New Hampshire

When Craig and Kristin Jordan purchased the Gilford Village Store in 2024, they gained a piece of history. Since 1836, the store has served this idyllic Lakes Region community at the base of Gunstock Mountain. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid,” says Craig, a town native who also runs his family’s own ice cream shop. Kristin had managed restaurants both before and while in nursing school. So when the store came up for sale, the couple was up for the challenge. “We felt a sense of duty to dive into this adventure headfirst, and not just keep it going, but grow it,” Kristin says. They extended the store’s hours to seven days a week and updated their hours, directions, photos, reviews, and website link on their Google Business Profile to attract visitors. “Businesses like ours need digital marketing tools like this to share information, beyond word of mouth,” Craig says.

The store is now a blend of deli, bakery, coffee shop, internet café, general store, wine store, and gift shop–a meeting place for locals, families, and vacationers alike. The couple takes pride in stocking products from the region’s local farmers and artisans to create a truly “immersive experience,” Kristin says. She uses Google Workspace with Gemini to find ways to save time and money. “We’re a two-person team. We don’t have time for all this admin work,” Kristin notes. “I use Gemini in Google Sheets to dial in what things cost as we make menu changes, so we can account for those pennies, nickels, and dimes.” For example, Gemini can help to calculate and compare the cost to make various sandwiches as they plan their lunch menu. “We’ve barely scratched the surface of what it can do,” she says. They look forward to learning other ways Google AI tools can help them manage their operation, freeing up time to focus on customers. Says Kristin, “We love the potential the store has to become even more.”

With goats in the barn and ingenuity in their veins, the Waechter family started Joy Lane Farm as a kitchen table business. “My mom made soap to cover the costs of farm animals and taught me how when she moved overseas to be a nurse,” says Joel Waechter, who grew up in the Granite State. Joel and his wife, Katy, sold their goat milk soap by word of mouth and at farmers’ markets, expanding their product line to include lotions, lip balms, and candles. Soon, they set up shop in an historic mill building and ramped up production, selling products wholesale. In 2016, they quit their jobs to run the business full time. Then, in 2020, they faced what Joel calls “the pandemic scramble”: How to keep business rolling as stores and trade shows shut down? They relaunched their website and began selling products online. Despite challenges, the business grew and steadily gained customers outside the region. “We’d never done paid advertising before,” Joel says, “so we decided to try Google Ads.”

In March 2023, they began running Shopping campaigns on Google Ads. New customers discovered their wholesome, natural brand, intrigued by country air scents like lilac and northern birch. By year’s end, they saw a 180-percent increase in first-time buyers, with nearly 60 percent of engaged sessions coming from Google Shopping Ads. Now, they’re learning how to use the AI capabilities of Google Analytics 4 “to evaluate and grow customer lifetime engagement.” The family supports humanitarian causes, and they’re aiming to fully sponsor one nurse’s salary on Mercy Ships by 2027. They also want to buy a farm to consolidate operations, invest in new machinery, and hire more employees to keep up with demand. The road ahead looks bright. Says Joel, “Google Ads is our path to growth.”

Bill Becker co-founded Recordsforce with his wife, CFO Katja Becker, in 2001 to help businesses manage and digitize their documents and records. A microfilm expert, Bill envisioned a future free of paper records, and finding ways to make work easier. The couple’s early adoption of digital tools helped them build a thriving, in-demand business. “We’ve evolved as technologies have evolved,” says Bill. “We help other businesses succeed by eliminating the repetitive and manual tasks that slow them down.” Today, Recordsforce provides compliant, cloud-based document management services to some of New England’s biggest brands.

Recordsforce began using Gmail in 2004, adopting Google Workspace collaboration tools soon after. “Google Docs allows us to share records with each other,” Bill notes. “We use Google Sheets for our company budget and to track project status, Slides for customer presentations, and Forms for internal polls, such as a favorite songs playlist for music in the office.” Putting their message on Google Ads has boosted new business leads from 30 a year to about 30 a month. Google Analytics shows them exactly where these customer inquiries come from. With business booming, the company expanded the Portsmouth operations to a second production facility in Manchester in 2022. Recordsforce provides jobs to 140+ employees, infusing their “work better” philosophy into their own company culture. “We’re really proud of that,” says Bill. “We never envisioned this success when we started the company.” Now, they are expanding their services outside of the region and beyond the U.S. “Google is helping us go global,” says Bill, “...and put little New Hampshire on the map.”

Founded in 1928, Studley’s Flower Gardens is a family-owned florist, garden center, and landscaping company located in downtown Rochester, New Hampshire. They’ve grown their trusted reputation for nearly 100 years by being a good neighbor, while putting heart into every arrangement. Keeping that legacy alive are current owners, the Meulenbroeks—husband and wife Jeffrey and Molly, and Jeffrey’s brother, David. In 2003, when Studley’s launched their first website, Google Ads helped them expand their reach and compete more effectively with national brands. By the start of 2020, Studley’s had grown their social media presence and developed a robust e-commerce website, supporting all aspects of the business. The site’s wide, visually appealing assortment of flowers and plants helps customers find just the right choice for any occasion.

Cultivating an online presence proved fruitful when COVID-19 forced Studley’s physical storefront to temporarily shut down. Google Analytics provided valuable insights into website traffic—including which photos got the most clicks—giving Studley’s the business intelligence to plan their next moves. Because of their existing e-commerce capabilities, the company quickly transitioned to contactless pickup and delivery. “Easter was one of the busiest in years,” Molly recalls. “And then came Mother’s Day, and our online sales were nearly unprecedented.” In fact, digital sales tripled over the previous year. The company has always believed in giving back to the community that’s supported them for so long, and Molly is an active member of local historical and economic groups. Moving forward, Molly and her team hope to increase Studley’s national reach and implement new digital marketing strategies, using lessons learned during the pandemic. Still, they remain true to their roots. “Connecting with our community has always been what’s set us apart,” Molly says. “Google helps make sure we keep doing that in this rapidly changing digital world.”