When I worked in London there was a cafe around the corner.
Tucked away on Regency Street in Westminster.
Not much passing traffic and surrounded by houses and apartments.
The cafe is designed in an art deco style.
Stacked with photographs of Tottenham Hotspur football players, original tiled walls but the tables are new and formica topped.
The Regency Café has been there since 1946.
It was voted as the fifth best eating place in London on Yelp in 2013.
The cafe has featured on several TV series like Judge John Deed , Rescue Me and London Spy.
It was also in Layer Cake and Brighton Rock as well as Pride.
It’s off the beaten track but millions of people know about The Regency and there are queues out the door most of the day.
It’s an institution.
Unfortunately most businesses aren’t.
They are pretty fresh and trying to find their way in a connected world.
People aren’t queuing out the door and they don’t seek you out if you’re off the beaten track.
But many businesses just exist digitally.
Having a Facebook page, a LinkedIn profile and a website aren’t marketing..
..they are existing.
The Regency has been there for 71 years.
You probably don’t have that long.
The choice is yours:
Wait until people find you
or
Go out and find them.
If you want a framework to get customers to seek you out.
That’s what I do.
