Client Feature: Gary Wyant, G.C. Wyant Fine Jewelry
By Jenn Clark
In the fall of 2015, we were approached by Gary Wyant of G.C. Wyant Fine Jewelry to collaborate in promoting and increasing raffle ticket sales for a cause near and dear to his heart: the eradication of breast cancer through preventative care and research.
Following the success of our assistance with the campaign he helped to start with the Indiana Regional Medical Center, known as the Love of Life, which helps improve technologies in the imaging center for early detection as well as care items for women undergoing treatment, he hired our agency to take on the task of handling the marketing of his own store, mainly through monthly promotions and social media management.
When we started with Gary, we knew he was no ordinary jeweler. Not only does he personally design more than 90 percent of what he sells in his shop, but he also handcrafts the pieces too. As an artist who also teaches high school art, he begins each piece with a vision, one that is difficult to ask someone else to create.
“Many times, in my industry, if you send something out to be done by someone else, it does not come back the way you want or something ends up going missing,” he said. “That’s why I value having hands-on control of the pieces and the settings.”
To that thought, he added that the company is experimenting with C.A.D., but handmade is “still always best.”
In addition, Gary does repair work in-house even if customers did not purchase the original piece from him. He’ll also remake or reconstruct designs, and the stones do not leave the store, which prevents valuable gems from going missing.
“One of the neatest things I’m working on now is a piece of jewelry I made [years ago] — I’m recreating the design and will sell it for people to buy themselves with their stone of choice. Not just that, but it will be affordable and created in sterling silver,” he said.
When you are as dedicated to and involved in your business as Gary is with his, it can be hard to put trust into another company to help with the business. For Gary, though, his motivating factor to do so was tapping into new advertising avenues that he initially knew nothing about.
“Things have changed in business so much even in the last 10 years,” he commented. “Social media was getting so much attention, and it was all people talked about. I had no idea how it worked, but I knew it was needed for business growth.”
And he was right. In the last couple years, Gary has experienced direct sales from social media marketing. Through our weekly meetings and updates, we have been able to teach him how it works. He recognizes it is a different way to market his business, and he can directly see it working, which provides him with a sense of relief.
“I am very glad I took the step to hire you [to manage this] because it has really helped my business.”
But, his reason to continue working with us was a pleasant surprise and goes well beyond the management of his promotions and social media; he maintained a business relationship with us because of the fresh ideas and what he calls a lack of fear.
“I used to have that and was not afraid to try something new. I’m more cautious now, but I didn’t use to be,” he said, laughing.
He mentioned he also continues using our services because he feels the team is professional and friendly.
“I really like how anytime a customer comes in, you introduce yourselves, and you’re always friendly. It comes naturally to you guys too.”
He said what he enjoys about working with us the most, though, is our honest input.
“Many people I work with are ‘yes’ people, but you guys give your opinions and honest input, and I like that,” he commented. “I don’t want someone to always agree with me. It makes it fun to brainstorm with you and have you guys provide a different point of view.”
And it’s been a joy working with Gary, too.
In the spring, we launched his new website, complete with an exclusive online store, which you can visit here. To help promote his new e-commerce store, we planned and help host a website launch party for Gary, which was, by far, one of the most fun projects we’ve had to date. Everything came together perfectly, and we could not have been happier with the results.
Additionally, we are honored to work with Gary with his breast cancer efforts for the third year in a row, and this year, Gary’s donated even more. He not only donated his thirteenth custom design, which changes each year with the theme, valued at $13,000 to the Love of Life campaign, but also a second custom diamond ring also valued at $13,000 for the DeAngelo Williams Foundation, a non-profit started by NFL running back DeAngelo Williams in honor of his mother. It’s amazing to watch him go through the process of drawing and creating a mold for these pieces that will be raffled off to raise money for these special breast cancer causes. In fact, this year’s designs mirror one another, and, when placed together, fit like a puzzle to represent the connection of communities coming together for one battle, hence the 2017 design name, “Strength in Numbers.”
From creating unique designs to helping breast cancer causes, Gary is a one-of-a-kind business owner that we respect and have fun working with. You can learn more about his fight against breast cancer and how you can be a part of it here: https://www.gcwyantfinejewelry.com/events.html.
