Audience of One
There is a perceived wisdom in marketing a brand … that somehow ‘scale’ is the goal, the nirvana. Bigger is better.
We ran a small high street business. Every day — in those tough early days — we watched people walk past our door. And then they walked back the other way with their bags filled to overflowing with stuff from the shop next door.
At least once a week we’d mutter:
If only we could grab 3% or 4% or maybe (on the greedy days) 5% … {see also, other random percentages) of their customers, we’d be laughing
We’d heard all that stuff about ‘scale’, you see.
Big is better … start small, scale up … growth = success. We assumed that was where we needed to head. That doing so would somehow make us ‘better’.
Just under a year after we opened, I attended the DO Lectures, an ideas festival held on a small farm in West Wales
It was hugely influential, cementing a marked shift in our thinking.
Speakers talked of purpose … why they did things rather than the size of what they were doing.
People spoke of human connections; nobody lumped their audiences into an amorphous mass … everyone who spoke thought of their community in terms of individual needs and preferences.
Simon Wright, the restaurateur spoke. His words struck a particular chord:
My place isn’t for everyone, but that’s ok
Not for everyone? Fewer people, not more?
You bet your marketing budget.
We focused on our ‘Audience of One’
If folk don’t get your thing, it’s probably just not for them.
This is fine because there is a place just down the road — probably in your town — which is made for them. Guide those folk to that place with a smile on your face. Get back to focusing on your crowd; your thing is for them. Those other guys head off happy while you put everything into creating awesome times for your folk.
Simple ideas changed everything.
We narrowed things down. Handpicked our stock; worked with producers who had passion and purpose. We stayed small but made ourselves different.
We created a place that we really wanted to hang out in.
Here’s the thing, people started hanging out with us.
We removed tables from our ‘secret garden’ … we catered for fewer folk … but that meant that the people who came and hung out had the best time. They got our full attention.
They told their friends; their friends came.
Our audience built; slowly; gently; organically.
When we tried new things, people were curious. They knew the sort of things we did … and they had already decided it was for them.
We had found our audience and they had found us.
Small …
… not big
Learnings
‘Audience’ is the wrong word
‘Audience’ is a rounded-up term; it is a collective. It is impossible to build a relationship with a group, but you can definitely build connections and establish a rapport with individuals. We spent time making things personal. Book a table for brunch on a Sunday and it’s yours, from the time we open until the moment we close; turn up when you are ready. Hang out as long as you like; we don’t want to sweat that table — we want you to have the best time possible. And on each table, a handwritten sign with your name on it … your table. Personalised. A one-to-one moment.
Make yourself part of the story
Shortly after that DO Lectures gathering that changed our perspective so sharply, we started to scribble pictures on the A-board outside the shop. There was a stick man with a silly-looking beard and a quiff (‘Mr Deli’) and a pretty girl with curls in her hair and a skirt (‘Mrs Deli’).
We characterised the business around us.
We were fun, approachable, engaged; and consistent; the people who spoke to customers at the deli spoke with the same voice used on our social media. Why wouldn’t they; they were us. Too many folk try and manufacture a social media presence, one that is about who and what they think they should be, rather than who they actually are. Your crowd will spot it if you pretend.
No one hangs out for long with people who fake it.
Share other people’s stories
From Day One, we celebrated other people’s stuff. We had a rule — 80% (of our time spent) on other folk’s stories — and 20% on ours.
Why?
Handpick the producers and makers you choose to have on your shelves and you will have limitless supplies of great tales to recount.
Celebrate what people are doing … 1. because it is a good and generous thing to do and 2. because each of those producers has an audience which you are immediately plugged into. The ripple effect is powerful. You say nice things, consistently, over time, about people you like and admire, and folk will tune in.
People will see the kind of person you are and they will repay you in kind.
Stay Positive
Your place should make a positive difference to the folk who visit. They want it to be a place of refuge; a counter to the bad day they might be having. You want to create a place that makes them feel good. And not just when they come through the door.
Also when you post the picture of Mrs Deli’s muffins {cue giggle at the back of the class} … when you show off the cheese board you’re sharing for supper; that blog post about your trip out to learn about your gin distiller, the book you read, the place you stayed, the restaurant you ate at.
Gather up the positives and share them. All the time.
People will remember you for the light you shine into their world.
Long after you shut the shop to create some room for new ideas, your crowd will still be with you. Curiosity about ‘what comes next’ is curiosity about you and your next thing because they trusted and liked you doing your old thing.
How do you know that you’ve found your audience?
Because each and every week, someone, just one person — or two — or six … will send you an e-mail shortly after you sent out your newsletter, still going 3 years after you closed the deli.
They’ll talk to you, one-to-one, and you will reply, just to them. Not to an anonymous ‘audience’. You will respond directly to that person who took the trouble to connect with you.
You’ll reply to Martin, Janey, and Christine … Harry will send you interesting links … Stefan will be totally blown away that you included his poem in one week’s newsletter and he’ll urge his friends to check you out.
That’s human connection.
One-to-one.
Shining a light into people’s lives and having it reflected right back.
Focus on an audience of one …
… they are THE most important person to you and your ambitions.
You Might Have Missed
10 things we learned from over 150 Encouragement Sessions
Pebbles in the Pond
… ripples of encouragement
Stefan Powell is an artist and a coach, who has all the skills to throw in some barista training too. He is on a mission to “help people lead better lives” from his base at The Little Boat Studio on the Isle of Wight. Values-driven; a top ‘encourager’.
Freelancer Magazine is the creation of founder Sophie Cross and designer Ange Lyons; it is, at its heart, a community bound together by the generosity of the advice and inspiration between the covers of every issue.
Excellent write-up and good philosophy. Stay positive, encourage and be true to yourself.
The 80/20 split can be difficult at times, and right now I'd rather focus on finishing my novel instead of doing that only 20% of the time, but it is essential to have and nurture community.
And re: "No one hangs out for long with people who fake it." Vincit Omnia Veritas.
I resonate with everything you wrote! I took two classes in college where we learned about the importance of personalized customer experience and cultivating excellent relationships with employees, customers, the community. That stayed with me. I had a favorite bakery cafe I used to go to. The owner and staff were lovely, even made a friend. It was my second home. I was heartbroken they closed recently.