Sunday, February 5, 2012

Marketing Tip: What a convience store taught me about social media marketing (SMM)



How would you like to get more customers?

They say that the STRONGEST marketing is done by word of mouth, and I got a reminder of that this past week.

Sometimes, the best lessons for social media marketing (SMM) is provided by examples outside of the Internet.

During this past week, I've discovered a small place with HUGE service.

This is a little dumpy looking wine shop/convenience store, called Graceland Wine Shopped in White Lake, Michigan.  For those who live close to it, is on M-59, by the new Kohl's store.

The Graceland Wine Shoppe in White Lake, MI customer service earns its great word of mouth advertising.

For years, I kept passing it.  I was curious, because I really like good quality gyros, and they post a sign in their window advertising that they serve it.  However, I would only think of this place when I was on my way to another place.

This past week, I did some work at the White Lake Twp Library.  The library happens to be within walking distance of this Graceland Wine Shoppe.  (Truthfully, I never actually knew the NAME of this shop before going inside it.)

I stopped in there, because I decided to FINALLY try this gyro sandwich that kept teasing my curiosity for years.

I didn't take long for me to realize my mistake: I didn't go in there YEARS EARLIER.

The owner, David Sharak, greets you with a warmth that is usual for ANY store, much less a convenience store.  He takes time to ASK you your name, and he REMEMBERS it.

David makes sure that you feel comfortable while you are in the store.

He will ask you what you want on it.  He makes it clear that you can have your sandwich, pizza, grinder, reuben, etc, any way you want--no charge, no hassle.

I took a bite of my gyro sandwich, and I knew that I had another distraction in life that would make it even harder for me to eat "right."  Oh, did I mention that he gave me a piece of his gyro meat--even BEFORE I bought?

That was a few days ago.

Today, I called the store to order a Chicago style deep dish stuffed pizza.  I placed the order, and I had to ask him whether I should leave a phone number.  He said, "No!"

When I went in there to pick up the pizza, David remembered my name.  Not only that, he remembered that I ordered the gyro a few days earlier.

This just didn't apply to me.  Each customer who came into his store, he greeted them by name.

By the way, the pizza was absolutely delicious and well stocked with toppings, just like the gyro.

Do you think that this guy has ANY problem getting people to brag about his business (at Graceland Wine Shoppe)?

He provides excellent product, but his customer service is even better.

Word-of-mouth advertising is the offline equivalent of social media marketing.

For those of you who use social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, this could be a great reminder of how you can provide your own word-of-mouth advertising by providing great service to people.

...and NO, there isn't any pizza left for me to share...I'm eating that tomorrow!

To see more Marketing Ideas, visit Chris' Marketing Ideas.

To visit The Ultimate Analyst company website click HERE.


1 comment:

Hey there! Thank you for taking time to read my post and share your thoughts with me and my other readers. I'm always tickled when I get a non-SPAM comment. Honestly, sometimes I'm even okay with some borderline SPAM.

Let me know if you would like for me to address a topic by sending me an email at Chris@TheUltimateAnalyst.com.

Thanks, again. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Chris