Introduce your business and tell us your story: How did you decide on what to sell, and how did you source your products?
Tucker & Bloom is a family business with over 30 years in the bag industry. Our bags and leather goods are refined and constructed at a factory in Nashville, utilizing locally and nationally sourced, ethically responsible materials.
We puttered around on custom website platforms for years, wasting money, and pulling out hairs before discovering Shopify. The switch made all the difference for us. We are truly grateful to have such a powerful platform at our disposal.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
We get most of our sales through direct traffic.
Spending time on your blog can be really helpful to bring traffic. Just keep in mind that traffic to your blog rarely converts directly into sales and can throw off your conversion rate. Content is the name of the game; getting links to your site from blogs and related sites is a huge part of getting good traffic and generating sales!
Tell us about the back-end of your business. What tools and apps do you use to run your store? How do you handle shipping and fulfillment?
As a company that was on a custom platform in the past, the app store and support that Shopify provides is a blessing.
App wise, we use Linc Care to handle some of the customer service emails, AfterShip for tracking, and Lucky Orange to track how customers interact with our website. There are tons of great review apps which help build buyer confidence (we use Kudobuzz).
What are your top recommendations for new store owners?
Getting started online takes time. Focus on building a site that is easy to use, and make sure you provide good content for Google and other search engines. Doing giveaways on social media and through blogs helps to bring good traffic as well. As you grow, just remember that taking care of existing customers is more important than getting new customers. Good word travels slow but bad news travels fast!
Also, don't be afraid to try out new apps. You never know what might help save you time and money.