Furniture Store's Facebook Frenzy: Would You Share to Buy?

Every small business dreams of getting noticed, but marketing can be wildly expensive, and not every shop has the budget for it.

Enter the innovative entrepreneurs: A furniture store in Kfar Saba recently made waves on social media by finding a creative way to market itself through its customers.

The store owner set a condition for purchasing his discounted products: Want to buy our stuff? No problem. To do so, you must photograph the product you bought, upload it to your Facebook page, and tag the store where you purchased it.

Sound crazy? That's exactly what happened to C., who tried to buy a table there. "Before going, I called to check if the table was in stock. I drove over, saw the table, and asked if I could buy several. They said I could buy only one," which led to an argument with the salesperson.

"I asked why it mattered if I bought five tables or if a friend came in and bought one as well? They said, first post a picture on Facebook, then you can pay. I thought he was joking," she said.

As she took the table to checkout, the saga truly began when another customer nearby revealed she didn't have a Facebook account. According to C., the salesman tried everything to "convince" her to post on Facebook. He first asked who in her family had Facebook, and upon learning her sister did, he made her call her sister to ask her to post the picture. "He waited until she showed him the post on her phone," C. recounted in an interview with 'Mako.' "It was so humiliating, she eventually gave up on the purchase. Their need for publicity might backfire if they behave like this."

One of the salespeople told 'Mako' that the directive to advertise the store and products on Facebook comes from higher up. It's essentially a sales condition. "The promotions we advertise, like tables and such, are items we lose money on, so we want the customer to give us a shout-out and gain exposure. What's wrong with them appreciating our prices?", he asks.

What's your take?