Russian Gift Company Experiences 50% Year Over Year Growth with ProStores
ProStores has taken our business to a whole new level. We're experiencing nearly 50 percent growth year-over-year.
David Hinderliter, Owner of www.greatrussiangifts.com
From Russia With Love
As a young girl in the Soviet Union, Irina Hinderliter was fascinated by nesting dolls-the beautiful wooden dolls that graduate in size and fit neatly into each other. Irina always knew there was an international appeal to these iconic Russian toys.
"After moving to America, I met my husband David and together we decided to start a business selling unique and authentic Russian gifts," Irina said. "We felt that a brick and mortar store limited us locally and had unnecessary overhead costs. Building an online store was the way to go."
David and Irina started GreatRussianGifts.com in 2002. Today, the couple sells over 500 unique items-including dozens of nesting dolls-to people around the world interested in Russian art and culture. But while customer demand has always been there, finding the right suppliers 6,000 miles away has become a continuous effort.
"We go to Russia every year and meet with new and existing suppliers to see their work and examine their capacities," Irina said. "We're constantly looking for new products and new ways to improve our importing methods. Everything we sell is handmade in Russia-we're very proud of this fact."
ProStores: Everything under one roof
Like many retailers, the busiest time of the year for David and Irina is the holiday season. Unfortunately, their first few Web-hosting vendors were unreliable at best, with GreatRussianGifts.com going down periodically for 20 minutes at a time.
"This is something we could not afford," Irina explained. "We shopped over 100 hosting companies and decided that ProStores stood above the rest. No one else out there knows about small business needs like ProStores. Not to mention they are extremely reliable. We could not be any happier with ProStores."
David and Irina found the strong business partner they were looking for in ProStores. They noted that while other Web-hosting companies just host, ProStores offers the entire spectrum of ecommerce solutions under one roof.
"It would take us hundreds of hours and cost thousands of dollars to do what ProStores does for us. The product feeds to the major shopping comparison sites. The SEO [search engine optimization] tools. The integration with PayPal and eBay. The hands-free inventory management. We use everything. If ProStores puts the effort in developing a tool for their customers, why not take it?" Irina added.
Spread the word
With 3,000 to 4,000 unique visitors each week, it's no wonder GreatRussianGifts.com stays so busy. David and Irina get great results from paid advertisements with Google AdWords and from the SEO tools provided by ProStores. They also find the ProStores traffic analytics to be valuable, with all the detailed numbers on one page.
"We call ProStores our great engine," Irina said. "They do the work of seven people. ProStores is flexible and easy to use, requiring no tech background. When we need help, incredible support is just a phone call away. ProStores has taken our business to a whole new level. We're experiencing nearly 50 percent growth year-over-year."
GreatRussianGifts.com works hard to stay on the minds of their customers, which is why nearly 40 percent come back.
"Constant Contact is an awesome service we found through ProStores," Irina said. "We send out two emails per month to our registered customers, always with an offer. It's important to remind your customers that you're out there and that you've got a deal just for them."
The sky is the limit
eBay is a one-of-a-kind marketplace where hundreds of millions of people go to buy and sell everything and anything. David and Irina had not sold on eBay before, but were interested in its potential to bring new customers. They just recently started integrating their inventory with eBay and are very excited with the results.
"ProStores helped us reach an entirely new group of buyers with eBay integration," Irina explained. "Listing our items on eBay is a seamless process-just a click away."
David and Irina are passionate about their business and are always looking for new ideas. The entrepreneurs recently opened GreatPuzzleShop.com with ProStores, selling 3-D puzzles and other educational toys for kids.
"We built this store in about a month, using SEO tools all the way. We're very comfortable with ProStores and are confident they will help us succeed again." Irina concluded.
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