My dad passed a few years ago at the young age of 96. I was the youngest of 8 children– a large family that all helped in the business. With Father’s Day coming, I have been thinking about how he ran a thriving small town grocery business. He and my mother were great at marketing, and I wonder how they would have done in this age of digital SEO, social media and websites.

Here are some of the clever marketing tools Vince and Caroline used:

• They raffled off a car filled with groceries at the grand opening. I don’t think it was a new car, but customers came in from around the whole county to get a chance at it.
• Mom would design ads, and the kids would help print them on a hand crank printer.
• When fresh pears and apricots came out for the season, Dad would stack them along the front of the store to entice people to stop. (fruits and vegetables used to be sold “in season” instead of year round)
• Our family provided 4th of July fireworks for the town.
• Every year at Christmas, they would bring in Santa, who gave out bags of candy and fruit to the children while the parents shopped.
• Home grocery delivery is not new with Amazon and Sprouts. Frei Mercantile delivered groceries to the surrounding communities every Friday afternoon.
• Vince would take a local customer’s meat list, give them a few bucks to go have a drink at the bar across the street, and have the order ready when they came back.

Back in the day, my dad was known across multiple counties for his beautiful store, quality meats, and great deals. Today, Vince would have been a celebrity. He would have created a commercial, video testimonials, and had the kids posting to Facebook and Instagram. And maybe a drone for grocery delivery to the local farmers.

Now go get creative with your marketing ideas!