The classic Robin Williams movie, Mrs. Doubtfire, is a great lesson on proper branding. His character, Daniel, is in the midst of a divorce. He’s an out of work voice actor and needs to find a job in order to abide by court orders to see his kids. Most importantly, he loves his kids and quite literally, will do anything to see them. His transformation into Mrs. Doubtfire is an amusing lesson on the fundamentals of branding.
Just like Daniel we can be up against the wall trying to get new business to keep our doors open, our bills paid and our staff employed. In getting new business, though, you don’t need to be perfect at first. You do need to know your target, appear to be the least risky option, make sure your brand matches your voice and use the business weapons you have not the weapons you want.
Lesson 1: Know Your Target Like the Back of Your Hand
Daniel, knew his wife very well. He knew she needed a nanny, she needed someone with availability and someone that was trustworthy. He also knew she had very little time to watch over the kids herself with her career and was desperate to find someone since her soon-to-be ex-husband couldn’t do it. Most importantly, he knew he was the best choice to take care of his kids. This was a win-win since he also had to find a job. In essence, Daniel knew the emotional need he had to satisfy for his client, trust.
You’re the solution they’ve been looking for. When they do business with you their demeanor should be relaxed, happy, heck, excited because you’re the answer! They should be using words like, “Where have you been?!”, “I’m so glad to have found you”, “It’s such a relief working with you”.
If you don’t feel you’re the best choice for your clients then you don’t need to be running a business. For that matter, how well do you know your target audience? Do you know their pain points, their problems and the predicaments they encounter that cause them to search for a solution? All business is about solving a problem and if you know the 3P’s mentioned above (pains, problems, predicaments) then you can craft your brand around solving those 3P’s. How do you find that out if you don’t know it already? Ask your clients. We all should be following up with our clients to ensure they’re happy with our service. We should also be asking them several other questions that will clarify the emotional need we satisfy for them.
- Why did they chose you over your competitors?
- What do they love most about you and your product/service?
- What should you improve?
- Would they refer you and why? (Bonus: get names and numbers from them at that time)
- What could you do that would make them a lifetime client?
- Could they provide a review? (Double bonus 1: put the review on your Google listing to help with SEO plus that’s potential clients will use you based on what they fond on the web. Double bonus 2: their review will further indicate the emotional need and 3P’s)
When you know all the needs and reasons that draw your clients to you, you can begin to craft a message that will appeal to future clients. However, Daniel wasn’t the least risky choice as himself. His mere presence would break the deal so he had to rebrand himself. In doing so he became the least risky option.
Lesson 2: Be the Least Risky Option
What’s amazing about the phone scene in Mrs. Doubtfire is that Daniel showed himself to be the least risky option with his voice only. Daniel calls late at night, the perfect time to sell to his target, Miranda, since she’s relaxed and her guard is down. Then he wears her out with obviously horrible candidates and by the end refreshes her with the perfect one.
A major advantage is selling when your client is most relaxed. Further, understand that searching for the right solution can be exhausting for them and capitalize on it. Your clients are searching for the least risky solution to their 3P’s. That search will take time and will be mentally and emotionally taxing. You should be a breath of fresh air when they come across your website, see your social media, read your reviews, walk into your store or call you on the phone. And why shouldn’t you be? You’re the solution they’ve been looking for. When they do business with you their demeanor should be relaxed, happy, even excited because you’re the answer! They should be using words like, “Where have you been?!”, “I’m so glad to have found you”, “It’s such a relief working with you”. Like Daniel, your brand is on genius status if you can be the least risky option without your physical presence. Ask yourself, how can I sell myself without having to be physically present? What would I need to show and where? When you can do that, your name is Euphegenia Doubtfire. You may not be that yet, but in time you can become it.
Lesson 3: The Right Voice Requires the Right Brand
Daniel had the voice of Mrs. Doubtfire. That got him past the first gate. However to close the deal he had to appear like the perfect candidate, a sweet, old British Woman. He knew he couldn’t do that alone and had to go to the professionals. They knew how to make the facial cast, make-up, outfit and overall functionally of Mrs. Doubtfire work for him. It would have been curtains if Daniel made his own facial mold and it started peeling off during the meet and greet. To craft the physical Mrs. Doubtfire Daniel had to enlist the expertise of someone used to making a person look like someone else.
Yes, leave the task of building the physical imagery of your brand to the professionals. We know how to take your voice and make it match what your clients want from your brand. However, like Daniel, it’s a collaborative process because at the end of they day you know your clients better than us. That’s why I advocate businesses doing Discovery. Discovery is basically what Daniel and his brothers were doing creating Mrs. Doubtfire. Based on what Daniel knew about us wife, his kids and how they would react to each identity his brothers created he gave further direction that refined the look to the perfect identity, Euphegenia Doubtfire. Discovery is a 2-3 day workshop session where your team (the key decision makers) and the creative team sit down and go over every aspect of your business in depth. As you parlay off each other’s knowledge, skills and expertise you arrive at your niche target audience, the perfect brand positioning statement, the direction to head in for your business’ future and the strategy you will undertake for the win you want in your businesses. Armed with this vital knowledge the creative team can now create the perfect brand identity for your business. Like Mrs. Doubtfire, your brandmark, or logo, will look right, feel right, will be memorable and simple. Now you can go out into the world and build your brand even if you don’t have it all worked out.
Lesson 4: Battle With the Weapons You Have Not the Weapons You Want
Daniel didn’t have the Mrs. Doubtfire brand down yet. When he got the job he knew he didn’t have all the skills needed to be a nanny. Remember when he tried to cook dinner and nearly burned himself? He improvised until he could do it himself. Remember when the kids started rebelling? He couldn’t put them over his lap (or use a belt for those in the know). In essence, Daniel didn’t make excuses for what he couldn’t do because excuses get you fired. He found a way.
When I was building Cherished Keepsakes my close friends would call my office a printer graveyard. I was always buying printers because they were cheap and toner was cheap, but they would have problems. So I had printers that were primary ones and others that were just parts to keep the main ones alive. It got so bad no one would help me haul my egregiously heavy printers up the stairs into my office. But I did what needed to be done because I understood my target. When it comes to dealing with a grieving family I knew understandably, no one could be reasonable at that time. So I had to find a way to get orders printed no matter how long it took me or what it cost. As long as my margins were large enough to cover any overage I was ok with it because I knew it was temporary (read this article for more info on how to do that). I couldn’t afford a $10,000 new printer. Yes, having it would make fulfillment a breeze. That was samurai sword and I had a dagger. But a dagger in the hands of a professional is still deadly. I knew print production very well and could jerry rig solutions that worked until I had enough to invest in better solutions. Everyone was happy and the brand continued to grow.
As business owners, you can have the perfect brand built by a professional, but you give it life not us. While doing business you will invariably encounter issues that you or may not be fully equipped to effectively deal with. It doesn’t matter and more importantly, your clients don’t care. They only care if you can solve their problem. What it takes and costs for you to do so is on you. Solve the problem, find a way. As you do your brand will grow and you will continually refine your process until it’s perfect.
Dude Looks Like A Lady
In Daniel’s case, that was the best option for him to solve both his problem and his client’s, Miranda. Your brand must also look like the best option to your target audience. Put the four lessons into practice in your business and your brand will be the least risky solution and a breath of fresh air to your clients.
