Problem
Baesler's Market serves Terre Haute with an emphasis on selected zip code areas. It offers the traditional brands provided by most grocers, as well as private labels and many products produced in Indiana. Baesler's has a high and very positive brand recognition in the community and is known for its exceptional service and support of local organizations.

Baesler's strength is customer service, its single-store location and its ability to provide customers with specific product requests. Its vision is to grow its customer base and exceed customer expectations and experiences. This vision is supported by the store's mission to provide the best service in the grocery industry. Baesler's has one policy: “The customer is right and comes first.”

Baesler's competes directly with Kroger, Walmart , IGA and other local grocers. Indirectly, it competes with convenience stores. The grocery industry has experienced flat to negative growth and deflation in certain areas.

Baesler's knows that in order to grow its customer base, it must be progressive by offering specific services that other stores don't, such as cart washers, a self-serve orange juice maker and nut butter machine, an in-store chef and others. Baesler's also realizes that public relations is important to inform and educate consumers about these services, new products and product sampling. Realizing the need to communicate on a regular basis and researching cost-effective ways to communicate these messages, especially to core customers, the store considered reallocating some media dollars to focus more directly on core customers through Social Media.

Solution
Baesler's Market and MillerWhite Marketing agreed that using a Social Media platform would allow the store to build its own unique community and provide this group with information about services and products. To build this platform, a specific and targeted strategy was developed to drive customers to Facebook. Working with store personnel, MillerWhite administers the page, sharing specialty deli items, new products and services and other news. Facebook was selected because it allows one-on-one as well as shared communication. Once the strategy was in place internally, materials such as store window decals were created to promote Facebook to customers. The Facebook logo was used in all external promotions and on the web site, and press releases announced that the general public could find new product and service offers from Baesler's on Facebook.

Results
Today, Baesler's Facebook page has more than 2,500 “fans,” considered to be an unusually large number for an independent grocer with a single-store operation. Updates regularly receive thousands of impressions, and when they feature samplings of special or newly introduced products, it is not unusual for the item being sampled to sell out within the sampling period. One of these was Blue Bell Ice Cream, which was rolled out only through Facebook. A Valentine's Day special, chocolate-dipped strawberries, was promoted solely on Facebook and quickly sold out.