Here’s a pretty remarkable marketing story about using Twitter to promote your small business from a Portland, OR company that’s taken the local foodcart world by storm.
The Whiffies pie cart, started up by a fellow named Greg Abbott, was recently awarded the Willamette Week’s Readers Choice Award for Best Food Cart in 2009. According to Greg, there were a lot of “sour faces” in the room when his name was announced. Why you ask? Well, the Whiffies cart has only been around for just over 8 weeks. Not bad!
In those 8 weeks, Whiffies has been using Twitter and the power of word of mouth as the sole method of marketing their pies. In fact, it was at a “tweatup” organized by @whiffies followers on twitter that I first got to experience the Whiffies goodness. My expectations were high, since everything I had seen pointed to excellence in pie makery. I must say, I wasn’t dissapointed! The raspberry pie I chowed on was delicious. My wife had an apple pie, and it was apparently equally delicious.
One thing I thought was pretty creative was the way Whiffies uses twitter to interact with their followers and even send out their daily menu. By using the hashtag #whiffiesmenu you can see what the latest offerings will be. Today’s lineup includes: BBQ Brisket, Franks & Beans (vegan and no-vegan available), double choc creme, lemon creme, apple, raspberry.
I was told by a loyal Whiffies fanatic that in the beginning, Greg’s goal was to sell 100 pies per day but since things have been going so well he’s been averaging well over 200 per night. To me, this is a perfect example of how Twitter, when paired with a great product or service, can be used most effectively.
