Christmas has arrived here in Handforth.

It's snowing today. And last night we went up to the village to see Jackie Weaver switch on the Christmas lights.

Jackie who?

If you're not from Handforth you might not remember, but back in February a video of a disastrous Handforth Parish Council Zoom call went viral.

There was name-calling, shouting, swearing, all sorts of misbehaviour. And Jackie Weaver was the calm-headed clerk who'd been called in to sort out the toxic mess.

She was famous for 15 minutes (well, more like 15 days) and interviewed by all the national newspapers and TV. She even has a book out for Christmas.

Of course, the world moved on from Jackie and sweary Alan's iPad. Other things grabbed the headlines.

But if you're from Handforth, you're not going to forget. And thankfully we had the good humour to invite her to be our celebrity Christmas-light-switcher-onner.

By now you're probably wondering “is there a marketing lesson in this Ian?”

And I think there is.

Because it shows that while fame is fleeting, “local” celebrity is a lot longer lasting.

Handforth remembered Jackie Weaver because she's relevant to us.

And if you can stand out in some way to your audience, they will remember you. As long as you're relevant.

There are three big triggers that get things to stick in our memories:

• Novelty and Difference
• Repetition, and
• Relevance

We remember things that are a huge surprise or really stand out because our initial impression is so vivid.

We remember things that are repeated because the memory gets reinforced with each repetition.

And we remember things that are relevant to us because they're important, and they connect with our pre-existing memories.

If you want to be remembered by your clients these are the variables you can play with.

A lot of focus in marketing is put on being different and being new. But don't overlook the power of just keeping in touch regularly. And that by being relevant to your clients, by focusing on them specifically rather than the world in general, you'll be more memorable to them.

Jackie Weaver made a big splash nationally. But it's Handforth that remembers her, because she's more relevant to us than anyone else.

How can you make sure that you seem more relevant to your ideal clients than anyone else they might be talking to? It's a big key to having them remember you when they need help.