The Silent Avatar Speaks

It was late last night before I got to bed, and my partner and I were cuddled up having a chat before we headed off to the land of nod when I suddenly (for no apparent reason) I remembered a small sandwich bar where I worked some 30 years ago. There was nothing flashy about this place. In fact quite the opposite. The building was about as old as old could get without having to bulldoze it. Long, narrow with just enough room to stand 2 deep behind the counter, and a single pane of glass letting in the light. There was lots of "old worldliness" and it would have to have been built in my estimate somewhere around the 1930's. It was on a main street but it didn't have any offices around it - just more small businesses, a busy bus stop about 6 shops away, a school around the corner, and the rest of the area was middle class residential. Three old timers ran the business. Etty, Carol and Bill. Etty was I would say in her 60's, Carol (the daughter) was in her 40's, and Bill (Etty's husband) close to Etty's age. Together they all ran a sandwich bar. At the time I worked 4 shops away, and one of my jobs was to get everyone lunch. There wasn't much choice around - just a cake shop across the road with the obligatory pies, sausage rolls and pasties, the pub up the road (where you could mix with the locals and get a mean steak sandwich), or the sandwich bar. Given the choice I would nearly always opt for the sandwich bar. Stay with me as I share with you how the sandwich bar won my business. As I laid back in bed I remembered... They were made on the freshest of bread (white or wholemeal only), and no matter if Etty or Carol made the sandwich (Bill just took the  money and got drinks), they would always have the best ingredients, and would always churn out a quality sandwich. Roast Beef and Salad sandwich? Fresh bread meticulously spread with just the right amount of butter. The roast beef sliced thin and then trimmed of all fat, then manipulated with the skill of a true artisan to completely cover the slice. Layers of crisp shredded lettuce, carrot, sliced beetroot,  onion (optional), and rich red tomato slices cut to order. All this was standard. Then you could add whatever else you wanted. Tasty cheese? Sliced pineapple? Remember this was 30 years ago. No sprouts, avocado, hummus, chickpeas, sugar snap peas. Nothing like the ingredients you can get today. To watch them  "build" their sandwiches was a spectacle. Their sandwiches would grow and grow until you had a "mega" sandwich which,  (when they had deftly balanced everything and placed the other slice on top),  they cut through diagonally (perfect of course), displaying it's ingredients in  stripes of vivid colour and texture. They would then carefully wrap the sandwich in paper, pop it into a brown paper bag along with a wrapped mint and do it all without batting an eyelid quickly and efficiently. It was 30 years ago and I have no idea how much it cost but I'm sure it wasn't overly expensive (I was only very low wages as an apprentice), but as you can see I can remember everything else about the sandwich, right down to the feel of biting into the sandwich and feeling the crunch of the fresh ingredients married with the luxurious fresh bread. So what's this got to do with bulding a business? Looking back these three got it right. Despite being in a location which was "average" to say the least, this business managed to stay open longer than I would have imagined. I found out they were local identities and had been in business for over 20 years. Same shop. Same people. Same  products. And why were these three middle class workers successful? 1. They provided quality products When everyone else made "ho hum" sandwiches theirs always stood out. Fresh, quality ingredients, carefully constructed with the end user in mind and priced appropriately to the market. No matter what day or time I went to get one of their sandwiches they were always the same. Never, ever did I get a sandwich which below (their) standard. And it's obvious their standards were high. 2. They over delivered. Did you catch the bit about them popping a mint into the bag? Pure marketing genius at such a small cost. Definitely got them remembered because no one else was doing it - and it was a nice touch. 3. They picked a niche market they knew, and worked the niche. Look, they could have sold quiches, pies, tarts, flans, any number of products that literally get rammed down out throats when we line up for lunch, but they didn't. They focused on  a niche and made sure they delivered the best they could within their niche. 5. Because of what they offered, people came, and people paid and the business survived. They built the business not on the location, not on how the shop looked, not because they had scantily clad beauties serving - they built their foundations on their product. That's what the customer takes away and remembers most because hat's what they are paying for. If you short change them on what they are paying for the customer will then start looking at justifying the poor product with things like... The service was slack, the staff were sour, the price was too high... Let's face it... you don't see a menu board saying: Roast Beef and Salad Sandwich (complete with smiling staff, great atmosphere, quality packaging, etc) - $4.00. While the whole package is what you should be aiming for, the only time your customers will focus on any of the other areas is when you don't deliver what they paid for. Etty, Carol and Bill showed taught me about how to be successful in business. I hope this story has taught you too. Build you business like Etty, Carol and Bill. Build it like their roast beef and salad sandwiches. You can't go wrong. Got a comment?

Tags: Business Tips //