Back in 1993, the Febreze product we all recognize today as a cleaning staple and a multi-billion dollar brand was a giant…flop! Yes, a flop! One that almost didn’t make it to market…
Yet it was supposed to be a giant success!
This is how it all started…
A chemist at Procter and Gamble, who also happened to be a heavy smoker, had been working on a certain substance for quite some time. As it turned out, the more he worked with this substance, the better his usually smoke-smelling clothes ended up smelling. Even his wife was under the impression that he had quit smoking…
Was it the substance he had been working on?
So he went back in the lab, and the rest is history…Febreze was born, and with it the possibility to market this new wonder into loads of cash…
Except it didn’t work as planned…
Febreze was originally marketed towards park-rangers who were in constant contact with animals and ended up with a questionable and insisting smell on themselves and everything they touched. This miracle product would save her, finally, and restore her confidence (and good smell) in no time.
But it didn’t sell…
Until P&G realized women who were actually using Febreze were not park-rangers, but housewives who loved spraying the fragrance in their homes after they were done cleaning it. They had finally found their target profile…
So what happens in your own business when you think you’ve got the perfect target profile, but you actually don’t? When you can’t exactly explain why your product or service is not selling as it should?
I always thought I was going to marry a tall, bold guy with perfect teeth (don’t ask me why). Turns out the perfect guy for me is average height, semi-bold, and has the biggest smile and heart I could ever hope for. The difference between what I thought I needed and what I really needed? What I really needed works much better.
The same goes in your copy and marketing: Your perfect “target profile”, that “Prince Charming” of target profiles is not always who you think he/she should be. Yet, it’s not only until you find him/her that your business really takes off.
So does initially picking the wrong target profile, or going on the “wrong” or “not quite perfect” date, spell lonely nights and empty business accounts forever?
I went on my share of bad dates myself, from the non-gentlemen leaving you to wrestle with the broken car door and land on a puddle of melted snow in the middle of nowhere, to those looking for you to pay for their share of the meal. Ahem…
Yet there are subtle (and not so subtle) ways to turn the tide, both when it comes to bad dates and perfect target profiles:
- Look at people are buying, not just what they’re saying: You know how “they” say people’s actions will tell you more than their words. Well, it holds true for bad dates who talk about themselves for hours and don’t let you place one in edgewise, as it does for less-than-ideal target profiles. In the Febreze case, P&G failed at first to consider those who really used their products, and how they used them. Instead, they had the image of the perfect “target profile” in mind from the beginning. And rightfully so, they were disappointed….
- Educate your audience: Many people don’t need that they need what they need. I mean, it took me a while to realize that the last thing I need is a state-of-the-art computer, when I can barely manage anything remotely technical. In the same way, most of your potential customer base doesn’t realize they need your products and services, because they’re not educated enough about it. Be willing to educate your potential target profiles about the benefits and features of your products and services first. That way, you’re affording them the opportunity to make an informed decision, and also ensuring that you’re reaching out to people who would actually use your products and/or services…
- Change your approach: And sometimes, you just have to switch approaches. Instead of continuing with what you have always done to identify and reach out to your target profile, you may just have to take a different stance. How about polling your audience about their real needs, rather than conducting larger, less precise market research?
Have you had to switch target profiles in your business? Or are you still looking for your perfect “target profile”?
Love,
Solange
The post The Myth of the Ideal Client at First Sight: The Febreze Story appeared first on SD Lopes.
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