Every business owner wants a business of their dreams with lots of profits and cash flow. The problem is most business owners don’t follow a unified strategy to reach their business goals. It breaks my heart to see many business owners confused, frustrated and overwhelmed trying to figure out a strategy on how to drive revenue and profits higher. As we’ve discussed before, the number one weakness in a growing business is marketing.
I want to talk today about solving problems. We, as business owners and marketers, are so in-tune with the idea of promoting our solutions. But until we understand how our solution solves our client’s problem, we will never gain the traction in our business that we’re looking for.
I work with a manufacturer that provides construction materials for the food industry, specifically controlled temperature environments. Their client has two “problems” when they want to construct a facility: “How big?” and “How cold?”. My client doesn’t focus on their solution, they focus on their client’s problem. That approach is what is giving them year over year growth well above their industry peers.
My conclusion is the company that focuses on the client’s problem, and implements a marketing strategy around that, will outperform the company that focuses on their own solution every time. There are many tools to help us figure out our client’s problem whether it’s online tools, customer interviews, or customer reviews.
Other things to consider are to make sure your marketing fits not only with your customer’s problem, but also with your mission statement and core values. When marketing aligns with your core values and focus, the message flows naturally. It’s important to make sure that you understand what sets your apart from your competition and incorporate that into your messaging as well. If you don’t have differentiators, you put yourself in the position of being the low-cost provider which may ultimately impact your profitability.
With a marketing strategy in place that focuses on the client’s problem, we’ll feel confident we’re not missing out in addressing an area that will increase our customer base and help to grow our business. If you’re not sure where to start, let’s talk today.
