The Key to Successful Marketing: Focus on the Problems You Solve, Not on You

26 Apr The Key to Successful Marketing: Focus on the Problems You Solve, Not on You

In the good old days of marketing and advertising, consumers were used to being bombarded with repetitive messages about how product “X” is “the best”. This was in the era of “passive media” when the only way to get your message across was to interrupt a TV or radio programme. And it was effective, for its time.

Then along came the internet and everything changed. Advertising channels became more interactive and consumers now have the ability to pick and choose what marketing messages they consume as they search Google for information and answers to their questions.

As a marketer in 2021 you need to play by a different set of rules if you want to get your customers’ attention, which means you need a different style of messaging. It’s not enough to tell them how great your product is: you need to demonstrate its value to them, which includes telling them how you solve their problems.

Change Your Marketing Messaging

Your customers know they have a problem – sometimes called a “pain point” in marketing terms – but they often don’t know how to solve it. They’re not interested in your product’s bells and whistles, as hard as that may be for you to hear. Your job now is to show them that you have the answers they are looking for, that you are the experts in your industry, and that you can make those pain points go away.

Keep Your Ideal Customer in Mind

Your target customer is not every person on the planet, as much as you’d like them all to buy from you. If you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no-one. So you need to keep your ideal customer front of mind when designing your marketing messaging. That doesn’t mean excluding everyone else, but it does mean attracting more of the right buyers.

Imagine your perfect customer is sitting in front of you, then ask yourself some questions about them. Are they male or female? How old are they? What does their family look like? What do they do for a living? What type of home do they live in? Where do they go on holiday? What are their hobbies? What brand of gin do they drink? The list is potentially endless but the more precise you are about your ideal customer the more you can refine your messaging.

Use Your Marketing Content to Educate and Inform

This is where you show off your expertise. Create helpful and informative content to show how knowledgeable you are about the issues your customers face. Use blogs, emails, newsletters, guides, advertorials, videos etc to demonstrate how you make those pain points go away. A good salesperson knows how to find the pain point and tailor the sales pitch to solve it: your marketing messages should do the same.

A marketing message tailored to a need is much more effective than a blanket description of your product. And the beauty of digital marketing is that you can update and change your message on an ongoing basis, reflecting the needs of your customers and showing how well you understand them.

And remember: It’s not about you, it’s about the problem you solve.

About the author: Helen Say is a freelance writer and blogger www.cblservices.co.uk