In the Loupe

This week Mike interviews Sebastian Velasquez from INOX Men's Jewelry. INOX is best known as THE men's jewelry line, creating iconic bangles, bracelets, and rings for over fifteen years. Sebastian shared his view on men's fashion and where he thinks the industry is heading, information he is uniquely privy. Additionally, the pair discuss the unique trust and dynamic between vendors...

Punchmark and The Smithee Group recently traveled to Las Vegas for JCK, the largest jewelry show in North America. While there, we attended the inaugural year of the JCK Podcast Zone, and recorded a few conversations on the future of the jewelry industry. The first was with Denise Purtzer from ClearSale about the state of online fraud and how to prevent it, as well as some of the most common techn...

You've heard from Mike, Evelyn, Cody, Ross, Ben, and others; now it's finally time to get to know your favorite cast of In the Loupe on a deeper level. This episode will dive into a perhaps surprising topic (but then again, we don't really pull punches when it comes to divulging our company secrets on this podcast!). Take a look into the leadership at both Punchmark and The Smithee...

Join us at JCK Las Vegas for 3 live recordings of In the Loupe! We will be live in the Podcast Zone at JCK at: Friday 11:15 Saturday 1:00 Sunday 3:00 Bring questions for the live Q&A at the end of each recording! Send us Fan Mail  Send feedback or learn more about the podcast: punchmark.com/loupe Learn about Punchmark's website platform: punchmark.com Inquire about sponsoring In the Loupe...

The first form of "online" shopping was invented in 1979. The internet was invented in 1983. Amazon, one of the first big online retailers, didn't incorporate until 1994. E-commerce is, in the grand scheme of things, still very, very new. To make things more complicated, the technology behind e-commerce seems to change almost daily. So how do you know if you're running a succes...

Kate Youngstrom is the VP of brand and content marketing at Reed Exhibitions, which means she is the perfect guest to talk to about what's coming up at JCK Las Vegas, JIS Miami, and more - because Kate has all the details! We ask her questions like what's new in the post-Covid trade shows, what she's most excited about, and the biggest hurdles in getting this year's lineup toge...

Growing your brand, your products, and your voice are all things that take time and many iterations. To take your ideas and turn them into reality can be difficult and exciting at the same time. Today on In the Loupe we're talking about what it takes to grow and how to start something new. From small businesses to new product launches to podcasts (like this one!), if you're interested in...

A good online shopping experience should feel as smooth and without obstruction as swimming, and some websites definitely do this better than others. Mike and Gasper each describe in-depth a website they have ordered through that absolutely checks every box of a good experience, and then they boil down this information into actionable advice for your own e-commerce website. Brought to you by: punc...

If you've been listening to In the Loupe, you know both Punchmark and The Smithee Group willingly spill all our secrets when it comes to web presence and digital marketing! Not only will we tell you how the algorithms work and why they do, but we also lay bare our own strategies and how we implement them. In this episode, we'll critique the other company's website to better understa...

We got such good feedback from our last ring-buyers episode, we decided to do it again! Part one featured two men with clear views on what they wanted who had never bought much in the way of fine jewelry before. This time, we've got a different subset of interviewees to offer their perspectives on the ring buying process. We hope this episode gives retail jewelers a better look at the differe...

Tiktok is the newest mainstream social media app; it's trendy and has millions of users every day. The main user demographic is tech-savvy, young, and making their debuts as adults with income. Tiktok's videos are engaging, fun, funky, and even silly, creating an environment where things can go viral quickly and easily. So should retailers hop in on this new platform? How difficult is it...

You may or may not have heard the phrase "data is the new oil," but it's true that data collection and analysis has made sweeps through the e-commerce and business industries as a key component of effective advertising. Using data from social media, cookies on browsers, and location data, it's possible to predict what consumers are interested in and when they're likely to...

Can you believe we're already halfway through the year? The first half of 2021 certainly was a whirlwind as businesses returned to a more normal cadence and found a happy medium welcoming customers in to their stores while increasing their online presences. In the Loupe touched on digital marketing, consumer trends, and increasing your digital presence effectively to drive more traffic, sales...

As more and more people turn to their smart phones for everyday activities like shopping and ordering coffee, building connections and a customer pipeline via mobile-enabled technologies simply makes sense. In the second half of this 2-part episode, we're breaking down clienteling in the 21st century to make sure your team is equipped with top-notch digital integrations to make building clien...

What happens when someone makes a wishlist on your website? Signs up for your newsletter? Signs up for an account on your site with their email address? These are all integral digital touch points to convert a customer. Knowing how to use these touch points to your advantage to connect with the customer, see what they're interested in, and bring them back to your store or website will bring y...

Tradeshows have been canceled for over a year, but the wait is nearly over and the world is beginning to open back up. In this episode, we talk with CEOs Ben & Ross about the strategy they anticipate the jewelry industry to take as we re-enter normalcy and their recommended approach for retailers at these highly anticipated post-pandemic trade shows. Brought to you by: punchmark.com thesmithee...

Targeted ads, stellar SEO, pay-per-click, and more: digital marketing is a booming industry because it's so effective. So what's the best strategy for you? Following up from last episode where we discussed the effectiveness of social ad campaigns, Katie Kinlaw, Punchmark's digital marketing manager, walks us through a case study on how a digital marketer might help you decide what&a...

You've read the studies and seen the numbers; digital marketing seems to work. But how do you know it'll be worth the investment for you, and not just that hippie eco-friendly toilet paper brand? In this case study, we look at the data to determine the effectiveness of social media advertising. Cody from the Smithee Group will take you beyond the numbers to look at the strategy and goals...

Boosting engagement and growing followers doesn't have a one-size-fits-all approach, which is why this episode is all about our favorite Instagram accounts and Facebook pages outside of the jewelry sphere. They may look very different from your social media accounts, but you can use the same tactics to achieve success on your own pages. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe! Broug...

The je-ne-sais-quoi factor of a good website is finally revealed. Join Katie and Summer as they discuss their favorite websites of all time and what gives these sites a competitive advantage by looking great and valuing the user experience above all else. Brought to you by: punchmark.com thesmitheegroup.com Sponsored by: theedgeforjewelers.com Send us Fan Mail  Send feedback or learn more about th...

To those not in the industry, the world of jewelry is a foreign land where they may only go once or twice a year at most. After a few years behind the scenes in the jewelry business, your hosts Mike and Katie from Punchmark and Cody from The Smithee Group have learned a thing or two. Join us as we reflect on our journeys into jewelry, what we've learned, and what we see for the future of the...

TikTok, Billie Eilish, VSCO, and the return of the scrunchie - who is Gen Z? These young people have just started arriving into adulthood, and they're making decisions very differently than previous generations. They rely on the advice of others, and of Google. In part two of this two-part episode, we chat with some Gen Z buyers about their style, their buying habits, and their relationship w...

Who is Gen Z, and what are they looking for in the jewelry industry? Gen Z is typically defined as anyone born after 1997, or thereabouts. This young generation has just reached the point of having their own money and making their own buying decisions. They make up a huge sector of the market, and an even bigger sector of influence. They're tech-savvy and have shorter attention spans but endu...

We're not saying we can predict the future, but we've spotted 10 standout trends that we think we'll be seeing more of throughout the rest of the year and into 2022. From e-commerce best practices to digital marketing tactics and customer expectations, if you're looking to get ahead of the curve this is the place to start. Brought to you by: punchmark.com thesmitheegroup.com Sp...

Websites are becoming more complex every day; no longer static organisms, a dynamic, functional website is like a high-maintenance Pomeranian instead of a pet rock. Today's websites have a variety of important features that go beyond a header and footer. What do you need to include on your website to make it exciting? How can you draw customers in to an experience that they'll want to co...