Digest Pearls

          Marketing is a science with a relative short history. It started early in the 20th century, and was first applied to consumer goods with a fast turnover. Razors (Gillette), beverages (Coca Cola) and cleaning products (P&G) were among the first consumer goods that benefited from marketing as competition intensified among generic products. Marketing became a necessity to highlight the benefits, strengths and unigueness of a particular product.

          In the pearl world, marketing practice is even younger. Cultured pearls used to be anonymous — they were cultivated by producers, sold to wholesalers and redistributed to jewellers as generic gems. The need for marketing has become a pressing issue as the supply of cultured pearls of different qualities increase from various producing countries.

          Before we look at marketing guidelines specific to pearl, let us first look at the 10 points of a basic marketing framework.

	MARKETING :THE BASIC 10 1. Know the product and the industry (and build quality front-line staff) 2. Know your market (clients, market preferences, competition, opinion leaders) 3. Stay up to date — evolve with your industry / with other industries, take advantage of new technologies, observe changes 4. Build and project an identity, and stick to the direction (but do not ignore new opportunities that may happen) 5.Develop and manage your distribution/sales network 6. Fix attainable commercial and communication goals, measure/review the progress regularly and adjust the methods when necessary 7. Provide the necessary resources and means (manpower, financial resources, time) to achieve your goals 8. Ensure effective communication (advertising, public relations, sponsorship), both internally and externally 9. Develop/update promotional and visibility tools, and ensure effective use of available marketing materials 10. Take time off to gain perspective on the bigger picture, anticipate changes and envision your company's future in the fast-changing macro social- economic context			Applied to the pearl world, these 10 marketing commandments become: 1. Know the pearls and know the pearl industry Developments in the pearl world have been particularly dramatic in the last three decades. New breakthroughs in pearl farming and products (bigger sizes, wider palette of colours, creative shapes) are not sufficiently understood and communicated throughout the distribution pipeline, and many retailers still ignore enormous sales opportunities brought about by the significant progress in pearl farming. If you have no time to visit pearl farms to see for yourself these beautiful aquatic gems, at least read a pearl book. There are many well-written books on pearls. In the jewellery retailing sector, a good portion of front-line staff have adequate knowledge of watches and diamonds. Unfortunately, this is not so for pearls and other gemstones. Most times, pearls have already sold themselves to consumers who have fallen in love with this gem even before they enter a jewellery shop. Upgrading staff on pearl knowledge can inspire consumers and give them more confidence in this gem. In low seasons, send your staff to comprehensive pearl courses offered by gemological associations and institutes. Your pearl supplier may also be able to organise training in your shop, to teach your staff about pearl cultivation, and have hands-on exercises in gauging pearl qualities and dressing windows with pearl jewels. To motivate and reward staff, consider sponsoring them on a trip to Tahiti or Broome in Western Australia, where they can get to the heart of the pearl adventure.
	*2. Know the market* Knowing market preferences is important, but anticipating market preferences is vital. Jewellery is increasingly becoming a day-to-day ornament and not just a treasure to be taken out and worn only on important occasions. More and more women are also buying jewellery for themselves. The notion of jewellery as fashion accessories is as strong in the pearl sector as other jewellery sectors. There is something for every budget with pearls — a customer can buy a cultured pearl necklace for USD100 or over USD1,000,000. This advantage can also cause confusion. Arm yourself with the information to explain such a wide gap in values. While it is useful to know what your competitors are doing and get inspired, it is probably more beneficial to focus on your strengths rather than be preoccupied about every move by the competition. One peculiar phenomenon among pearl professionals used to dealing with South Sea pearls is their categorical refusal to accept that frshwater pearls can also be beautiful and rare. Consumers see the beauty in pearls without caring whether they are marine or freshwater pearls. If you watch and anticipate the market with some objectiveness and open-mindedness, opportunities will present themselves.

	1. Update te image of your promotional and visibility tools well before they become outdated. If you can't visit a pearl farm, you can always read about pearl culture;
	*3. Stay up to date* Guard against complacency. The world changes, the pearl industry evolves. Other industries progress even faster. The pearl industry has benefited from technological developments in numerous domains : satellite observation, office automation, internet services, stock management software, three dimensional jewellery designing, and even the dental and the engineering industries. If we stay alert and receptive to changes, and open toadapting new technologies from other sectors for use in our business, horizons will broaden and the conservative jewellery world will benefit. *4. Build and project an identity, and stick to the direction* Identity will be clear if you know who you are and where your strengths lie. Direction will also be clear if you know what you want to become and what your company wants to achieve. Identity is rarelya problem in the pearl world, which is full of distict companies led by people of strong personalities. Some pearl companies build their identity on quality and professionalism; others on tradition, innovation or cutting-edge designs. Work with your identity consistenty over the long term to build credibility and recognition.

*5. Development and management of the distribution / sales network* Building and growing an effective distribution network in a district, region or around the globe is the biggest challenge of any marketing and sales strategy. Chapters can be devoted to this complex topic, from the selection of distribution partners and the various possible arragements of cooperation that best suit your ambition. In all circumstances, the basic ABC classification (grouping of items in decreasing order of annual sales vaue) distribution rule applies. 6. Fix attainble commercial and communication goals, and measure/review regularly Some people fix high goals and expect instant results. This is not realistic. But goals that are too easily attained can kill drive. The key is to fix medium to long-term goals to set direction, and monitor progress regularly. For example: You want to position your shop as an all-round pearl turnover will come from South Sea cultured pearls, 20 percent from freshwater cultured pearls and 10 percent Akoya cultured pearls. Your marketing positioning and product mix should consider your shop's location and your clientele's spending power and preferences, and al the factors should be fine-tuned for coherence to achieve your sales target.
		Some pearl companies build their identity on quality and professionalism.

     7. Provide the necessary resources and means

          Marketing costs money, time and manpower. If you are not ready for this long-term investment, do not start marketing. When you make a marketing budget, ask yourself: Is my company capable of making the same investment every year over the long term? It is better to have a limited but regular marketing budget rather than huge funds for the first year and nothing later to sustain efforts. Pearl marketing, and marketing in general, aim at building distribution and sales over the long term. Irregular, short-term marketing is a waste of time and money.

     8. Effective communication
          Without communication, the beauty of pearls will remain a mystery to consumers. Although pearl culturing spans over a century, and despite long years of communication efforts by pearl organisations and pearl companies, most consumers still think that pearls are obtained by divers plunging into the sea, opening up wild pearl oysters and harvesting the pearls inside. In reality, 99.9 per cent of today's pearls are cultured.

          In marketing, communication embraces advertising, public relations, media relations and sponsorship. Many leading pearl companies and organisations have understood the importance of such communication efforts and allocate sizeable budgets for it. The current high visibility of pearl jewellery in the media is the fruit of effective pearl communication.

Without communication, the beauty of pearls will remain a mystery to consumers.

*9. Develop/update promotional and visibility tools* We found some old point-of-sales materials and ancient advertising visuals when we cleaned up the office recently, and we had a good laugh. Taste and style evolve at an amazing speed. If you want your company to project a stylish image, make sure your promotion and visibility tools are upgraded regularly, before they become outdated. Do maintain coherence in the evolution of your visuals so that they always remain in accord with your positioning. Most companies go with the mainstream when they develop promotional materials. In trade magazines, most pearl visuals are set in the marine context. In the consumer press, almost all pearl visuals are about sensual women, with or without men. If you want to stand out from the rest, dare to be different. For an objective perspective, get a panel of customers to give feedback.
		Others on tradition and cutting-edge designs.

10. Have a vision of your company's future

          Taking time off to gain some distance on the business is easy to say but difficult to do, particularly if your profession is the core of your life. But to avoid tunnel vision and not be caught off guard by changes brought about by globalisation and other social, economic and political issues, it is crucial to step back to see the larger picture.

          Read widely on varied subjects. Join a club where you can exchange information and views. Anticipating changes and initiating measures proactively can ensure your company will survive the bad times and move forward in good times.

          The world could be your oyster if you can see beyond the everyday horizons. P