Nemo, Rafiki, and the truth about how your customers think

There's one thing all successful businesses do that others don't.

And you can apply it starting today.

Look.

Yesterday, I went to Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City with my family.

Sunday, noon, at a free zoo.

Hot.

People everywhere.

Smell of animal waste.

But no live animals to see.

My kids, eager for some action.

A little monkey doing something funny or an angry tiger about to attack.

Ten minutes there and nothing.

A panda exhibit with two stuffed pandas.

But nothing alive.

The kids started with the inevitable:

—Dad, can we go now?

—I want some fries.

We were losing hope until we reached the monkey cage and my kids shouted:

—There’s Rafiki!

It was a monkey with a weird butt.

My wife and they decided "it's Rafiki."

Then we saw some lemurs.

—King Julien from Madagascar!

He's probably waiting for his subjects to bring him food.

Five minutes later, we saw Black Panther from the Avengers.

And Flash, the sloth from the movie Zootopia.

Animals have existed for millions of years, they have a real name and a specific species.

But to us, they were movie characters, period!

Just like at an aquarium, no one sees a clownfish or a blue tang.

We see Nemo and Dory.

Here's a lesson for you.

Let's see.

Why do we reduce the animal to a cartoon?

Because that's how the brain works.

It looks for shortcuts.

Simple, fast, familiar ways to understand the world, without expending energy.

We all do it. It's called the representativeness heuristic.

Put simply:

The brain doesn't want to understand.

It wants to recognize.

And pay attention.

This doesn't just happen with Rafiki, Nemo, or King Julien.

It also happens with your business.

Your customers want to understand, instantly and effortlessly:

1. Who you are.

2. What they can expect from you.

And if they don't understand you right away and effortlessly,

they won't buy from you.

It's that simple.

Not because you're bad.

But because you're confusing.

This is where many go wrong.

They think the problem is the price.

When in reality, the problem is that the customer has no idea what the heck you are.

No, they don't want surprises.

They want certainty.

Who you are.

And what they can expect from you.

• That's why Disney is happiness.

In everything it does.

• That's why Harley is rebellion.

In everything it does.

• That's why The North Face is adventure.

In everything it does.

For a very simple reason.

Because that's how customers understand them.

They feel like they know them.

And that's why they buy from them again and again.

Does that make sense to you?

So, what can you do?

First, choose what "character" your business is.

Not what you wish it were.

What you want the customer to recognize without thinking.

Then translate it into concrete actions:

—How your team speaks.

—What your sales materials say.

—And what your social media content tells.

If one of those things doesn't match...

the customer's brain gets confused.

And when it's confused, it doesn't buy.

Now ask yourself:

Do I know what my brand represents?

Do I communicate it clearly to my customers?

And do my collaborators also understand it clearly?

If you hesitated on any answer, watch this video.

I hope it helps you.

Sincerely,

Carlos

P.S. Remember: serving is the way.

PS2. If you want help getting your team to provide exceptional service and improve your results, let's talk.

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Shopology S.A. de C.V.

Av. Pacífico 468 Local C, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, CP 04330, México

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