Among manufactured goods related to Group B, diamond products of mass consumption compete with commeasurable products of secondary necessity – bijouterie, exquisite perfumes, image mobile phones, entertaining gadgets, fashionable clothes and leather ware.
Ten years ago, the bosses of De Beers, the major market manager in the diamond industry, were worried about the slower retail sales of diamond jewelry as compared with the above-mentioned competing goods on the background of growing world economy during last decades.
1. Modern marketing
Today, the competitive analysis of the commodities market is performed under the aspect of conceptual positioning within the frames of commodity matrix philosophy. This process is facilitated by strategic controlling of positioning indicators related to a commodity group.
The profit matrix and value range matrix are the nucleus of positioning strategy. There is a practice to compile matrices for individual and umbrella trademarks. Positioning is formulated for every commodity group. The practical usefulness of developed positioning involves the fields and rules for further promotion of a commodity group.
Every businessperson lines up individual tactics based on the general positioning strategy. Here it is important to:
• devise an original concept of one’s commodity and create “working” mechanisms to put it into life;
• think over an algorithm of promoting one’s product in the market;
• choose image components tastefully;
• draw up a clever information policy and render worthy media support to one’s product.
In the market, there appeared a number of agencies, which help to develop an optimum positioning strategy. However, these agencies usually work with dozens of different clients and thus produce some sort of an all-purpose program reflecting the current business environment. Very popular are for instance such schedules:
• Development of a textual, lexical and conceptual component of strategy (basic message package, i.e. some basic idea declared to the target audience for a possible brand re-positioning, some slogan, some subjects of publications in mass-media and some subjects of current interest for possible press-conferences and round tables as well as some style of type matter).
• Development of a visual, image and style-forming component in compliance with the core image strategy (logo, typology of visual symbolic elements, plot image, color range of visual messages).
• Development of a dynamic component: possible scenarios and places of promotion actions corresponding to the areas of intense interest of the target audience and to major features of the basic marketing strategy.
• Basic media-schedule (a list of information channels and information carriers, types of advertising and journalist materials) fitting the parameters of the target audience and the specific features of the brand.
2. Commodity group positioning in general.
Let us consider the nearest competitors of diamond jewelry - bijouterie and perfumes.
• Bijouterie
The segment of inexpensive gifts and accessories (under $50) in the Russian Federation is growing by 20-30% in a year. The major advantage of bijouterie is its currentness. The majority of women will rather buy adornments made of non-precious materials and quickly going out of fashion than those made of gold or other precious metals. This female logic is understandable – a gold chain cannot be as beautiful as a swank necklace worth the same money and made, for instance, of synthetic stones. Besides, bijouterie accepts such materials and forms, which cannot be used in jewelry.
Fashion magazines promoting accessories facilitate the growing demand for bijouterie. These editions tempt to buy bijouterie at least 25% of potential buyers.
The bijouterie segment is busily interacting with the diamond jewelry segment. On the one hand, bijouterie helps unprosperous young girls to do without diamond luxury and in this way serves to develop their taste preparing them for a responsible and high society standing, which can involve owning diamonds. On the other hand, prosperous women using bijouterie are appraising and trying out creative jewelry ideas with a view to have a modern diamond jewelry piece.
Perfumes. Personal hygiene is not a tribute to fashion, but conscious compliance with the rules of ethic behavior. While developing the name and conceptual positioning of the Эtika Trademark we intentionally departed from such declarations as cleanness, freshness and comfort and family care because this niche in the consumers’ minds is already battled over by many Russian trademarks starting from toothpastes and washing powders to female pantyliners. The culture of consuming personal hygiene commodities gives something more and this is health and impeccable behavior patterns bringing about self-confidence.
• Perfumes
The Russian market of perfumes and cosmetics has already become one of the largest in Europe: according to the Russian Perfumes and Cosmetics Association (RPCA), the perfumes and cosmetics market accounts for about $8 billion. Russia has proved to be in the sixth place in Europe after Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Many Russian companies demonstrated a 30-60% increase in production this year. Retail sales of perfumes and cosmetics are growing faster than the whole market. Trade networks here are expanding by 40-50% every year. Niche marketing, i.e. creating products aimed at narrow consumer groups, happens to be the most promising pathway in Russia and worldwide. We mean, for instance, cosmetics for smokers helping them to get rid of nicotine traces; or products with added features – not just a tinting cream, but also a remedy against skin stress. Mass consumption products made for the widest possible target audience are manufactured taking into account averaged consumer expectations. Presently, however, consumers are more often striving to find products, which meet their exact needs as much as possible.
The perfumes promotion experience may be of exclusive interest for diamond jewellers. The similarity of consumer behavioral patterns and matched positioning of commodity groups suggest studying the experience of perfumes manufacturers and distributors.
Comparing with perfumes, one may easily find that diamonds are more “sublime”. If the modern perfumery is exploiting the ideas of cleanness, erotic charm and youthfulness, diamonds have an opportunity to compete with these ideas under the aspect of crystal uniqueness, exquisite aesthetic taste and high social success.
3. Niche marketing
It is popular to analyze Target Influence Groups (TIG) for diamonds as far as competitive goods are concerned. In line with the positioning concept, it would be right, for instance, to consider the following influence groups in reference to diamond products (DP):
1) In terms of age
|
|
16-24 yeas old |
25-40 years old |
Over 40 years old |
|
Men |
DP – gift of “flirting” |
DP – gift of “excuse” |
DP – gift of “remembrance” |
|
Women |
DP – distinction sign |
DP – adornment |
2) In terms of income level
The “price” factor is perceived differently by different segments of consumers. For high-income consumers, higher prices are a positive factor speaking in favour of purchasing, while for low-income consumers they are an argument scaring off purchasing. Although the “quality” factor is leading in the mind of any consumer, it is perceived as a complex indicator formed from a mixture of image and the above-mentioned factors. Thus, “quality” is specific for every segment of consumers, which stipulates the necessity to create specific advertising video sequence for every consumer group and to give specific meaning to the major message.
3) Gender aspect
In Russia, women outnumber men by 12 million; 80% of decisions related to purchases are taken by women; almost one half of them spend about 6 hours a day watching TV. If a man recommends some brand he likes to three persons on the average, a woman does it to 21 persons.
There is no doubt that women are the driving force of the diamond industry.
Description of major target audience for diamonds
|
Sex |
Mainly women |
|
Age |
17-50 years old |
|
Income |
Average monthly income per one family member - $200-700 |
|
Education |
Secondary, higher or higher learners |
|
Social status |
Mainly employed or off-and-on earners (students). Mid-level employees. Mostly working in female environment and engaged in relatively calm operations. |
As any commodity, diamonds need new and new updates and additions. Since diamonds cannot be changed from the crystallographic point of view, there is the only way out – to saturate diamond jewelry with new and new meanings and emotions.
Most surprising ideas are welcome for this purpose as for example “diamond journalism” (meaning to respond to historic events with new diamond products), “diamond photographs” (memorable photos on the facets of personal diamonds) and “diamond hybrids” (combination of diamonds with other consumer goods).
Let us consider some hybrids for example:
1. The most expensive mobile phone is called Diamond Crypto Smartphone. The outer look of the phone is designed by Peter Aloisson, the famous designer of luxury trinkets. The phone cover is adorned with 50 diamonds and some of its sections are made in rose gold, while the rest in platinum. The device is priced at $1.3 million.
2. The most expensive player costs $45 000. The gadget called “The Presidential MP3” is manufactured by Douglas.J Music Group. Buyers can choose its exterior in regular gold and white gold as well as the diamond configuration on its front cover.
3. The most expensive notebook. Its price is $350,000 and its name is Otazu Ego Diamond. Externally this instrument is very much like the old iBook G3 Clamshell. The tulip, which is the logo of Ego, a Dutch company producing the gadget, contains 470 wonderful diamonds.
4. The platinum USB-flash drive called ICE and encrusted with 456 diamonds is available by special order only and it will run you $29,000.
5. The CHAPURIN House in team with Smolenskiye Brillianty produced a unique top called Diamond Love.
6. “Diamonds in Glass” is an exclusive collection of glasses made by Austrian designers. This collection includes wine and champagne glasses not just adorned with diamonds on their exterior – diamonds seem to be embedded in the glass using a special technique.
Vladimir Teslenko
