry market in Las Vegas" and reminding customers that "new and exciting items are being selected just for you. Come for a special preview starting [date the staff returns]!"

Jones has been using this tactic—her son Bill's idea—for 10 years, and says the results have been "wonderful."

"We mail [the postcards] when we get [to Vegas]," says Jones. "When we're back, we blow up that postcard on a half-page ad in our state and local newspapers, telling people to come in and see the new Christmas merchandise. We use a different postcard every time, and for every show we go to. For the New York show, we put a Statue of Liberty on the postcard. People just can't wait to see the new jewelry!"

Got a smart move you'd like to share with fellow jewelers? Write a short summary of your idea and e-mail it to jheebner@reedbusiness.com or mail it to Jennifer Heebner, Senior Associate Editor, JCK Magazine, 1018 W. Ninth Ave., King of Prussia, PA 19406.