There’s a lot of marketing advice out there for retailers that’s fairly obvious. The National Retail Federation turned to retailing expert Rohit Bhargava for some insights that were a little less common. You can read all of his thoughts here. For our purpose of effectively promoting fine jewelry stores, I’d like to focus on just one of his points: the need to be helpful to your customers.

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Customers place a high value on informative content, but they don’t like to be sold to. Bhargava says more brands are focusing marketing efforts on being useful to consumers, rather than simply extolling the features of their product or promoting a sale.

In the jewelry industry, we’re well used to educating customers about engagement rings and bridal jewelry – but what about the rest of our offerings? Choosing a signature piece of jewelry, or even a fun fashion look, can be a complicated undertaking. Sometimes people hold back from purchasing items like pearls or opals because they’re not sure how to care for them. Providing education related to choosing estate jewelry, finding a favorite designer, or maintaining your fine jewelry items doesn’t necessarily lead directly to a sale – and that’s okay. “You’re making the sale by being helpful,” Bhargava said.

We have a number of channels through which we can help our customers. In store selling continues to top the list: there is no asset a jewelry retailer has that is more influential and valuable than a highly skilled, knowledgeable sales staff. Additionally, sharing educational content via your website, on social media, and in reply to your customers’ email or text message inquiries is a great best practice.

As we get closer to the holiday season, it’s a great time to look at the lines you’d really like to do well for you. Consider what questions your customers have about those items, and develop assets such as blog entries or social media posts that provide the helpful information your customers need to make informed purchases they’ll be truly pleased with.