This business exists because it has a solution to a problem our customers are facing. Do you agree or not?
If you agree, let me take it one step further…
The solution your business offers only makes sense when your customer's problem is clearly understood.
Most businesses spend their time trying to talk up the solution. How do we increase our top-of-mind awareness? How do we drive traffic to our website? How do we get more people to engage with us? How do we capture the market with our incredible product / service?
Don’t get me wrong - you’re in business to grow so of course you’re thinking about this.
The problem is that most customers don’t care about your solution until they think it’s relevant to their problem. You’re doing it right now to this article - you’re subconsciously addressing the question, “why would I pay any attention to this article?” with “because it’s relevant to my success in business.” I get that you’ll only read this article if it helps you learn more and grow your business.
So how do I want to help you grow today? By showing you that the pathway to people paying more attention to your solution is emphasising their problem. When you plan your marketing, clearly outline the problem your customer is facing BEFORE you start talking about your solution. Here’s a few questions to get you started with an example application for a patio company.
- What is the obvious problem your customer comes to you to solve?
Patio / Outdoor entertaining area - What is the hidden problem your customer is facing? (not your product/service)
Their home is cramped and people can’t relax. They want their home to be a place where people enjoy themselves. - How does this problem make them feel?
Frustrated and restless. It’s hard to relax and unwind when you live like this. - What’s preventing them from solving it?
“I’m no tradie. I can do bits and pieces, but I don’t have the expertise to build something of this size.” - What aspirational future does your product/service get them closer to?
Family and friends enjoying themselves over a meal.
By clearly outlining the problem, we’re able to speak about the solution in a more compelling way. Instead of “we build great patios”, we’re saying “we create incredible outdoor areas” because that is what’s relevant to the customer.
Check out our resource "the three-part marketing model to help your business actually grow" for more.
Matt.
