The
Toronto Star writes on local jewellery designer and small business owner, Jennifer Shigetomi. Shigetomi specializes in handcrafted rings and necklaces which she designs and sells as at her North Toronto store
Matsu Jewellery. Because her pieces tend to cost more than the competition--due to the fact that she handcrafts each one--Shigetomi employs social media to explain to her customers the work that goes into each unique creation.
"When your product costs twice as much as the competition's, making a sale takes a little more convincing. For Jennifer Shigetomi, it's probably the hardest part of running a small, independent business."
"I spend a lot of time educating people as to why it costs so much," says Shigetomi. "There's a big difference between something that's hand-crafted to order and something that gets put out by a machine."
"Getting the word out has been a lot easier thanks to social media, she adds. Although she's done some advertising in magazines, she doesn't have the budget to do it as often as she'd like. Instead, she updates her Facebook page with her latest projects or sends out tweets when she's appearing at trade shows".
"I've really only been doing it for the last year or so, but it's been great. A lot of our business is really word of mouth, so when somebody 'likes' our Facebook page, all of their friends see it, and it's like a stamp of approval," says Shigetomi, who estimates about 80 per cent of her customers come from client referrals."
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Toronto Star