by Ryan McMullen
As small business owners, we’ve all done exercises to create mission statements, put together our elevator speeches and set goals, but if you’re honest with yourself, how clear are you about your business? WHAT problem do you solve? WHO is your target audience? HOW do you help?
Take some time and really think about the following questions because when you get this right, your marketing will instantly become 10 times more powerful than it is now. If you never take the time to figure this out, you will have major problems clearly communicating your value to your customers, clients and prospects.
Your goal is to get clear on the WHAT, WHO and HOW, but more importantly, we want to hone in on the Hell your audience is in and all the ways it’s going to get worse without your help. Then, we flip that on its head and get clear on the Heaven they’ll reach by working with you.
WHAT is the big problem you solve?
If you have a business that solves more than one problem, I want you to pick one. For example, if you are a lawyer, “legal representation” is not a problem. Protecting your clients’ children, house and car from a vindictive, spiteful ex-spouse so they can sleep at night and move on with their life is solving a problem. Remember this: Clients are not buying their way INTO something, they are buying their way OUT of something.
WHO is your target audience?
First, let’s think in terms of labels and not character traits. Again, you probably help more than one group, but start with one group like “moms” or “professional salespeople” or “homeowners”. Does this group have a “bleeding neck? Are they suffering from this problem in a very acute way? Do they NEED to have it solved? If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, your offer is not in line with your audience.
Now, let’s talk character traits. If you’re working with homeowners, what KIND of homeowners can you best help? If you offer high-end landscaping services, your audience must have a high level of income. If you’re selling Bibles, your audience must believe in God.
The Hell
This may be the most important thing you ever think about in your business. Imagine you are your ideal client and ask yourself, “How does it feel to have this problem hanging over your head?” How does it affect your daily life? What hassles, aggravations and disappointments do you have to live with? How is it affecting your family? Your finances? Your relationships? Your health? What happens to your life if you don’t figure this out?
The point is that when you understand the Hell your clients are going through and can describe it to them, the more they’ll trust you to get them out of it.
The Heaven
Now that you know what the Hell is, flip the script and think about how great your life is going to be after you work with you (remember, you are imagining you are your ideal client). How does your life look now? What hassles are you now free from?
HOW do you help?
Now that you know what the Hell and Heaven look like, create your path to get your audience there. This exercise is for your benefit only! Your offer is the outcome you deliver, not how wonderful and brilliant your approach is. Nobody cares how you get them to the Heaven, just get them there.
The Success Formula
If you’ve taken some time to really think about these questions, you are ahead of 99% of your competition because you now have the knowledge to effectively communicate with your audience. Whether it’s a blog post, Facebook ad, billboard, radio spot or tv spot, every piece of communication you have with your audience should follow this formula:
1. Point out the problem (the Hell)
2. Agitate the problem
3. Show them how life will improve by working with you (the Heaven)
That’s it. When you do this right, you’ll know your audience so well and can describe their problem better than they can, and they look to you as the only option to solve it.
Ryan McMullen (ryan@stlouismarketinglab.com) is the owner of St. Louis Marketing Lab
Submitted 8 years 85 days ago