I understand how it feels to be ignored in this noisy marketing world. It’s a challenge to speak in a way that gets the attention of your dream clients. Whether you’re a life coach, photographer, realtor, designer, you name it… If you’re asking the question, “How on earth do I stand out?!” then I have a solution for you! It all starts with knowing what the customer wants and what their problem is, then positioning yourself as the guide that will solve that problem.
In order to successfully sell your product or service, you need to have 2 really important things:
- A deep understanding of your products and services
- A DEEPER understanding of your target customer
The first one usually comes easy, but understanding your audience beyond an age and gender can give us headaches.
There is a podcast episode version of this post! Listen to it in the podcast player below. Or, search for episode 026 of the Breakthrough Brand Podcast wherever you get your podcasts! Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts!
Successfully selling your offering all starts with understanding your customer’s DEEPEST pain points. By talking about the problems that our customers face, we deepen their interest in what we have to offer, we prove that we can be trusted, and we allow the customer to engage with our brand.
To understand your target audience, you need to know their needs and desires. By understanding this, you can communicate through your design and messaging in a way that they will be attracted to (and buy from).
A great message is NOT when your ideal client understands you, it’s when your ideal client feels understood BY YOU.
So, ask yourself the question: “What does my ideal customer want/need?” Because trust me, they want something, and they are likely not on your website or social media just to “browse” – they are looking for a solution to a problem.
To demonstrate with my business, it does not matter how much someone understands my services if they don’t feel that I understand the pain points they struggle within their business that led them to seek out my services.
1. How to Discover your Customer’s Pain Points
Here’s a list of questions for you to explore about your brand. Get out a notebook or computer document and start brainstorming answers!
- Ask yourself: What is the solution you are offering? Read over your past testimonials and look for patterns of problems solved.
- When you’re speaking to a potential client, what do you they say? What are they looking for?
- Survey your audience on social media or your mailing list and ask about their problems in relation to your products/services.
- Ask yourself: How can your products/services make someone’s life better?
- Is there a bigger issue that your brand is defeating?
- What will your ideal client’s life look like if they DON’T get what they want? What happens if they never discover your offering?
Here are some great pain point examples from my design clients:
Health/Life Coach: My ideal client doesn’t like the way they feel in their body. They cannot find their purpose in the world. They desire a sustainable, abundant, love-filled life.
Home Organization Company: My ideal client’s home is a wreck, which makes them feel like their life is a wreck. They need someone to help tidy it up so they can stop feeling embarrassed.
Marketing Company: My ideal client works so hard on social media for their business, but they wonder “Why won’t any of it work?” They are sick of hearing crickets on every post and need someone to take this off their plate.
Cake Bakery: My ideal client wants an incredible cake for their wedding that is as unique and special as they are.
Photographer: My ideal client wants to capture the sweet moments in their children’s lives, but they are horrible with a camera. They need someone to take the perfect family photo for their Christmas card.
In the brand strategy process, we work through what exactly the pain point with which their dream clients need their help. Once we identify exactly what that pain point is, we can speak to it on the website design and in other marketing materials.
2. How to SPEAK to your Customer’s Pain Points
Now that you’ve discovered your customer’s pain points, what do you do with it? It all starts with expressing empathy and authority.
Empathy: An expression of understanding the pain and frustration of the customer.
Authority: Giving them the confidence that you have the ability to help them.
Let’s talk about empathy first:
We trust people who understand us and who are like us. In business, it’s the same: people trust brands who understand them. People want to be seen, heard, and understood. Empathy is NOT about talking about how great your business and your services are. It’s about the customer.
Once you know what your customer’s problems are and how you can solve them, take a try at filling in these statements:
- Like you, we understand how it feels to …
- Nobody should have to experience …
- Like you, we are frustrated by …
- I get it, you struggle with …
Or, lastly, my favorite… The Feel, Felt, Found Model:
I know how you feel, I have felt the same way too, until I found …
If you scroll back up to the first paragraph of this blog post, you’ll find that I used the Feel, Felt, Found Model there! Remember that YOU are a real person, trying to market to another real person. So, be human – not a sales machine. Customers look for brands that they have something in common with. If you want to read more about creating commonality with your ideal client, click here.
If you want to dive deeper into the Feel, Felt, Found method with an exact framework plus examples for small business owners, download the free guide below!
Authority:
You can’t just stop at empathy though...you have to show that you can solve the problem, which is where authority comes in. No one likes a “know it all,” but they do like people with serious experience in solving the problem they have. You don’t need to be perfect. In fact, it’s better if you aren’t, but you do need to be a step ahead of the people you are trying to help.
Here are 5 great ways to show authority in your marketing:
- Testimonials: Let others do the talking for you with proof that you can solve the problem your potential customer is seeking help with!
- Content Creation: This could be blog posts, podcasts, books, Instagram posts, etc. The goal is to show that you know what you’re doing and can in fact help.
- Certifications/Awards: Are you certified in what you do? Are you “award winning?” Let’s show it!
- Statistics: This one is super powerful, but often overlooked. Showing statistics about your customer’s success and your business shows authority well. For example, on my website, I show statistics about the number of clients served.
Make sure your customers know that you have the skills required for you to be trusted.
One last note about marketing and sales:
I know some people (ok, A LOT of people) struggle with feeling sleazy when they use marketing strategies to sell their products/services. I get that. I’ve been there. Here’s something for you to consider that has completely changed my own perspective:
Do you believe that your offering can really help people? Do you believe that you have the solution to people’s problems, if only they can find you?
If you care about helping people solve their problems with your solution, then it’s your job to sell your offering with confidence, boldness, and strategy. When you really care about your clients and customers and believe in what you’re doing, the selling part comes easy!
And remember: A great message is NOT when your ideal client understands you, it’s when your ideal client feels understood BY YOU. So, get to know their struggles and how you play a role in solving them and talk about it.
If you need more help in discovering your ideal client, head over to this post for a free workbook!
If you want to dive deeper into the Feel, Felt, Found method with an exact framework plus examples for small business owners, download the free guide below!
Listen to the podcast version of this blog post here for a more expansive approach to this topic! And, get more on this topic in this blog post on why your stuff won't sell.
March 16, 2018
Most insightful post I’ve read so far on customer pain points and research. Love it!
I love this so much!