Our Google Business Profile has been helpful for increasing our visibility to new and existing customers.
Suzanne Bednarchik
Founder
Suzanne Bednarchik grew up sewing, but enthusiastically converted to quilting in her 20s. “I loved picking out colors and fabrics and patterns. Just absolutely loved it,” she says. She fulfilled a dream in 2019, when she retired early from an HR career to open her shop, The Quilting Bee. The shop sells everything quilters need, both online and in-store, with quilting services making up about 30 percent of their business. The Quilting Bee opened just in time to welcome customers turning to hobbies when the pandemic hit. “People had time to clean out closets and sewing rooms, and were discovering UFOs–unfinished objects,” jokes Suzanne. “That’s what drove our longarm quilting business.” The store attracts locals as well as out-of-staters visiting Greater Cleveland and nearby Lake Erie.
Kathleen Repko, Suzanne’s sister, is The Quilting Bee’s operations director. She uses their Google Business Profile to increase the store’s visibility and direct visitors to the website; many customers also use the call feature to reach the shop. To get product photos onto their Business Profile as well as on Search and Maps, Kathleen chose Pointy, a tool that scans each product’s UPC code and uploads a photo. Local shoppers can see what’s available, and Kathleen can see what people are searching for and adjust keywords accordingly. And with support from Google Ads, The Quilting Bee’s sales are growing by an average of 46 percent a year. Suzanne is now planning to expand to allow space for classes and open sewing and quilting sessions. “I called it The Quilting Bee because I love the idea of women getting together back in pioneer days,” she explains. “It’s amazing to me the ideas they shared and the education and enlightenment that occurred around a quilting frame.” Using her shop to build a community is a tribute to that tradition.