(Shecy Pearls opened their online store in 2006, which has been growing at a fast pace over their first year in online pearl jewelry industry.)



Q: When did Shecy Pearls start the online store?

A: We started it on August 28th 2006. It has been almost one year till now.

Q: How is the business now? Is it as expected?

A: So far, it is quite good. Actually it is better than expected. A year ago when we first started this online store, we expected a loss for the first year. You know, business environment has become increasingly competitive. When we entered this online business, there were already quite a lot of online pearl jewelry shops. Even we have already been running physical pearl jewelry stores for over thirteen years, we have never done much promotion for it. So we can say we were new to the online jewelry business at the time.

Q: Facing so much competition, Shecy Pearls must make a very successful competitive strategy before you started this online shop. Would you mind to give us some ideas about it?

A: Of course, not. To compete in jewelry industry, quality must be the first to consider, then the price. Our product positioning is high quality with possible lowest price. But only high quality and low pricing are not enough to compete, because they are so easy to copy---any company is possible to find high quality pearls and reduce their price. To succeed, we should have something hard to copy for others. Then we thought about service. I am the sales manager, and I deal with customers directly every day. I understand so much about how important the customer service is.

Q: What's your idea about customer service? Why is it so important?

A: When customers shop in our store, they are not only buying products, but also enjoying a service. If the whole experience is enjoyable, they might come back to us again or tell their friends and families. It is ?word-of-mouth?. Then we build customer loyalty. Customer loyalty is so essential for a business, especially an online business. It is common that people are more suspicious to an online shop than to a physical shop. When we have got customers? trust, we can say we are recognized by them. The more customers trust us, the more we are known by the public, and the bigger our company will grow.

Q: What kind of service does your company provide?

A: I always tell my staff that ?always treat customers as your own friends, think for them and be honest to them.? We provide 90-day unconditional money-back policy, which means our customers can have refund for the jewelry they purchase from us within 90 days, and we won't ask any question for that. We provide free shipping for a purchase over US$70. Our service also includes fast delivery, fast enquiry reply and ?design your own style online?. If some customers find it difficult to contact us, we provide ?let us call you?.

Q: Do you think competitors can also copy services?

A: They can copy the way we do, but they can't copy our enthusiasm and spirit. Also, service is not invariable. We have a very intelligent and sensible team, who make so much effort to find out the changes of customer demands and provide timely new service to them. It is hard to copy.

Though not worldly well known yet, the popularity of Shecy Pearls online store has been growing by leaps and bounds. Only in one year's time, they have served 2,000 customers from over twenty countries.