Case Study: Sparkle Up Collection’s 70% Growth with Virtual Employee

About our client

Michigan’s Favorite Jewelry Store

Run by Lafonda Johnson & based in Detroit, Sparkle Up Collection is an online jewelry store. Sparkle Up Collection started in 2015, and has served over 10,000 customers over 6 years. They are a seller of Paparazzi Jewelry, a brand that sells affordable jewelry, starting at $5.

Lafonda Johnson, owner of Sparkle Up Collection

Requirement

“Get Me Online”

Sparkle Up Collection jewelry showcased with 'Get Yours' tagline

Lafonda was selling jewelry offline. She had a small team that was popular in her community.

It served her well until it didn’t. The growth hit its cap. Because her market was wider than the local geography-bound area.

Offline was not enough.

She had a website, but it was just lying there with old images and unclear CTAs.

To grow, she realized, she needed to infuse a fresh shot of life into her neglected website.

To do that, she needed help from an expert.

To hire an expert, she came to VE.

Requirements:

Create social media accounts
Manage website orders
PPC Ads
Editing
Email

Resource

Monica – The Marketer

Lafonda thought she would need to hire multiple people to work on her requirements. But to her surprise, Monica said she could do everything by herself.

She comes with 5+ years of experience, knowledge of working with 20+ global brands and selling over US $3.5 million worth of products.

Monica was hired immediately.

Tasks

Sparkle Up Collection
is Open for Business

Monica’s 1st week’s task list looked something like this -

A. Set up a Facebook account

Sparkle Up Collection's Facebook interface for customer engagement

The latest image of Sparkle Up Collection’s Facebook home page.

B. List jewelry on Facebook Marketplace

Sparkle Up Collection leveraging Facebook Marketplace for sales

The latest product of Sparkle Up Collection’s Facebook.

C. Help Lafonda go live on Facebook.

Sparkle Up Collection hosting a Facebook Live jewelry sale

Stills of Facebook Live.

D. Run Facebook Ads.

Facebook Ads campaign driving traffic for Sparkle Up Collection

Challenge #1

Waiting Kills the Excitement

Facebook Live & Facebook Marketplace Icons

Lafonda had two main selling channels -

Facebook Live & Facebook Marketplace. They take orders via the comment box or through direct messaging.

The messages would pour in every day. Inquiring about products, placing an order, etc. But Lafonda and her team were unable to send prompt replies.

So, the time to reply often exceeded 48-72 hours.

This was enough to fizzle out the excitement.

Challenge #1

Fast – Grabs the Attention

Monica responded to each query – with speed and care.

Getting a response when buyers were ready to buy – helped keep the excitement alive.

It gave buyers clarity, built trust and cordial relationships.

It was everything someone could ever wish for from a brand with an online presence.

Challenge #2

Risk of Buyer’s Regret

In the age of online catalogues, it can become challenging for shoppers to visualize themselves wearing accessories shown on a web page.

Photographs may not show products from an angle customers may wish to see.

On top of that, Sparkle Up Collection’s jewelry is non-returnable. Unless found to be defective.

Naturally, there is a risk of ending up with buyer’s regret.

Solution #2

Make an Informed Decision

For a customer, the best way to avoid buyer regret is by connecting with the seller and asking all the relevant questions.

And make an informed purchase decision.

That’s where VE came into the picture.

Challenge #3

No New Listings Found

Lafonda would have a new and fresh collection. To suit the season and trend. But she was not able to list all her products. With all the captioning and adding search tags, it becomes a time-consuming process.

Sparkle Up Collection’s jewelry has a modest price of US $5. No new listings mean recurring customers will not buy anything. Customers like to see more pieces in their collection but were unable to do so.

Solution #3

Tags ✅ Captions ✅ Renewed Listing ✅

Monica painstakingly optimized every single listing.

She added relevant tags, based on location, jewelry type, occasion & more.

She wrote enticing captions and detailed descriptions.

And most importantly, frequently renewed listing. That way, the buyer always had new options.

Results

70% Growth & 100% Satisfaction

Monica’s 1st week’s task list looked something like this -

Facebook – Valuable Customer comments Sparkle Up

2X Listing

Monica made sure there were new listings every week. She updated them based on customer’s response, trends, seasons, and occasions.

283% Increase in Unique Visitors

When the customer felt cared for, when their questions were answered, and when they found new options to browse – the sales increased dramatically by 70%.