Atomic Penny

Luis, an older Hispanic gentleman approached me about a year ago while I was filling my car at the local gas station. He walked right up to me and stated, ” Those are nice shoes. When you need them shined give me a call”. He proceeded to give me his card and moved on to another person at the gas station.

When I look back on that incident, I really have to take my hat off to Luis. He knows his market, he knows his target audience and he knows where to find his audience when they have time to listen to him. His approach was more effective than newspaper, TV or a bill board.

What was even more astonishing was the fact that he had a great marketing plan and other than the cost of his business cards, he did not have a large marketing outlay. When I took my shoes in, he was very busy, but took the time to greet me, and he remembered my shoes. I was impressed!

The thing that Luis did not know was the day he approached me was the first day I had worn the shoes and I felt they were a little too shiny and new looking. Luis saw my shoes and did not see a new pair of shoes that didn’t need a shine. He saw a future customer.

As a friend of mine says, “It’s all about the shoes”. 

What a great use of unconventional marketing. Luis used traditional face-to-face marketing to meet his customers. He was unconventional in his approach. He complimented my shoes, not my car, not a big sales pitch. But a simple straightforward message that complimented his prospects, asked for business and did not interrupt anyone in the process. Sometimes it is about the shoes! Or the marketer wearing them.