How Jewelers Using Lightspeed POS Can Better Manage Custom Orders
The world of jewelry retail has long been dominated by tradition.
Often a family business passed on through generations, the jewelry business is an industry that places a strong emphasis on providing exceptional customer service.
Tools like Lightspeed point-of-sale (POS) benefit jewelry store owners by allowing them to maintain and even scale their traditional customer service practices with the power of new technologies.
A key component of client care in the jewelry industry is about how the client ✨feels✨ when doing business with you.
This boils down to every small detail in your interactions, with communication being at the forefront.
And that’s where text messaging comes in the picture, or shall we say… in the POS and completely elevates the way you do business.
Let’s take a look at how the marriage of Lightspeed and Ikeono’s built-in text messaging platform can help you bring a unique experience to your clients.
The Journey to the Perfect Engagement Ring
Crafting a piece of jewelry for one of the most important moments in your client’s life is no easy task.
The journey to building the perfect engagement ring requires attention to detail, a deep understanding of what your client is looking for, and a process that feels easy and stress-free for both parties.
Let’s take a look at this journey from start to finish and dive into the importance of having a process in place that will wow your customers.
#1 First Contact
Whether your client finds you through social media, your website, or through friends and family, the journey always starts the same way, once they know they like your style, they have questions to ask you.
Tools like a built-in webchat on your website makes it much easier for clients to make that first contact.
And on your end having a way to combine all these different modes of communication in one place is key.
This is especially important given that the process of buying an engagement ring can be as intricate as the piece itself.
Having an easy way to reach you puts your client’s mind at ease knowing the rest of the interaction can only get better.
#2 From Vision to Reality
While this process is (most likely) your client’s first time, on your end as the jeweler, it’s not your first rodeo.
Now that contact has been made, you might already have a list of questions you need to ask, such as the metal type, size, or shape of the center stone that they are looking for.
Lightspeed’s workorders give you the ability to create and track these custom orders but now imagine having the ability to text your customers from that same screen.
You can get answers to those preliminary questions by building a custom template with Ikeono once you get the order started.
#3 Signed, Sealed, (almost) Delivered
Bringing your client’s vision to life can take some time, luckily in this process you can easily send them images of digital prototypes or videos of wax models.
After some back and forth and once you have all the details ironed out, you can continue to handle next steps via text message.
Directly from your POS, send a quote for approval which will include a summary of everything you talked about, cost estimates and delivery the timeframe.
The beauty of text messaging is that you can always go back and review what the client had said before you take these steps.
#4 Deposit
Along with getting the quote signed and sealed, next comes collecting a form of payment.
Depending on how you run your business, you can collect a deposit or the full amount of the engagement ring before you begin any work.
This is accomplished via a payment link. Once your client pays, the payment collected through Ikeono Pay will automatically get applied to the workorder in Lightspeed.
If you are unfamiliar with text-to-pay, check out this post to deep dive into why it’s the future of mobile payments and why it's recognized as one of the safest methods for collecting payments.
Yes, it's a lot safer than what the jewelry industry is currently used to – which is accepting payments over the phone 👀.
#5 The First Look 👀
After all the back and forth, the first look is one of the most exciting steps of this process.
You can use text messaging to either send a video or image of the final product.
This is a memorable moment and most likely the client’s last chance to bring up any last-minute tweaks.
Text messaging makes this so much easier than having clients come in or attempting to play phone tag.
#6 Preparing for the Big Day 💍
Once you have the approval, you can now set up a time for them to come and pick up the final piece.
This is when you wrap up the sale and the customer has the option to pay the bill in full or take advantage of Buy Now, Pay Later options.
Jewelers offering BNPL solutions recognize the significance of this purchase and provide couples with the financial flexibility ensuring that the path to the big day is filled with joy rather than budgetary concerns.
Learn how to use Lightspeed Campaigns for warranty follow-ups a couple months after purchase.
#7 Guarantee That Review
Automate a review request once the workorder is finalized and paid for. This can be configured to your preference in Ikeono, you can choose to send a review request within any timeframe post purchase.
We have found that waiting 3-7 days to be ideal because your client’s memory is still fresh and they are still on an engagement high.
More Clear Cut Communication With Text Messaging
Manage Services
Whether it’s custom orders, repairs, appraisals, cleaning or engraving, you can manage everything via text messaging.
While Lightspeed POS is a powerful tool for you to track inventory and sales, Ikeono provides that key communication component and fills all the gaps needed to process every transaction.
A quote and a deposit can easily be captured instantly in all those cases by giving clients the power to easily snap a photo or video and text it to your business phone number.
Keep a Paper Trail of Everything
Lightspeed’s internal notes in workoders are handy, but having direct access to all communications with clients is a game-changer for your entire team.
These records not only help you avoid he said/she said situations in case there is ever a miscommunication but it also serves as a training tool for your sales staff.
A paper trail of every conversation combined with the power of NPS and Google Reviews can help provide tangible feedback for your team and allow your business to consistently deliver a high standard of service
Future Purchases 🎁
The power of combining your sales data and text messaging means that unlike other businesses that use text message marketing to send promotional, often impersonal messages, you have the gift of using the data that lives in your Lightspeed POS to fine-tune your communication with clients.
Use their purchase history and tailor campaigns based on brands or categories of products that you already know they love and have purchased before.
Text, Sell, I Do!
Redefining your clients’ shopping experience with text messaging will put you in a different league of jewelry retailers.
The journey to the perfect engagement ring is not only about the piece of jewelry or the sale, but it’s about being there for your client on one of the best days of their lives.
By establishing such a close relationship, you will undoubtedly become their trusted jeweler of choice and recommended within their own family across generations.