When I was a kid, non-uniform day was once a year.

One red-letter day per annum where you wore your favourite t-shirt, and expressed your individuality, before fading back into the homogeneity of school uniform.

These days, non-uniform days are ten-a-penny – it feels like barely a week goes by without our kids dressing in their civvies.

This Tuesday, it was “Yellow Day”. 

Which we remembered when we were three-quarters through the mile-long route to school.

As you can imagine (or maybe even empathise with), getting three children out of the house on time is no mean feat.

We managed it on Tuesday though, so we strolled along with the smugness befitting our achievement.

Until we spotted a kid in bright yellow trousers, momentarily tutting at his parents’ loose interpretation of the school uniform guidelines, before the penny dropped.

Cue a sprint all the way back home, a frantic gathering of anything that looked vaguely yellow, and a white-knuckle drive back to where Grace and the boys stood waiting.

We changed them as hurriedly as we could, and ushered them into class, only five or so minutes late – crisis partially averted.

You know what would have averted it more effectively?  Better communication from the school.

Yes, they sent an email about it – but given we get emails from them on a daily basis, it’s not always easy to keep on top of them – but that was about it.

The kids didn’t have a clue it was happening, nothing physical came home in the book bag to remind us.

Maybe I’m just making an excuse for a #parentingfail, but it illustrates the point: if you want people to do something, you’ve got to remind them.

And for most businesses, that means doing MORE.  More emails, more social media posts, more of whatever you do that gets you in front of people.

An old boss used to say, “It’s not your customer’s job to remember to do business with you; it’s your job to remind them”.

Are you doing enough reminding?

Seb

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