My husband (who you may remember, for the purposes of my blog, is called Barry) and I like to frequent a certain coffee shop in town. If you like really good coffee, free and plentiful parking, a good atmosphere and friendly staff…then you should go there. If you don’t like dogs in a coffee shop, queuing behind a long line of sweaty cyclists at 11am on the weekend, or service that is a teensy bit slower than you’re used to…then don’t.
Barry and I have been going to Rave for about 6 months. It’s a popular place, even during a working day, but it’s big enough to cope. They do a good range of eats, which I try to avoid but fail dismally, and the coffee is the best. But bigging up Rave isn’t the point of this blog – it’s just background.
I’ll get to the point.
Recently, we noticed that Rave were looking for a new Café Manager. “Ooh good”, says Barry, “maybe the coffee delivery will speed up a bit.” A few weeks later we went in for breakfast and were greeted by a new server who exuded the air of a new manager. We ordered two bacon baguettes with ketchup (don’t judge me) and asked him to hold the salad.
Who wants salad with their breakfast bacon baguette? But that’s not the story either.
He expressed surprise that we didn’t want the greenery but, sure enough, our plates arrived ‘sans salade’.
Over a week later we went back to the coffee shop and were greeted by the same server. This time we ordered two apricot flapjacks and, quick-as-a-flash, he came back with “I’m guessing you don’t want salad with that?”
Marketing, whether it be for coffee, products, services, or schools, is about building a relationship with your customer. This new manager hit the nail on the head. A customer needs to see that you can make a connection, and that what you want out of the transaction is the same as what they want. Like that old Cheers song “sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name” (I bet you can’t read that without singing it), we all want to belong somewhere. Yes. I want to feel I belong at the Rave Coffee Shop.
I know it’s not widely acceptable to call a 4-year-old a “customer” but schools, in a country of falling roll, need to start getting their head around it and behave accordingly. Most customers, (aka pupils and parents) don’t just bowl along to their nearest school anymore. They are discerning. They want the best experience, and the most positive outcomes possible. They want to feel safe, and they all want to feel part of the school community.
Simon Sinek’s advice is that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” But schools struggle to find their Why?, mostly because on the face of it, it seems rather obvious. But is it? As a member of your schools staff, why do you go into work every morning?
Controversially, I’m not a great lover of the 3-word vision statement. Yes, it’s easy(ish) to remember, but what does it actually say about you and your school? What does your school mean to its community? How good is the service you are providing? What gets your staff out of bed in the morning? Do you have something that sets you apart from other schools in the area? Why should customers come to your open day? Will your customers find a sense of belonging at your school?
There are, of course, lots of coffee shops here and, believe me, Barry and I have tried them all. Some are OK, some are good but there is something missing, some I wouldn’t go back to if you paid me. For us, Rave ticks all our boxes and we feel we belong there, which makes it a nice place to be, and keeps us going back.
In my view, ticking the boxes of prospective parents and pupils takes more than 3 words. It takes a lot of input from everyone involved, but it is worth doing to ensure you keep your school at capacity, and able to give your customers the kind of experience, and sense of belonging, that we are all looking for – even when you are 4.
