Hey Nosey!
“Hey Nosey! We see you reading…”
That's how a little business in Beverley, Yorkshire, greeted people walking past its window one Saturday morning.
Not quite the usual customer-service strategy.
And then they offered anyone who spotted the sign a free hot drink.
I've read a marketing book or two in my time, and I don't recall calling people nosey being a highly recommended strategy for endearing yourself to customers.
And yet, somehow, it did.
Perhaps that was the point.
It made people stop and wonder what the sign was about.
And instead of trying to sell them something, Sleepers gave them a little surprise.
There wasn't some grand marketing strategy behind it.
Harry Bates simply thought it would be nice to do something unexpected and perhaps make somebody's day.
"Why? Because why not, it's all about the little things in life and we wanna make sure you have a good day and pass on the good vibes :)"
And then the little idea escaped the window.
One of the young men who came in for his free drink later held the door open for a woman pushing a stroller. As she walked through, he smiled, nodded at the staff and said:
“It’s the little things we do.”
And there you have it.
The story of the sign took on a life of its own.
Sleepers shared it on Facebook, where it attracted hundreds of likes and dozens of comments, and the local newspaper picked it up too.
Which is quite a journey for a piece of paper taped to a window.
And it got me thinking: why do some ideas grab our attention while others disappear without a trace?
You know who has spent her career thinking about exactly that? Sally Hogshead.
In her book Fascinate, she explores what makes certain people, ideas and brands impossible to ignore, and why being different can be far more powerful than just being better.
Sally sums it up rather nicely: "Different is better than better."
Harry just gave us a little masterclass in it.
Quite the Harry Met Sally, if you know what I mean.
And that's where I think the joy factor comes in.
You don't need a huge budget to make an impression.
Often, a little unexpected joy will do the job quite nicely.
Sometimes the most obvious way to grow is to stop trying so hard to sell, and do something delightfully pointless instead.
Something that gives people a reason to stop, smile and tell someone about you.
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Until the next plot twist…
Monojoy
Storyteller, Oddly Obvious
PS: Being better is hard work. Being different can be much more fun.
Sally Hogshead explores why in Fascinate: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist.
Turns out, character attracts characters.
Because good stories like good company:
