One day a couple of years ago, I stopped at a bodega close to my office to buy some groceries. If you don’t spend a lot of time in New York, bodegas are the small, local markets that serve neighborhoods across the city. They offer an eclectic variety of prepared food, groceries and household supplies. As I browsed the options for dinner that evening, I came across something I didn’t expect. A cat, curled up in an empty box that once held packages of instant ramen. He woke up, looked at me with mild disinterest and then went back to sleep. 

As time went on, I found myself returning to that particular bodega on a regular basis. There were several between the office and my place, but I looked forward to seeing the cat, who came to accept a scratch behind the ears or under the chin, but generally kept to himself. That brief interaction made the whole shopping experience much more enjoyable.

 

As it turns out bodega cats are a thing. Many shop owners keep a cat in their store in order to keep rats away because the New York Department of Health imposes significant fines on establishments infested with rodents. Interestingly, they also categorize cats as pests and can fine the shops that keep them, but the fine for a cat is less than the fine for a rat, so there’s a net benefit when you balance out the fines. Yet, there is an even better reason to keep a cat on the premises.

We love bodega cats.

People love cats in general as evidenced by the number of cat videos available on the Internet, so the opportunity to interact with one while picking up snacks or a cup of coffee is a real draw for many shoppers. Some people, like me, have changed their habits to frequent the stores where cats are part of the experience. They’re so popular, that people have been documenting their encounters on @BodegaCats_ on Twitter. Now, people from around the world post pictures of cats in stores and markets, making it more than a New York City phenomenon.

Brands can learn something from the bodega cat. Bodega cats serves a purpose, as do the regulated or obligatory messages that companies are required to send their customers. Yet, the cat enhances the brand experience, whereas privacy policy notifications, order confirmations or delivery reports are issued with all the warmth of a box of rat poison. Brands know people don’t want these messages and so they treat them with utilitarian disdain, guaranteeing that people won’t have a good experience.

Take some time to examine your customer communications to ensure you are using every opportunity to improve the way your customers see your brand. Find the bodega cats in your process where a practical solution can create incremental value. Offer customers unanticipated benefits in your standard communications. Surprise them with content that’s entertaining or constructive. At the very least, offer them a moment of joy, like a picture of a cat lounging on bags of potato chips.