So A Customer Walks Into The Store…
I was talking with a customer the other day about a campaign for his unique line of hot tubs. He had all of these ideas about how to market this tub, which has tons of interesting features, as a tub.
But when I asked him why his customers actually bought these tubs, the answer had nothing to do with the features of the tubs.
Some of his customers bought the tubs because they helped to relieve stress and tension. Others bought the tubs because ‘they’d always wanted one’ -> there was a status symbor or some aspirational element associated with it.
Utlimately there were two fundamental reasons they bought:
- To solve a problem (such as alleviate stress or tension)
- To realize an aspiration (or move towards some ideal vision they had for themselves)
This is true for nearly every business – we help people move away from some kind of pain or towards some kind of fulfillment.
A Simple Exercise
Take a minute and think about your own business. Why do your customers do business with you? What pains are you alleviating? How are you helping them to experience a state of greater fulfillment – personally or professionally?
When you discover the answer to that question, when you discover what pain you alleviate or ideal you help to fulfill you’ll have discovered what it is that you really sell.
Then, adjust your messaging and marketing campaigns to speak to that – and you’ll watch your business start to grow.
TLDR
All businesses either solve customer problems or help them realize aspirational goals. Which does your business do and how?
