MESH Develops New iPad App for Lee Michaels
“Five C’s” App Demonstrates the Need for Meaningful Apps in a Meaningless App World
“Baton Rouge, LA—MESH recently developed and released a new iPad app for local and familyowned jeweler, Lee Michaels. The app, which is primarily for use by the jeweler’s sale team during bridal consultations, walks customers through “The Five C’s” of how to properly select the best diamonds.
“Initially we came to MESH wanting to create a unique way for our associates to better engage and educate customers on how to buy a diamond,” said Amy Graham, Advertising Manager for Lee Michaels Fine Jewelers. “With our Diamond Buying Guide app, we got just that as well as a resource that clients can access on their own. We are excited to be one of the first in our industry to create an educational tool and bridal experience for our customers utilizing this advanced technology.”
More than 750,000 apps are available for download to date through Apple and Android services alone, leaving little doubt that the app movement is going away any time soon. But with the average app user downloading a total of 40 apps according to a 2010 Neilson survey, the question remains, how many of those apps enjoy regular use? Without a meaningful purpose for users, many apps get downloaded, used a handful of times and then carefully tucked away to collect proverbial dust.
“There exists a tendency for companies to think, ‘We need an app, because it’s a cool new medium,’ without really thinking about if an app is appropriate for them,” said Taylor Bennett, Partner and Creative Director at MESH. “If it doesn’t help increase your sales, customer base, or enhance brand awareness then there’s really no need to have one. The app created for Lee Michaels was really an exception to that because it is both a sales and educational tool. It will enhance the customer experience and add credibility to the brand.”
In the app, customers can actively move scales to show them the various diamond quality measures at every level, differentiating it from other jeweler apps, which tend to be more stagnant. The Five C’s displayed on the app are defined by Lee Michaels as:
- Color—The highest quality of diamonds are colorless and exhibit no hues of yellow
- Cut—When diamonds are cut either too shallow or too deep, they lose their brilliance and value
- Clarity—Measured by inclusions, which are minute imbedded crystals or other minerals MESH Develops New iPad App (cont.) trapped in the diamond during formation, diamonds with a low number of inclusions are considered more valuable
- Carat—The overall weight and size of the diamond
- Confidence—Explained by Lee Michaels as the necessary confidence buyers must have in their jewelers and the quality of the final product
“There were other apps out there that covered diamond buying guides, but the presentation was cluttered and full of too much information,” said Bennett. Production on the new Lee Michaels app, which was recently completed, will be available for Apple users in the Apple app store in early December. The app and its full functionality will also be available through the redesigned Lee Michaels e-commerce site, which is scheduled to go live in November.