If I’m honest, I don’t see what the big deal is.
I need my local council to spin up a train station within walking distance of my house on thedays I need to go into London. Then disassemble and move it 10 miles down the road on the days that I don’t. I’m yet to nail the details but I have enough on my plate keeping the UK economy afloat with my awesomeness.
If indeed there is a downside to living in the Cotswolds, it’s the fact that you’re not near to anything or anyone. This means that in the last few years, 4am starts and I have become intimately acquainted. That’s fine. It’s a small price to pay to have tweed on tap and to feel morally superior to the rest of the country.
So every trip into London involves a taxi to a train station which if I’m honest, I just loathe. Primarily because of the small talk, I’m not very good at it. It’s been scientifically proven.
It amuses me that the yellow pages are probably responsible for the fact that most cab firms begin with ‘A’. AAA Taxi’s, A1 Cabs, All Star Cars. Thankfully the invention of Google has basically meant those plans are now shot to sh***.
I always felt unnerved by their “Let your fingers do the walking” strap-line anyway. If that were our ethos, HR would be bat-s*** busy.
One London-bound day, after calling six different firms with just 30 minutes notice and then complaining they had no-one available, Alan from Andrea’s Cars turned up (More A’s than you could shake a phone directory at in his title).
I’ll hazard a guess that Alan is about 70, disarmingly polite, walks with the swagger of Robert De Niro (He has trouble with his hips) and his wrists are the thickness of my neck which means that I’m always polite back.
Seconds into the journey I liked Alan. Just enough small talk for me to feel assured that I wasn’t going to be found by a forensics team in the boot of his car but he also knew to be quiet when I started doing my email. Perfect, we like Alan already.
When we arrived at the station and I’d paid my bill, Alan delivered a one liner that has stayed with me three years later to the point that I’ve bothered to write this piece.
He said “If you go and get your train ticket, I’ll grab you a coffee”. That was it, that simple.
I’m British, so the dance of politeness ensued “There’s really no need, that’s very kind but no, you rest your hip, I’ll get you one. Allow me to clear your mortgage by way of a thank you…”
With that, Alan shook his head at me, patted me on the shoulder and swaggered off to buy me a coffee whilst I paid for my ticket.
Simple but very effective.
Why? Because in the history of catching trains, nobody has ever arrived at a station with time to spare. It is train law that the queue must be long, the machines can’t be working and the person in front of you and their inability to work a chip and pin machine is the sole reason why jail time starts to look an appealing alternative to commuting.
Then enter Alan from stage right, delivering a cup of coffee to make sure you don’t run the risk of missing your train and ensuring your journey is warm, caffeinated, with the added bonus of no nasty waiting-room assault charges looming.
I love that man. I love that he gets me coffee and I don’t care if you judge me for being that shallow because I’ve done and said much worse.
Now you may be thinking, what a ridiculous build up for one sodding sentence but I have news for you. Alan is way smarter than me and probably way smarter than you.
Have I used another cab firm since? Have I f***. Do I end up buying him a cup of coffee most days? I do as well, the sneaky clever bastard.
Our existing customers excepted, I meet many organisations every week that have their own version of Alan’s cup of coffee and they almost all tell me that they’re their own ‘best kept secret’ which is of course a euphemism for ‘We’re s*** at marketing ourselves’.
I never get why being your own best-kept secret is heralded as a badge of honour because in reality, it should be your passport to the corporate naughty step with a ban on social media unless accompanied by a grown up.
Having your ‘cup of coffee’ is one thing. Getting lots of people talking about it is something else. Digital or otherwise, that’s bloody good marketing.
Alan doesn’t pummel me with taxi propaganda, he doesn’t email me reminding me that he drives the same car as he did the previous week (but now it’s shinier). Nor does he bombard me with reasons why he’s cheaper than AAAAA Cabs.
He makes himself available to me and I know exactly what value he brings. He can do this without a digital content marketing strategy and so can you if you’re a Cotswold cabbie…..
If you work in almost any other market and plan to accomplish the same thing without creating engaging content in the digital world….trust me, you’ll need a plan B.
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