Consistency Beats Genius (and tastes like an egg sandwich)
Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on April 14th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.
Swipe and Deploy: Become the Implementor
Touring is a regular habit of mine; it's made me millions.
If you look up "touring" in the “James Sinclair dictionary,” you’ll find it described as “touring is scanning other businesses to swipe and deploy their best practices.”
To put it bluntly, I’m touring to steal other people's ideas and be inspired.
I watch in awe at those businesses that have made little 1% improvements, maintained consistency over the long term, and broken the status quo.
As a result, they consistently welcome oodles of customers as part of their glory.
During these tours, I snap away with my Ray-Ban Meta glasses.
I use these marvels of technology as if I’m a slightly overweight 007 spy, equipped with top-secret gadgets that enable me to create a scrapbook of ideas, which in turn clogs up my iPhone photo memory.
As soon as I manage to take a moment to gather my bounty of ideas, I WhatsApp these photographic discoveries to my senior team like a man possessed, eager to share my marvels as if I’ve just discovered the cure for cancer.
What I’m sharing are ideas - nothing more; never forget ideas are as plentiful as sand on a beach.
There is no new idea, just rehashed memories brought back.
Ideas are nothing without action and implementation.
Most people don’t succeed here; they wait for a perfect opportunity to put an idea into action.
Entrepreneurs make the opportunity happen for their ideas.
My tours are much like those of any great artist or creative who knows how to borrow styles and ideas from the greats before them to create a new spin on what was established.
The real question we should ask is: what ideas truly make customers return again and again?
Yes, shock and awe can win the day, as fine hotels or restaurants can demonstrate.
That said, we must never forget that more people visit McDonald's than a fine hotel or a poncey restaurant.
Oddly enough, I’m never awed by “Maccies,” but I’m also never disappointed - and that’s the real trick to this subject.
What truly builds brand loyalty, recommendation, and trust is consistencyso that your business, in turn, becomes part of people’s habits.
Once you’re part of their habit, you’ll have your own money-printing press.
Here’s another example of a brilliant, consistent brand I love: Premier Inn.
They give you a great bed at great value, as regularly as night and day.
I also love an egg sandwich from Greggs, and Business Class flights with BA.
These brands are always consistent.
Let’s now turn to the godfather of being the people's retail zeitgeist: Amazon.
People can’t escape the Amazon habit, even if they try.
If you’re in retail, there are only three ways to win - and Amazon knows it. The rule is “P.R.C”:
Price
Range
Convenience
Amazon has the largest range, at great prices, and offers wonderful convenience for customers.
Let me tell you this: Jeff Bezos borrowed a lot of ideas from Walmart when building Amazon.
He went touring at Walmart and many other places.
Then he implemented a world beating retail offer. More than any other soul before or after him.
Those three golden rules for retail can also adapt to other sectors you might operate in.
Amazon isn’t necessarily the cheapest anymore; if you have a few spare minutes, you can find products cheaper elsewhere.
They win you over, though, because we all know they will likely outdo competitors on convenience - that "buy now" button is like Ozempic to those who want to lose some weight with zero effort.
Premier Inn ticks all three boxes for hotels; they never rip you off, so your subconscious instinct drives you to spend your hard-earned money with them as easily as a duck takes to water.
Premier Inn has hotels everywhere, giving you range, and you know they’ll be conveniently located.
During my tours of successful enterprises, I find that if you can tick three of these points, you seem to win.
I see it across food, leisure, service businesses, and certainly in retail.
Maybe this week, can you start making it more convenient to do business with you?
Netflix made watching films incredibly convenient, offering a huge range at great prices.
Blockbuster lost because they charged more, had less variety, and, quite frankly, became so inconvenient that they deserved to be obsolete.
Netflix's convenience was key to their success.
I find that many businesses become so obsessed with protecting their operations that they introduce friction and rules.
This makes the customer feel inconvenienced, causing their money to flow elsewhere.
We must strive to be easy to do business with. It’s just common sense, but as the saying goes, common sense isn’t that common.
And lastly…
To the person who stole my glasses this week, I want you to know: I will find you. I have contacts!
To your continued success,
James
PS. I’m hosting an evening show at the Leicester Square Theatre in June, it would be great to se you there - Details here.