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What Problem Do You Solve?

What problem do you solve and who is best served by the solution you provide?

 

This is the core question I ask myself when beginning a new marketing journey.

 

For most of you who will stumble across this post - you will already have something that you sell. This could be a physical or digital product, service, etc.

 

In this case, what I encourage you to focus on is getting clarity on the packaging of your offer, who it is best for…and WHY THAT PROSPECT SHOULD CARE.

 

The best marketers (and businesses overall) understand that it is not about selling a product or service. It is all about solving a specific problem or creating a specific desired outcome.

 

Think of it this way, when you go to hang something new on the wall which requires you to put in some screws - in that moment - you are not buying (or grabbing) the drill because of how great the drill is. You are looking for an outcome…the hole in the wall to place the screws. You have a problem (a wall with no hole in it) and the drill (product) provides a specific solution (hole in the wall).

 

I know this is simplistic, but it is important to start here. It is only when we understand what we TRULY sell, that we can properly market to our best customers.

 

To guide you along this journey, here are a list of questions I enjoy reflecting upon when reviewing any of my products or services:

 

  1. What are all the benefits my product or service provides? (List as many as possible)

  2. What is the end result that my product or service creates? (List as many as possible)

  3. What are all the negative outcomes that are present if I don’t use my product or service?

  4. How does my product or service reduce the time required to achieve the desired outcome? (Sometimes…does it reduce the time it takes?)

  5. In what ways does my product or service reduce the amount of effort or pain required to achieve the desired outcome?

  6. How does my product or service achieve the desired outcome? (I recommend getting as specific as possible - this really can help clarify your product or service)

 

Armed with this knowledge and clarity, I now have a list of ways that I can begin packaging my product or service (the offer) in ways that make sense for my desired customer.

 

This is when I begin to explore and identify my target market. WHO is best served by the solution that I provide?

 

To best identify my ideal (or dream) customers, I follow the simple process below:

 

  1. WHO am I looking to target? I list out as many characteristics as I can possibly come up with to identify those that are best served by the solution I provide. The goal - 75 characteristics or more. (These can be things like where they live, what is their gender, age demographic, what hobbies do they have, did they go to school, etc.)

    1. BONUS TIP - Give your ideal prospect a name. The clearer you can make the image of your target customer in your mind, the easier it will be to speak to them directly with your marketing.

  2. WHERE can I find the individuals I outlined in step one…in the HIGHEST CONCENTRATIONS. This happens both online and offline. If my target prospect is big into golf, I may find them in high concentrations at local country clubs. If they are Baby Boomers, I am more likely to find them on Facebook over TikTok. (This is another area to go deep)

  3. WHAT is most important to my ideal buyer? What parts of my product or service speak to them and their challenges THE MOST?

  4. WHY should my ideal customer care? (Get specific here)

  5. HOW does my ideal buyer best receive information? What formats and modalities do they tend to consume? Is it audio, video, text, online, offline, etc.?

 

This process will take time. It is meant to - only the best marketers and businesses out there will take the time to work through what they sell and to who in this level of detail…and it is one of the biggest reasons many businesses don’t win.

 

Start here…gain clarity on what it is you sell (the problem you solve), then who is best served by your solution.

 

Once complete, we can then dive deeper into how we package your core offer, engagement offers, and the best mechanisms to deploy them.

 

Stay tuned for next week!

 

 

p.s. - if you want a simple Marketing Checklist that walks you through the WHO, WHERE, WHAT, WHY, HOW Framework, then you have GOT TO head over to ActionCOACH Central Texas where you can download the full checklist for FREE.

Grab the LINK HERE.