What MBA in one day, Jos Burgers and The Cats Tribute Band have in common.

Unlikely combination you might think? How on earth does she know (insert of the three names in the title)?

Over the past few years, I have accompanied my parents several times to The Cats Tribute Band (if you are Dutch and slightly older than I am, you will know The Cats, if you are not: Youtube is the answer, thank me later). To the extent that by now I might know more lyrics than my mother.

Last week I attended a DenkProducties seminar by Jos Burgers (think; Ken Blanchard, Raving Fans), MBA in One Day by the incredible Ben Tiggelaar (stretch breaks are a glorious idea Ben!) and a concert by the previously mentioned band. All of them were a delight.

Come Sunday, I was driving back from my hometown in Belgium to Amsterdam and realised this tribute band does exactly what both seminars preached. They have set up a fantastic business whilst creating raving fans (honestly, I think some of the women in the front still haven’t slept a wink).

Puzzling it all together, I realised the band embodies 5 business lessons as taught by Tichelaar and Burgers (and Blanchard, sorry Jos I’ve always had a soft spot for Blanchard).

1.??????? Focus; greatly described by Ben Tichelaar during MBA in one day (I believe with reference to both Porter and Buffett). What is the goal of the product you are creating and selling? Who is your target audience? Which problem do you solve for them?

In this case it’s not just any ordinary tribute band, it’s a very specific tribute band (and an extremely good one but more on that later), catering to a niche yet wide enough audience of fans that still wants to shout: “come and let’s dance”. They are clearly solving the problem of the original band no longer feeling that rock n roll is still giving them the best days of their lives and fans still loving their music.

2.??????? Create a great customer experience: even I would save the last dance for that glorious man on stage (it’s the kind eyes). Combine the cheekiness, the fantastic voices, the exceptional music and the overall presence of FUN, and you have yourself a wicked customer experience.

Ticket prices are fair, drinks are affordable, and venues are in neat conditions. Yet even if they performed under a bridge, I’m confident people would still go to see them.

3.??????? Be reliable: from the first song to the last, it’s spot on. So far, I’ve attended four times and all were excellent. All I did was dance, dance, dance. Going to one of their shows, you simply know it will be a fabulous evening. That also means, they are easy to recommend. As Jos Burgers would say: “is there any risk in recommending them to your friends and family?”. No there isn’t, absolutely 0 risk.

4.??????? Extra service: described by Burgers as “we don’t have to do it, but we do”. As wildly entertaining as I thought it was, the band made those fans in the front feel special. As a singer you don’t have to hold someone’s hand, but you will make their day if you do.

5.??????? Customers are king: their interests come before yours: I am pretty sure the band is from Volendam and Oudsbergen is a rather far drive, yet from what my mother tells me, Belgian fans had been asking for a local concert for a long time. And there they were.

• There are still other points that translate to business lessons: the band informed their fans on the origin story of the next song and demonstrated some excellent story telling skills (engaging, informative yet to the point) as well as educated their audience (gently) where necessary (teaching them the responses to their vocals) so they could fully participate. If you’re in consultancy or any other service providing industry, I’m confident you will now be thinking “ah I should start doing that again”. (I’ve definitely added it to my good habit list)

And that folks, is how you create a business that advertises itself. Focus on who your clients are and treat them so well that they will adore you to the extent that they will happily recommend you to others. Proof is in the pudding you might say. Sure, here is some pudding:

• A friend of my uncle once raved to my uncle about this fantastic band. My uncle tagged along.
• My uncle started raving to my mother about this incredible band. My mother tagged along.
• My mother started raving and invited friends, her other siblings, and the writer of this article. We all tagged along.

Now, we are all raving (fans).

Ps: I have hidden 5 songs from the setlist in this article, can you spot them?

For the (future) fans – all links in the comments