Page 286 - AMC January 2020

“WE WANTED A SHOWROOM WHERE OUR CUSTOMERS COULD COME IN AND SE” E, TOUCH, AND FEEL. CARRIE MARTIN After a few years of only ordering inventory online, Jeannie and Carrie were invited to an AmericasMart show by their RAZ reps. “We were afraid we’d be overwhelmed at first!” recalls Carrie. They initially started just visiting a handful of vendors, but eventually branched out to buy from other resources. Their vendor base has expanded to 15-20 companies, but Carrie still believes that it’s a good idea—especially for newer retailers—to start small and only order from a few vendors at first. And she likes to keep an open mind, believing that if you attend market with specific ideas of what you’ll looking for, “you’ll end up chasing rabbits.” Instead, she says, “we let the market tell us what we need.” While many of their customers know exactly how to decorate a wreath or tie a perfect bow, there are also plenty who don’t. Around 2012, The Trendy Tree released its first YouTube video tutorial, showing how to create a holiday wreath. Jeannie jokingly 268 | cringes to think how unprofessional those first videos are. “I was just flying by the seat of my pants!” she says. But she and Carrie grew more confident and professional with every video they filmed, and eventually added videos showing new products to help customers get a sense of the size of an item or how it can be used. Today they have more than 75,000 subscribers and a library of more than 400 videos. They monetize the channel with ad revenue. They also do Facebook Live sessions and are experimenting with YouTube Live sessions. Blog posts on the Trendy Tree website link to tutorial videos and include SKU numbers for the supplies; in some cases, a bundled kit is available with everything needed for the project. While it’s difficult to know exactly how a customer stumbles upon a website, the family is certain that the YouTube RAZ Imports videos have increased traffic and sales. “Customers will even sometimes make a comment, ‘I saw you on YouTube!’” says Jeannie. Last summer, The Trendy Tree took a big step: Carrie opened a 1,500-square-foot storefront in Pontotoc, Miss. The store now functions as a showroom for trimmed trees and other seasonal décor, and as a studio for the production of the videos. “When we go to market, we get to see all of those beautiful displays,” says Carrie. “We wanted a showroom where our customers could come in and see, touch, and feel.” The displays will change throughout the year, and most of the stock—which is only about one-third of what’s offered online—consists of premade goods and grab-and-go décor like ornaments. Customers can also order custom wreaths.