Be your own customer on your website

Confession time:

I like to do consumer research on Reddit.

The jewelry-making and general jewelry subreddits especially. Each of these smaller forums have been incredible places to do market research and get a glimpse into how consumers think. I highly recommend doing research this way – there are entire subreddits devoted to engagement rings, weddings, gemstones, diamonds and more!

But I also love the eCommerce subreddit. It’s one way to get a peek inside the world of eCommerce that isn’t driven by artists, or makers, or entrepreneurs with a specific creative vision. It is a forum for people using eCommerce in a less creative way. To be perfectly clear, there is zero issue with starting a website to make money – it’s why most of us have one. I have one for my services, many of you likely have one for your jewelry.

What I learned from being on Reddit

After over a year of both lurking and commenting within that forum, here is what I have learned:

• Almost everyone forgets dimensions and measurements – it happens!

• Lots of website owners forget to tell their story and explain who they are and why they do what they do.

• The consumer gets left out of the equation far more often than you would think.

Recently someone posted there that they were struggling to make sales even after spending lots of money on ads. I went onto their clothing website and tried to do some window shopping to see if I could spot any barriers on their site.

What to look out for when editing your eCommerce site

Here is what I found:

1. Missing measurements and size charts (again, it happens) on most of their clothes listings.

2. Zero information about what the clothing was made of. Was it cotton or poly? Woven or knit? What are the care instructions for these pieces? I couldn’t even tell if I’d need to dry clean their clothes.

3. Limited sizes – think small, medium and large, and in many cases, small only.

The good news is that speed bumps like these can definitely be smoothed out.

Remember to list your measurements

1Missing measurements is an easy fix. It’s why I encourage clients and followers to deploy a checklist for every single product addition to their website. Every. Single. One.

It would be great to have a brain that just…knows what to add, that remembered what information to include every time. I use a checklist as a tool to consider what people need to hear and read from me.

I don’t take the consumer’s experience for granted, so building all of that into your process is a way that you can also remember how best to share your work with the world. Easing your process on this end of your business means an easier shopping process for your website visitors.

Remember to list your detailed materials

The same checklist could have helped this clothing and eCommerce entrepreneur to remember salient details like material and fiber. It matters to a lot of consumers what materials their clothing and jewelry are made from. It matters to consumers whether you are selling silver, gold, gold fill or brass. Inquiring minds want to know! Sharing information is one of many tiny steps that builds trust with your audience.

Expand your sizes to attract more customers

That last one? That’s not a problem that a checklist can fix.

Limiting your sizes to a narrow audience prevents you from selling to as many people as you can.

Many of you work to make jewelry that is as unique as possible. Uniqueness is an incredibly powerful marketing tool, believe it or not, one that can help you find your right audience and niche. But WITHIN that audience and niche, you need to be ready to sell to the entire consumer base.

Some of your pieces might only be made as a one-off in a single size, so ask yourself if you could build a ring resizing into your prices.

Build resizing into your prices

If you don’t have the means to resize it, is there another jeweler you could subcontract the work to? How would you account for this in your pricing?

All of this is to say that while you aren’t always your own customer for your jewelry, viewing your sales and marketing strategy through the eyes of your customers is paramount.

Take a moment to go to your website and pretend you are a stranger – someone who doesn’t know the first thing about what you are looking at. Pretend that you are your own customer for a little while. Pretend you have a Black Amex to pull out of your wallet.

Ask yourself questions in this process:

• How would this look on me?

• How soon can I get this?

• What is it made of?

There are many more questions of course, but start with the ones that you think your customers are most concerned with – the questions that are all about them and their needs and desires. Because a good story about your pieces helps to draw them in, but the details will help turn them into paying customers.

Try it and see what you discover!

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And as always, if you need a structured and focused process to help you get there faster, book a time with me for The eCommerce Edit where I review your website for you for $550!

I also train you on how to make the changes I’ll recommend, and help you get the resources you need. This isn’t only about critiquing your website, it’s about improving it so that you can do more with it. I promise to be gentle and thorough.

I find and make recommendations on your best path forward. This program comes with a full review and support throughout and after the process.

If you have any questions about this plan, you can use my contact form to reach out, or go ahead and book a free, no pressure discovery call.

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