Every company has a different vision for itself, and different ideas of growth and progress. However, a closer look at the working methodology of successful companies reveals there are some rules, some procedures that all of them follow, regardless of whether they have a long history, or whether they are start-ups. Some of it is basic boilerplate stuff – personal involvement, frequent interaction with staff, a finger on the pulse of the market, an eye on the competition, et al. But there is more to it, and much of it is indefinable. It’s just some things some companies do, and others don’t.Here’s a look at how a cross-section of jewellery companies has charted the growth path, and the factors that constitute their paradigm of success.

ENGAGING IN PROACTIVE BEHAVIOUR

Successful companies are generally a step ahead of their competition, and they read the market trends well in advance. Says Deepankar Jain, Nikkamal Jewellers, Ludhiana, “An entrepreneur’s job is not limited to setting up a new business. It involves many things. The attributes that a successful entrepreneur has include the ability to take initiative, bring about change, initiate a new activity, pull off something that others have not thought of. Successful entrepreneurs are risktakers and visionaries, who are open to new ideas, who adapt to new technologies, and are experimental. An entrepreneur's most obvious challenge is raising sufficient capital to launch a business. The unobvious challenge is sustaining the business and building a brand with the right branding and marketing because it takes years and decades to build a brand.”

TRAINING THE STAFF
Corporate visionaries know that their staff and employees are an asset, and that they need to train them in the modern ways of doing business. Successful companies know that training is not an unnecessary expense, but an investment that will give good returns. “I feel our industry has not done enough to initiate staff training programmes,” says Raghava Rastogi, Jugal Kishore Jewellers, Lucknow. “Other industries have done more in this regard, initiating fairly regular training of their employees. Companies do not always understand the importance of training their staff – they think of it as a waste of money. It’s the same attitude that corporates had to social media till about five years back, that it is an unnecessary expense. Corporates urgently need to understand how important staff training is, and allocate resources and time to the activity,” he adds.

DISSEMINATING INFORMATION
Equipping employees with critical information about the company’s products and its working is key to the success of the company. Granted, everyone does not
need to know everything, but unnecessarily withholding information for fear of it passing on to the wrong set of people has caused many companies to be very secretive about their products, markets, processes, and so forth. Says Rastogi, “One should invest in staff and equip them with more information, because very often, important information about the merchandise is limited to the top brass – the owners and two or three employees, who are procuring and who are selling. Much of the staff is not equipped with the requisite knowledge,so they are not able to showcase the company product with the same efficiency as those in the know. This way, a company is denying them an opportunity to grow and learn, and be the best they can. Not training employees, not educating them is so counterproductive. Eventually, power is centralized in two to three employees and that is when office politics starts.”

An entrepreneur’s job is not limited to setting up a new business. It involves many things. The attributes that a successful entrepreneur has include the ability to take initiative, bring about change, initiate a new activity, pull off something that others have not thought of. An entrepreneur's most obvious challenge is raising sufficient capital to launch a business. The unobvious challenge is sustaining the business and building a brand., DEEPANKAR JAIN
Nikkamal Jewellers, Ludhiana

FORMULATING SOUND BUSINESS PLANS
Planning is one of the most important business activities, and those who plan well often succeed in their enterprise. However, planning has to be practical, and the ideas have to be implementable. Every now and then, management and staff engage in protracted meetings, discussing business strategy and sales plans. But if the ideas put forth are such as cannot be put into practice, planning is a waste of effort.

Providing his perspective, Saurabh Gadgil, PNG Jewellers, Pune, says, “Always look at numbers, statistics, data and Powerpoint presentations with practical inputs and advice from industry seniors and veterans, for what may look good on  paper may not be feasible in reality. One has to learn to be judicious while making projections. The business plan hinges on sound inputs and implementable ideas.”

FOCUSING ON STRENGTHS
Every organization is unique, and has its own strengths and weaknesses. A successful company does a SWOT analysis every now and then, and spends more time and effort on its strengths in order to maximise its return on investment. Explains Saket Keshri, Ratnalaya Jewellers, Patna, “Replicating the strategy of a bigger company or your competitors isn’t wise.For example, if a big chain store gives a full-page ad, you don’t necessarily have to do the same. A company should look at its own business plan and innovate, rather than replicate. If your budget doesn’t allow a full-page ad, don’t go for it, rather try to look for means that can help you reach a bigger audience at lower costs. Don’t just add something to your business because the feature looks cool; find out whether it is useful or not. Cool wears off, but useful doesn’t. Adds Gadgil, “Business managers should not speculate and waste their energy and time in copying somebody else in their business model or strategy, as what works for your competitor may not work for you. One has to find one’s own niche, potential and calibre, and discover one’s true colours to shine through. Each business is unique and one has to understand one’s weaknesses and focus on building from that. Besides, one should always have a Plan B. Challenges for a business come from different directions and unknown areas. It is always judicious to have a back-up plan ready.”

RENDERING CUSTOMER SERVICE
Successful companies often have a special connect with their customers. They know that a happy customer means sound business, and they focus on customer service in a big way, paying equal attention to aftersales service. Says Jithendra Vummidi, Vummidi Bangaru Jewels, Chennai, “Customer service isnot only about doing the big thing right. It is about doing the small things right too. It is about understanding human sentiments and not letting down customers in any way. Customer service is very, very important business, and is treated as sacred. In the jewellery industry, it has an added importance and successful jewellers always keep customer sentiments in mind, and never hurt them.”
 

INNOVATING
Innovation is an allencompassing activity – it is limited only by the imagination. Innovation means many things – it’s not only about introducing new collections and spending on marketing and promotions. It’s also about simple things such as coming up with a unique way to render aftersales service, remembering customers, complimenting them, wishing them on important occasions, going the extra mile for an employee who is not well, or is going through a rough patch, catering to the special needs of a physically-challenged employee, adopting technology in a way that is best-suited to the company’s needs, and so forth.

Says Keshri, “We all have a misconception that innovation has to be on the product Itself but innovation can be applied to how a product is marketed,packed, delivered, and priced, or a series of other elements that enhance the customer experience. It can also be about how a company implements technology. Technology at the backend will make employees productive and technology at the front-end will make the customer experience seamless.”

Innovating can also mean sacrificing a gain in order to focus on the bigger picture. Explaining this, Sumeet Anand, Punjabi Saraf Jewellers, Indore, says, “Sometimes, to achieve something, you have to sacrifice something else. Some years back, we opened a new store in Indore. We wanted it to be a boutique store, and we decided not to stock basic yellow jewellery in this store, even though it was a trending item. We wanted to position ourselves as proponents of design, concept and exclusivity. Not including yellow jewellery in our flagship store resulted in a lot of clients getting filtered, but we persisted with our plan. We showcased a good chunk of antique, polki and diamond jewellery, and ultimately, we successfully built a different category of clientele for our products. So, the lesson learnt was that if we have to achieve something big, we have to sacrifice something.”

Replicating the strategy of a bigger company or your competitors isn’t wise. For example, if a big chain store gives a full-page ad, you don’t necessarily have to do the same. A company should look at its own business plan and innovate, rather than replicate. Don’t just add something to your business because the feature looks cool; find out whether it is useful or not. Cool wears off, but useful doesn’t. , SAKET KESHRI Ratnalaya Jewellers, Patna

Sometimes, to achieve something, you have to sacrifice something else. Some years back, we opened a new store in Indore. We wanted it to be a boutique store, and we decided not to stock basic yellow jewellery in this store, even though it was a trending item. We wanted to position ourselves as proponents of design, concept and exclusivity. Ultimately, we successfully built a different category of clientele for our products.,SUMEET ANAND Punjabi Saraf Jewellers, Indore

DEFINING SUCCESS
Success means different things to different companies. For some, it might be about having a healthy bottomline, for others, national and international presence, and some may be content with having happy customers.

As Ishu Datwani, Founder, Anmol Jewellers, says, “For us, our most significant achievements are the rewards that we get in the form of compliments from our customers on a daily basis. These clients come to us with renewed faith and trust. It is the satisfaction and trust we see in the clients’ eyes when they deal with Anmol which matters the most to us, and which is our yardstick of success. I feel the most important asset which any jeweller should treasure is his/her reputation, and the faith and trust that customers repose in a particular brand. In that sense, we are very happy that we do have a lot of satisfied clients.”

To conclude, there is no single measure of success. A company is successful if it has achieved its objectives and goals, no matter what they might be. It’s as simple as that! Other industries have done more with regard to training, initiating fairly regular training of their employees. Companies do not always understand the importance of training their staff – they think of it as a waste of money.

For us, our most significant achievements are the rewards that we get in the form of compliments from our customers on a daily basis. It is the satisfaction and trust we see in the clients’ eyes when they deal with Anmol which matters the most to us, and which is our yardstick of success. I feel the most important asset which any jeweller should treasure is his/ her reputation, and the faith and trust that customers repose in a particular brand. We are very happy that we do have a lot of satisfied clients. ISHU DATWANI Founder, Anmol Jewellers, Mumbai