In my experience speaking to jewelry entrepreneurs, I find there’s a lot of confusion about the terms “marketing”, “public relations”, and “sales”, which are sometimes used interchangeably. Though these business functions often support each other, they’re very different. In this blog post, I’m going to clarify what each one means, so you can feel confident utilizing the three functions in your business.

What is jewelry marketing?

Plain and simple: marketing is the act of creating and maintaining relationships. For jewelry brands, marketing means creating and maintaining relationships with customers who will buy their products. Marketers build relationships with customers by communicating their stories, offering value, reinforcing their brand presence, and demonstrating consistency and reliability. Marketing can occur across a number of platforms and through various approaches, some of which can be digital, while others may be in print or in person. Within digital marketing (our focus at Joy Joya), there are many different subtypes of marketing, including search engine marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, video marketing, email marketing, influencer marketing, event marketing, and more.

Marketing is important for every brand, even the most established and well-known brands in the world. Consumer needs and demands are changing rapidly, especially in our digital world. As a result, brands must learn how to pivot quickly and adjust their marketing messages to meet consumers where they are. Otherwise, they risk losing market share to a quick and nimble newcomer who isn’t afraid to push the marketing boundaries – and knows the value of doing so.

What is public relations for jewelry brands?

Whereas marketing is about helping a brand create relationships directly with the end consumers, public relations – sometimes called press, PR, or publicity – is about creating the strategic relationships that will help manage the image and reputation that’s communicated to the end consumer. For jewelry brands, public relations usually means networking with the press, celebrities, fashion stylists, and influencers, since these people typically decide what’s cool and relevant at any given time.

A public relations specialist or publicist has a keen ability to connect her brands with editors and influencers. She’s always looking for opportunities to place her clients’ pieces in the right publications and with the right stylists for celebrity borrowing. She also has her finger on the pulse of trends, so she can pitch her brands and their products accordingly.

Not only do they write and submit press releases, but they also send pitches to journalists and seek opportunities for newsworthy stories. In addition, they maintain and manage a jewelry brand’s press kits and lookbooks and provide guidance on communications, especially during a crisis. Finally, they manage relationships with stylists and celebrities, they occasionally handle influencer marketing, and they can plan and execute media days or other events related to brand reputation.

What is sales for jewelry brands?

While marketing is the process of creating awareness and getting a consumer interested in a jewelry brand and its products, sales is the process of turning that aware and interested consumer into a paying customer. Marketing attracts and courts customers, and sales makes the big “ask”, going directly for the conversion.

In a retail setting, the salesperson helps guide the shopper, who may have a vague idea of what she wants to buy, into making the best purchase. The salesperson educates the shopper on benefits, features, and pricing. The salesperson keeps the shopper engaged and in the store with the goal of making a sale.

In a B2B setting, the salesperson or team that represents a jewelry brand may travel to retail partners to show the product in person. The salesperson or team may act as a brand representative at a trade show or other industry event. In addition, the B2B sales process may be managed by a third-party that owns and manages a wholesale showroom, which is a space – either physical or digital – that offers a link between a jewelry designer and a global market. Buyers from retailers view the products in a showroom and then make the purchasing decisions for the stores they represent.

Without marketing to “warm up” the consumer or retailer, each one of these sales interactions would be cold. However, in an ideal situation, marketing creates awareness so that the salesperson or team can interact with an aware and informed audience, thus increasing the chances of making a sale.

For direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands, sales plays a less traditional role in the buyer’s journey because the consumer only interacts with the website, not with a salesperson. As a result, calls to action strategically placed throughout the site and sales-driven email campaigns become important because they invite the consumer to make a purchase after marketing has done its job.

Putting it all together

Ideally, you’d be focused on developing all three functions in your jewelry business, so they can work together harmoniously, supporting each other and your growth. If you can only focus on one at a time, you’ll need to examine your short-term and long-term goals and then decide which of the three could most effectively help you reach your target customers. Marketing without sales is sometimes too passive, but sales without marketing can feel like shouting into a vast canyon. Public relations without marketing can make a brand seem distant and unattainable, while marketing without PR can sometimes feel self-congratulatory.