What Problem Does Your Business Solve

What problems does your business solve?

One of the biggest struggles that I've had to work through in the past is finding the right problems to solve for my audience. In fact, I wasn't even thinking about their problems.

I was focused on one of my own — Make some money, or you'll stay broke forever.

Of course, when you produce work the end goal is making money to support yourself, or your company and brand. However, when you let go of the profit, and you create quality work that solves the right problems, something will become clear. The profits will follow along.

The Business To Consumer Relationship

Eve r y modern marketer should know the importance of emotional connection with the audience in today's world. Many call it, The Connection Revolution.

When you (or your team) brainstorm ideas about taking some steps towards increasing profit, you might find yourself crafting the perfect sales funnel. Before you go all in, take a deeper look into the market.

Is there demand in the market for this, or are you doing it only because you think it will be profitable? Of course, everything is not black or white, so this is where extensive research comes in.

The research objectives:

Is there an actual need for this service? If not, how can we modify the idea, so it fits the needs of the market?
What are other similar services out there? What are people saying about them? Is there a way to solve the problems that people face with competitor products?

The 3 Levels Of Value

Every product or service fits into the consumers' lifestyle in some way. A person that runs every morning, for example, doesn't just need running shoes. They live the lifestyle of a runner. So what does that mean for your brand, if you're selling running shoes?

You can provide solutions on multiple levels.

Level 1: This offer is usually free. Your brand can provide something for free, to first attract and then improve the consumer lifestyle. That can be a blog with fitness advice, a newsletter, an exclusive coupon for their local gym, and so on.

Level 2: The middle offer is a complementary offer within a reasonable price range. What might that look like? Well, they might need a water bottle to keep them hydrated. They probably need a protein shake after the run. A tracking app can measure their success and motivate them… You're the one that can sell them those things, or hook them up with someone that does.

Level 3: This is the high-value offer. This is where you solve their main problem. They run every day, so you're the one that sells them the most comfortable shoe ever. High-value problems have a high price range, but it's all ok because they get all these other benefits from YOUR BRAND that they can't get anywhere else.

Think about your levels of value, and how you can implement them. I split them in three, maybe your brand can offer even more than that.

The Proof Is In The Feedback

Sometimes there are a lot of indicators of the quality of our work, but we might not be looking for them. Feedback is one of the most important factors that shape your brand image. Listen carefully, because it can make or break the future of your business.

Here are 2 types of proof, that you might need at different stages of the production process.

Soft proof is the one you should go by when you decide on creating a new product or service. That can come into the shape of comments, reviews, collected data, and so on. You can draw opinions from your own brand, or other brands and platforms. People are always talking online.

Hard proof is something that you get later on. Let's say that based on the soft proof, you've decided to go forward with your idea. Once you create a prototype or a beta version you can already start collecting hard proof. You do that by rolling out a pre-order, a waiting list, or any other method that will further prove your projects' success.

Creating a product or a service is never a simple process, and there are no rules set in stone. When I had the idea about this post, it was originally going to be something different.

Things often take a shape on their own, so plan ahead but don't be afraid to switch things up, as you go. Find the right problems to solve, and the rest will follow.