Want to feel old? Millennials, that emerging generation who are going to change everything, are now entering their 40s. Their moment is passing, and we now turn our attention to Gen Z. The oldest members of Gen Z have graduated college, are starting families, and most relevant to us, have disposable income to spend on luxury goods. Gen Z now comprise 40% of consumers worldwide, with $30 billion in disposable income. How, then, do we make sure Gen Z are spending that disposable income with us? One way to reach this socially conscious generation is through lab-grown diamonds, provided that you can demonstrate the sustainability and ethics of the product.

Meet Them Where They Are: Online

Before you can get your message across to Gen Z, you have to know where to find them. Though there is a growing dissatisfaction with social media among young people, Gen Z still spend more time in front of screens than any other generation. They are dissatisfied with the effect social media has had on society and on older generations, but despite this awareness, Gen Z are still an “extremely online” generation. They were the first generation to hold a smartphone as children and to live their whole lives with the internet as ubiquitous as television was for everyone else. The typical Millennial probably didn’t have an internet-connected computer until high school, and even then, it was most likely a family computer with a dial-up connection. Millennials may have grown up online, but Gen Z were born there.

While Millennials might be on Instagram or Twitter and Gen X and Boomers are on Facebook, Gen Z are mostly on TikTok and that social media platform that we don’t think of as a social media platform, YouTube. Between TikTok, YouTube, and to a lesser extent Instagram, Gen Z consume 7.2 hours of video content per day. That’s not 7 hours of total screen time—that’s 7 hours on video alone.

Gen Z turn to video for everything. Where a Millennial might use Google to find a relevant article, Gen Z will turn to TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram and search for a video, whether they want to learn how to cook salmon, learn how get a glossy lip look, buy the best microphone for their streaming setup, or find ethical, sustainable jewelry. The videos they connect with are delivered in a conversational, humorous style that entertains as it educates.

Be Honest About Your Claims

Video content is the way to reach them, but Gen Z are particular about who they will listen to. A Google search will bring up articles with the best SEO, not necessarily the most relevant articles, and right now, chatbots are not at the point in their development where they can be relied upon to give factual, accurate answers to questions. It remains to be seen whether changes in search engine algorithms will privilege human-written, human-centered, helpful articles, or whether the internet will be drowned under a tsunami of machine-generated text spam. So Gen Z turn to their social networks, customer reviews, and influencers who can speak their language for answers.

Grabbing the attention and the trust of Gen Z consumers means not overselling or overstating claims about lab-grown diamonds. Gen Z are inquisitive, values-driven consumers. More than any other generation, they are interested in how, where, and by whom their products are made. They want to know that their consumption is not making the world a worse place because climate change is much more real and immediate to them than it is to many older adults. They look at their future and don’t see an unending upward slope of progress; they see a world hanging in the balance. So they will want to know for sure if that lab-grown diamond is truly contributing less to carbon emissions than a mined diamond. They want to be sure that the working conditions in a lab are not worse than the working conditions in a mine.

It is imperative, then, for retailers to be just as inquisitive about their suppliers and really understand where their lab-grown diamonds come from, how efficient their labs are, and how workers are treated and compensated. If you can point to these facts and demonstrate that your product truly is an ethical and sustainable alternative to mined diamonds, then you will find customers among Gen Z.

Environmental Issues that Concern Gen Z

Beyond contentious issues of carbon emissions per carat grown or mined, there are other environmental benefits of LGD that retailers can communicate to Gen Z consumers. Water scarcity, deforestation, and human rights are all issues that will affect Gen Z purchasing decisions. Diamond mining has become much cleaner and safer in recent years, and many mines recycle the water used in the extraction process and rehabilitate the land after a mining project finishes. But contamination and waste are still byproducts of the mining process, no matter how modern the mining facilities.

Deforestation is also an issue of concern for Gen Z. Forests absorb both carbon and heat from the sun, so it is important to young people that we intervene in the environment in ways that conserve the planet’s remaining old-growth forests.

In some parts of the world, these untouched lands are also the homes of indigenous peoples. Gen Z care about protecting and empowering the people most vulnerable to exploitation. In Canada, diamond miners work with First Nations people to ensure that sacred ground is not disturbed and that the people who have a right to the land profit from it. But in many cases artisanal mining, or small-scale mining done not by large corporations but by local people, with no regulation or labor rights for the women and children who do much of the work, takes place outside of the law. While regulations and diligent manufacturers and suppliers keep the products of illegal artisanal mines out of the supply chain, they can still find their way in. The money from these illegal mines often funds drug and human trafficking. Lab-grown diamonds are one way consumers can be absolutely sure that they are not helping to fund these activities.

Even with modern technology, regulations, and public awareness, the effects of mining on local flora, fauna, water supplies, and people remain long after mines shut down. No matter how many environmental regulations mining companies comply with, the most environmentally friendly thing to do is not mine to begin with. Overall, however, it is important to recognize the strides the mining industry has made in the past 20 years to become a less exploitative, more sustainable industry. We can extol the virtues of LGD without denigrating or making overblown claims about the mining industry, or pointing to its past failures as examples of modern practices.

Gen Z are questioning the consumption habits of those who came before them, from homeownership as an investment to car-centered development to buying cheap products from developing countries. They are also a generation that gravitates toward brands that share their values. Lab-grown diamond marketing is an opportunity to connect with Gen Z on the issues they care about, but only if it comes from a place of honesty and authenticity.

The ringtone of the smartphone seemed to sound the death knell for the landline telephone, the camera, the portable music player, and the watch. Seeing “home” and “cell” listed on a form, as though they were still two different phone numbers, seems anachronistic now, and the digital cameras of the early 2000s seem as antiquated as bulky beige CRT monitors and wood paneling on station wagons, a symbol of a time gone by. On the other hand (or wrist), however, there’s the watch. Even as its utilitarian value waned, its symbolic power endured. Why is it that even as smartphones have relegated the digital camera and the iPod to the same dustbin of history as the Walkman and the fax machine, luxury watch brands are thriving?

What It Means for Consumers

There are two types of luxury watch buyers: those who see it as a luxury accessory and those who are making an investment. The two categories can overlap, and who comprises the first is changing. If all you want is to know what time it is, you have a phone for that. But a luxury watch is so much more than a timepiece. It is a functional accessory, something that can call back to bygone traditions or can signal belonging to a subculture that appreciates the fine craftsmanship and complex expertise of the watchmaker.

The investors, on the other hand, see the secondary market as a quick way to turn a profit, buying watches on the secondary market at prices up to five times greater than retail and looking to flip them for even more. That market grew exponentially throughout 2022 thanks to these buyers, fueled, asVictoria Gomelsky wrote for the New York Times, by stimulus checks and crypto money. Luxury watches, like sneakers or NFT “art,” became the locus of so many get-rich-quick schemes.

But the future of luxury watches lies with those newcomers to the luxury market, Gen Z. What they want from watches is the same thing they want from jewelry: beauty with meaning. Ethically sourced materials, environmentally sustainable practices, and the social conscience of a brand are just as important as the status that a brand conveys. We saw this most recently following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when Louis Vuitton, Swatch, and Rolex closed their stores in Russia. These companies know their consumers, and they know what their consumers expect from them.

What It Means for Retailers

With the madness of 2022 subsiding thanks in part to the crypto crash, the luxury watch market would seem poised for a downturn. But the industry was growing even before the secondary market began to heat up, and it is expected to remain strong even as it cools off. Luxury watchmakers often produce limited editions, which means their products will always have value on the secondary market, and the most sought-after models will always be difficult to find on the primary market. But a slowdown in investment buys is fine with retailers, who will sell out of their stock regardless and would rather sell to those who appreciate the craftsmanship of a luxury watch rather than to profit-driven speculators, anyway.

There are more people than ever in the former category, and many who initially saw watches solely as investments developed a love for them. With their customer base growing, luxury watch retailers are poised to grow in 2023, even with the looming threat of a recession. High-end luxury is an almost recession-proof business, but mid-priced luxury will have to work harder to forge connections with consumers

For the new Gen Z consumers, a luxury watch is less a statement of status or achievement and more a statement of identity and feeling like a part of something with a greater purpose. They will gravitate toward brands that move away from the ultra-masculine, ultra-wealthy branding of the past to something more inclusive and purposeful. Part of this move away from a masculine brand image will be new innovations in women’s watch design as well as more unisex designs that appeal to younger consumers’ ideas about masculinity, femininity, and everything in between.

The resale market for luxury watches soared in 2022, but it seems to be coming back down to earth in 2023. Sales in the primary market, however, remain stable, which is good news for retailers as they face uncertainty in the coming recession. As it is for all luxury retailers, watch retailers can come out even stronger by knowing and authentically relating to their consumers.

Like Lana Del Rey, lab-grown diamonds were once misunderstood and derided as “fake.” And also like Lana Del Rey, lab-grown diamonds have now been embraced by the public for the precious gems they are (though I’m not sure LDR and LGD are beloved for the same reasons, i.e. lower price per carat and environmental sustainability).

What are your marketing goals for 2023? You can’t grow your business without meeting your goals, and you can’t meet your goals if you don’t make a plan. While we might experience Covid outbreaks here and there for the foreseeable future, the “pandemic era” is behind us. On top of that, inflation is likely to ease in 2023. So with the two biggest challenges of the past few years on the way out, the future is now. It’s vital that you make a plan to carry you into the future in a position of strength.

A marketing plan is a document that sets out in writing an organization’s marketing goals and the specific methods they will use to achieve them. Other than marketing goals, a marketing plan typically contains analysis of target market, ideal customer profiles, marketing strategies used, budget numbers, and KPIs. Such a plan breaks down specific marketing activities granularly, whether by quarter, month, or even week.

You may already have a marketing plan in place. But once the hectic holiday season is over and you look toward the beginning of another year, you might want to take a look at the challenges that will make 2023 different from 2022 and rework your plan accordingly.

Writing the Marketing Plan

Before you begin, get information from your entire team, whether they are involved in sales and marketing or not. Every employee has their own experience of your business and might offer some insight that you weren’t able to see. Bring your sales, marketing, and purchasing leaders together to discuss the successes and challenges of the past year and to articulate a vision of the future.

The first thing that goes into a marketing plan is a statement of your brand vision. Why are you in this business? What is the purpose of your business? What do you do that your competitors don’t? What can you offer that they can’t? Stating a clear brand vision can help you not only identify your target market, but determine the best ways to reach them.

Your plan should consider all sales and marketing channels: your sales team, your website, social media, email campaigns, content marketing, etc. Identify the channels responsible for the most growth. Which channels are driving growth, which are lagging behind and need more work, and which should you consider abandoning? Not every social media platform, for instance, will yield the same results. It might behoove you to spend less time on one in order to really focus on growing another.

Knowing what your competitors are up to will also help you come up with a solid marketing plan. Have any old competitors gone out of business? Has anyone new moved into the area? Do you expect any changes in the coming year? Look at what your competitors are doing well and where they might be struggling. Maybe they’ve tried something you’d like to try but did not have success with it, or maybe they’ve done something well that you’d like to emulate.

Finally, make sure your marketing plan is based on data and contains hard numbers: KPIs, budget numbers, growth targets, and the like.

Stick to the Plan, But Be Flexible

Make the plan as perfect as it can be, but also understand that reality is not perfect. You’ll have to remain flexible throughout the year and shift targets on the fly when necessary. One way to stick to the plan while remaining flexible is to divide your marketing plan into quarters, and reevaluate goals at the end of each quarter.

It does take a little extra work to create such a plan, especially if you haven’t written one before. But the extra effort will be worth it when you see your whole team working toward the same goal by implementing a coherent, well-researched, step-by-step strategy.

Overall, it’s important to base your decisions on as much information as possible. No matter who the final decision maker is, gather input from as many members of your team as possible. It’s hard to believe that 2023 is only a few days away. Are you ready?

When was the last time a web search took you deeper than the first page of Google results? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important part of organically attracting visitors to your SERPs (search engine results pages) and to your site as a whole. But there’s a lot more to it than loading your site with keywords and search terms.

The way lab-grown diamonds and mined diamonds are typically marketed creates an adversarial relationship between the two. Proponents of LGD will say that their product is an environmentally friendly alternative to destructive, unsustainable, and exploitative mining practices, while mined diamond advocates will say that LGD’s environmental claims are overblown and that the mining industry is much more equitable and sustainable than it used to be.

In its efforts to challenge social media giants like TikTok and Instagram, Pinterest introduced a new feature in 2021 called Idea Pins.

Email has to be responsible for 99% of the world’s writer’s block. How often have you sat in front of Outlook or Gmail and attempted to win a staring contest with that white box?

What’s your cookie policy? Years ago, you might have said “no more than one row of Oreos in one sitting,” though that’s a policy we’ve all violated more than once. Today, every website asks you to review their cookie policy. Cookies aren’t some new technology; before last year, websites would just slip them onto your computer without asking first. But websites are now asking permission because of a law passed in 2018 called the European General Data Protection Regulation. A similar law was passed in the US in 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act, which requires sites to be transparent about what information they are collecting and what they are doing with it, and to give users the option to reject cookies used to collect and sell personal information.

By: Duvall O’Steen and Jen Cullen Williams
This article originally ran in National Jeweler.

By: Duvall O’Steen and Jen Cullen Williams
This article originally ran in National Jeweler.

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This article was first run in National Jeweler.
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Jewelry is one of the most in-demand luxury products in the world right now, and still, jewelry remains one of the most heavily discounted retail categories.

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If you find the prospect of coming up with another month (or week, or day!) of social posts daunting … if you’d rather be doing anything else with your time … if your ideas just dry up the minute you sit in front of the social media planner ... This article is for you.

Gone are the days of attending two or three trade shows per year and fielding a sales team that lived on the road.

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In their latest column, Duvall O’Steen and Jen Cullen Williams make the case for SMS marketing.

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"Not Your Mother's Tiffany" campaign sparked a backlash when they tried to pull an Oldsmobile in the clumsiest way. They introduced a campaign called "Not Your Mother's Tiffany," which managed to alienate older buyers without appealing to younger buyers. That's two strikes, which in retail is enough to strikeout.