Britney's Business Tips

Setting up and running any type of online business has its challenges. Here are some of the mistakes that are commonly made by online entrepreneurs who run small online jewellery enterprises.

Selling the same type of classic diamond engagement rings that their much larger competitors do

Many jewellers have diamond engagement rings for sale in their shops, as selling this particular type of jewellery can be highly lucrative. However, one of the mistakes made by small online jewellers is offering their customers the same kind of classic, popular engagement rings that their much larger and more well-established competitors have for sale.

This is usually a waste of these entrepreneurs' time and money, as the type of customers who want to buy engagement rings that have a very classic design are unlikely to visit a small and potentially obscure online shop to purchase this jewellery. Instead, they will probably visit a well-known jeweller and buy it from them.

As such, instead of offering the same pretty-but-generic engagement rings as these much bigger competitors, owners of small online jewellery enterprises should sell rings that these competitors are not providing. For example, they could stock a range of engagement rings with multi-coloured diamonds, or ones with a quirkier band design or an unusual diamond setting. This will set them apart from the larger competitors and attract customers who want a different type of engagement ring that looks nothing like the kinds of rings that are on offer in most famous jewellery shops.

Not using a diverse range of mannequins or models when taking photos of their jewellery

Many small online jewellers also make the mistake of not using a wide range of mannequins or real models to showcase the jewellery on their site, because doing so would cost them extra money (as they would have to hire additional models or buy extra mannequins). This error can lead to lower profits.

The reason for this is as follows; when people buy jewellery from a brick-and-mortar shop, they will usually be given the opportunity to try an item on before they buy it. This gives them a chance to see if the colour of the jewellery looks good against their skin tone and if the size of the item looks in proportion with the size of the body part on which they are wearing it. Being able to see that a specific necklace or set of earrings suits them can make them feel confident enough to buy that item.

When buying jewellery online, people cannot go through this try-on process. Because of this, they have to rely on the images of the mannequins or models that are being used to showcase the shop's jewellery when determining if a particular item will look good on them. If an online shop only uses one mannequin, then many of its potential customers who do not look like this mannequin won't be able to use it to help them decide if an item the mannequin is wearing might look nice on them, and may then decide not to risk spending their money on a piece of jewellery that might be unflattering when they wear it.

As such, although it might create higher upfront costs, people running small online shops of this kind should use a wide variety of models or mannequins when taking photos of their products.