What's their problem?

I love talking to my clients about the problems they help their customers with because it can lead to exciting epiphanies.

Recently, I was working with a client—we’ll call them Grey Sloan Inc.—on some of their business model and messaging. When they showed me the description of the problem they solve, it could have been applied to just about any business.

Essentially, the problem they described was not enough money, time or resources.

I have some of these problems. In fact, I don’t know many businesses that aren’t stretched in at least two of these areas. And all my clients have challenges in one or more of these areas. However, I don’t have any clients who would buy Grey Sloan Inc.’s product, including me despite their product being relevant to my work.

So, we had to explore it more and get clear on the actual root of the problem because a shortage of money, time, or resources are too generic and often just symptoms of the real problem.

If these are the problems you think your customer has, well, you’ve only gotten to the superficial level of what’s going on. (Sorry, not sorry.)

Here are some of the problems my clients have that I help them solve:

They hate marketing because:

• It takes them away from the work they actually want to be doing.
• They don’t know how to get anything out of it.
• They get all kinds of advice and don’t know where to start.

Marketing is hard because:

• They don’t fully understand how it can benefit their business.
• It takes so much time and effort to keep it going.
• They’re not sure they’re doing the right things.

Think about something you hate or something that always feels hard to do.

For me, it’s paperwork of any kind. I avoid paperwork like no one else I know. I hate it, and it feels hard, even though it’s not hard most of the time.

Knowing the root of your client's problem(s) is the first step to showing them you understand what they need and building offerings that help them address the actual problems rather than giving an incomplete or inadequate solution.

Think about the problems you solve for your clients. Is it the true root of the problem, or are you still scratching the surface?

Karen