Jewelry retailers can enhance business opportunities if they embrace change in their marketing, corporate culture, training and planning, said GIA School of Business Professor David McKinney, Ph.D., at a lecture he gave at the JCK Show in Las Vegas.

"Sameness is out. It's important to try to satisfy all of the customers' senses," McKinney said, describing one high-profile Southwestern jeweler who treats customers to Dom Perignon champagne and Godiva chocolates amid sumptuous ambience as they peruse high-end jewelry. "Customers willingly pay more for the fine jewelry sold there because they enjoy the experience so much."

Plasma televisions showing ESPN to cater to male clientele, striking artwork, exciting window displays, and dramatic store designs with coordinated colors and lighting were other examples he used as ways to liven a store's atmosphere.

"Freshness and individuality are the keys," he said during the seminar titled, "Marketing Secrets."

McKinney also stressed the importance of a firm's workforce and the need for all employees to believe in the company's corporate culture. This goes hand-in-hand with employee training to ensure they are being developed to their fullest potential, he said.

"Underqualified employees can have a negative impact on customers," McKinney said. "Wal-Mart estimates that one lost customer may cost them $200,000 in lost lifetime sales due to negative word-of-mouth communication."

He suggested employers have formal training sessions at least every week that include role-playing, soliciting new ideas from employees, and encouraging them to add services to the sale. Teaching sales associates to tell a story about each gem they sell, or to talk about which ones look better with certain clothing colors or styles, were other examples McKinney suggested.

Knowing and studying the competition on a local, regional and national level is equally important as is a marketing plan with short- and long-range goals, he said.

"[A marketing plan] gives your business direction," McKinney said. "Your brand and your store's reputation are more important than the brands you sell."