How to Create Brand Loyalty with Classic Styles

There are favorites, and there are underdogs.  There are likely winners and there are longshots.  There are Goliaths, and there are Davids. Competing in today’s jewelry market is a gladiator sport.  And if you’re an independent designer or solopreneur the odds are stacked against you.   

61,235 jewelry stores exist in the U.S alone.  That number doesn’t include web-based brands or businesses based outside the U.S.  And in today’s digital climate, the average consumer has access to a literal world of alternatives.  It’s no mystery why “smart’ stock money is on the massive historic jewelry brands and not young upstarts.   Behemoth brands have the budget to constantly acquire new customers, and brand loyalty is a thing of the past...right?

Wrong. Despite an overload of options, a recent survey of consumers showed that 90% of them consider themselves loyal to their preferred brands.   And that’s great news, but what does it take to become a “preferred brand”?  How does a bootstrapped start-up jewelry brand like Alex and Ani become, well, Alex and Ani?

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the rise of streaming, it’s that today’s consumers are tired of commercials.  Fashion/jewelry consumers are no different. They’re suffering from ad fatigue. They’re tired of Goliath fashion brands with larger-than-life marketing budgets that aim to brainwash the public. 

Today's style influencers want to see timeless classic pieces.   And they want to see them around the necks, in the ears, and on the wrists and fingers of real-live humans living real-live life.  More than anything, they want to be inspired. This is the David advantage. This is your rock & slingshot. 

Be Intentional About Your Style

Jennifer Fisher Jewelry is a prime example.  The brand may seem like a Goliath today, but it all started with a classic design: a gold charm necklace inspired by her son’s miracle birth.  As you know, charm necklaces and bracelets aren’t rare, there are hundreds of thousands of options for anyone who’s looking. But even still, 13 years later, the charm necklace is one of the company’s best sellers.  Jennifer’s combination of authentic inspiration and timeless design resulted in celebrity co-signs and a cult following. 

With the support of that cult following she expanded into the culinary world with her own line of custom-blended seasonings.  (How’s that for brand loyalty)

Let Your Mission Lead Your Brand

Inspiring brand loyalty in your jewelry brand isn’t only about the products you create, it’s about the lifestyle you promote.  It’s about the world you build, and how you invite your audience to participate in it.  

Alex and Ani embodies this concept well.  The jewelry sold by Alex and Ali is designed to start the wearer on a path to enlightenment or encourage them along the way.  Each piece is infused with positive energy, and that same energy is found in the brand’s messaging and social presence. That consistency has been a big hit with millennials, inspiring many of them to engage with the brand on social platforms before they purchased a product.  When those followers do make their first purchase, it’ll likely be their best seller, a patented expandable charm bangle.  

Drive Loyalty With A Signature Design

Are you starting to see the pattern here?  The upstart jewelry brand combines clarity of purpose with a staple piece and attracts a tribe of loyal followers. 

We can’t write your brand manifesto.  Only you can do that. We can’t choose your purpose.  Only you can do that. What we can do is provide a simple classic ring design, and a jewelry manufacturing app you can use to make it your own. 

Today’s consumers have an innate desire to be a part of the club.  To be a part of something bigger than themselves. Creating a signature design like the “Classic Ring” isn’t about the ring at all.  It’s about giving the members of your community a tangible way to show their membership. A stylish way to pledge their allegiance.

You may be a David in the jewelry market, but there’s plenty of Goliath-sized weaknesses for you to exploit.  The Goliath brands are big. They may have the shiniest armor and budgets that never end. But their eyes are so far from the ground they can’t see the momentum shifting.  Their ears are so far from the people they can’t hear what their audience truly wants. 

But you, the nimble, skilled jewelry designer.  You have an opportunity to give the people what they really want: a classic, understated piece, with a story that makes all the noise.