Are You Solving These 3 Problems For Your Customer?

Hey Everyone:

Happy Halloween! I hope you’re ready to tackle all those scary monsters. Sometimes they can be a real problem!

And speaking of problems, everybody’s got them, right? And everybody’s trying to solve them. Especially our customers. And it’s our job to solve them.

But first we must know what those problems are. We must identify them in a very specific way. Because when show our customers that we understand their problems they lean in and listen. And eventually they buy. So, if we can state those problems clearly and with authority, our customers will engage in our business. We sell more and we make them happy. Who doesn’t want that?

Every customer has some kind of conflict that causes them discomfort. And these conflicts manifest themselves in a lot of different ways. Maybe a customer needs better tasting coffee, or a new car, or healthy meals prepared especially for them. Maybe they need secure technology to close quick, safe transactions. They might even need professional marketing videos.

Whatever the conflict, or the problem, the customer is struggling, and they need help.

What most people don’t realize is that there are actually three different problems a customer has with any one conflict. They are:

External

Internal

Philosophical

All three of these work together to cause discomfort and pain. The external problem causes the customer to experience internal frustration. The internal problem causes the customer to feel uncomfortable with the external problem. And those two combined form something that’s just plain wrong. That's the philosophical problem. It's the part that's just plain wrong.

Here’s how it works. Take a look at an example from Donald Miller’s bestselling book Building a Story Brand.

Let’s say you sell home coffee machines. Now who doesn’t love a good cup of coffee? Anyway, your job is to identify the problems your customer faces when shopping for a coffee machine. Remember, they are facing a conflict they need to solve.

So, in this example, the customer is fed up with home coffee machines that make bad coffee. Okay, simple enough. But remember, this is a serious conflict for them, and it makes them feel uncomfortable. This leads directly to the external conflict: Home coffee machines make weak, bitter, bad-tasting coffee, and they want better-tasting coffee.

Honestly, who wants weak, bitter coffee?

So now the inferior, bad-tasting coffee that was made by a home coffee machine leads to frustration and the internal problem. Here's what the customer says; "I am angry and frustrated with my coffee machine because the coffee tastes bad. I want great coffee that tastes like it came from a shop."

Well, I have to agree. I’d be angry and frustrated too; even cranky if I ended up with terrible coffee.

For the customer, this coffee is an outrage! It’s just plain wrong that their home coffee machine makes terrible coffee. So, the philosophical problem becomes: "I shouldn’t have to be a barista to make gourmet coffee at home. And that’s just plain wrong."

Once again, I agree. I deserve a coffee machine that makes a great cup of coffee at home. But…back to marketing.

So you address those problems and let the customer know you uderstand. And guess what? You've just become their knight in shining armor! NOW you can offer much more than a product or service; you can offer a SOLUTION. And that’s what the customer wants. They want a solution that solves all three of their problems.

So, think about the problems your customer has, and how you can solve them. Make sure you can answer the following questions:

1. What is the external problem? What do they want?

2. How is the problem making them feel?

3. Why is the problem just plain wrong?

Answer these and your customer will lean in and listen. Then they'll buy.

Are you solving these for your client? If not, I can help. Send me a message at mary@truevoicecopy.com.

Now go out and solve some problems!

Mary Vosika | Owner/Director | True Voice Copy

P.S. The most important question to answer is this: Why is your customer’s problem just plain wrong? I can help answer that. Contact me at mary@truevoicecopy.com..