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People’s Problems are Marketing Opportunities

Wed. Sep 15th, 2010 - by Brian Godinez

Since the beginning of this marketing series, I’ve been focusing on the fundamental elements of a marketing plan, from start to finish. We began with defining what we want and establishing objectives. The next step identified ideal targets and your strengths that attract them. Now let’s go outside your business and look for opportune areas to grow your business.

As a specialist, you have a product or service that provides an answer or solution that fulfills on some kind of need or problem for a particular targeted customer. They pay you for helping them or rewarding them. Simply put, they feel better with your stuff. Their challenges and problems are your marketing opportunities.

At any given time, you have to know what’s bothering them and creating sleepless nights. If you don’t know that then you won’t know what solution you need to offer them or others like them. It’s a good idea to always know what your target customer’s issues or problems are, so that you can speak the same language. This is why from time to time I recommend taking customers out to lunch or breakfast. Ask them.

Speaking to them about your solutions as a way to solve their problems or making their lives better will make them listen and feel more comfortable. As you evolve your solution set, they will continue to buy from you. They will also recommend you more often than not to friends and colleagues. Your customers want to know that you care about them. They want to know that you have concerns for their business and well-being. You want to hear back from them that your products and services help them. Customer bonding is good.

Whatever customer problems you are solving and satisfying, most likely much of your target market shares the same common problems and issues. Identifying these problems and matching them with your solutions makes hunting for prospects easier with the right marketing messages that resonate. This is your market opportunity. Your prospects are thinking hard and walking around with problems, and believe me, they’re looking for solutions. I guarantee you what they are not doing is looking for YOUR product or service.

Developing a message that matches your solution to their problem will get their attention quicker. Always ask current and potential customers what problems they’re facing. You need to be on top of your prospect's challenges because if not, you won’t be able to clearly communicate that “you get them”, that “you understand them”, and that “you have what they are looking for”.

If your marketing message can clearly connect your solution to their problems, then you’ll have more qualified buyers and more success with marketing your business. Tell them that you are a specialist that can solve their problems. “You will always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I love this Wayne Gretzky quote. Next month, we’ll focus on message and love. Until then, take a customer out to dinner and ask them what’s bugging them.

Brian Godinez is a marketing and communications specialist serving the South Texas region. He can be reached at brian@godinezintl.com. 2009, Godinez Communications.

 

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