As a small jewelry brand, do you ever feel like you simply can’t compete with the major players in the jewelry industry? Instead of seeing size as a crutch, consider it an advantage. Small jewelry brands actually have colossal opportunities for executing and developing superior branding.

The next time you feel discouraged, read this blog post and brainstorm all the ways you can create and reinforce a solid brand that’s supported by a strong story, focused mission, and unwavering sense of purpose.

Less Pressure to Conform

If you’re a small jewelry brand, you’re likely still pretty new to the marketplace. As a result, your future customers may not have met you yet, and your current customers hold reasonable expectations that haven’t been inflated by generations of marketing.

For example, established brands like Tiffany are always looking toward the future and thinking about how they can evolve, but they run the risk of alienating customers who are already familiar with their offerings. Your own reputation can pigeonhole you – but not if you haven’t earned one yet. As a small jewelry brand, you have the freedom to do whatever you want.

Creative Freedom and Experimentation

Now that you know you have freedom, how are you going to use it? Hardly any business gets its branding right on the first try, and you should embrace experimentation. Of course, make educated decisions based on your target audience, business goals, and market research. But don’t feel that you’ll be stuck with your choices forever.

Have you ever heard of “analysis paralysis”? I’ve seen too many competent jewelry business owners get stuck – simply because they’re overthinking their brand and can’t move forward with any one decision. Know that you can change anything in the future – but you won’t know what to change unless you start with something.

Stronger, More Defined Culture

Company culture is a major component of branding. According to this article from the Harvard Business Review, “Your brand is your culture, your culture is your brand.” As a small jewelry business, you can focus on building a strong team of employees who are dedicated and devoted to your mission and values. When you align yourself with the right people, that alignment will show through to your customers – in every interaction they have with your business, from sales to customer services and beyond.

Employees Can Be Brand Ambassadors

Furthermore, your employees will become your natural brand ambassadors, without any poking or prodding from you. When they love working for you, they’ll wear your jewelry in the world, they’ll speak proudly about your products, and they’ll share their great experiences and stories.

You may even want to encourage your employees and business partners to post about you on social media. Give them the freedom to post what they want, without micromanaging them, and trust that they’ll only have great things to say – since they love working with and for you.

You Don’t Have to Compete

Finally, you don’t have to put pressure on yourself to compete with the big brands. Remember that you may never be able to compete with them – so why would you want to try? There are so many customers in the world who don’t want to buy jewelry from established, “big name” brands because these customers want to be unique. They want to find the hottest, newest treasures from up-and-coming designers.

Take the big brands off your radar and focus instead on being the best version of you, regardless of what the major players are doing. Once you full embody your brand – and find a way to communicate it to the right customers, you’ll attract the customers who have been searching for you all along.

As a small jewelry brand, do you find that you have an advantage over larger, more established brands in other ways? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Photo by Raniel Diaz