“The most overlooked psychological trigger of all is the concept of identifying and magnifying the PROBLEM… Newspapers know it, magazines exploit it and the evening news literally has a party with it. Have you noticed all they focus on is problems? Don’t you just die of curiosity to find out which rock star has split up with his wife or partner?
Doesn’t a forest fire catch your attention more than just nice sweeping montages of the trees? Look at the news headlines today and you will be irresistibly drawn towards the problems.”
— Sean D’Souza
The Psychology of Problem Centered Marketing
For most businesses word of mouth is still the best advertising money can’t buy. But it can be nurtured.
Your marketing materials may highlight the benefits, features and solutions your business or organization offers and still miss the proverbial boat. Why?
People naturally talk about their problems and the solutions they find. That’s word of mouth advertising.
Determining your marketing target is the most difficult and most rewarding thing that a business or organization can do. The million-dollar question is, “Who will buy your products and/or services?” Figure that out and your business will soar.
This is particularly difficult for new businesses who don’t have sufficient sales history to examine for answers. But if the truth be told, many businesses and organizations simply do not have sufficient data about their existing customers to make a definitive definition, either.
So how will you determine who will be interested in your products and/or services?
Answer: Quit trying to push your customers into a sale. Pull them in with a correct diagnosis of their problem. Put your finger on the sore spot. Don’t avoid the problem. Talk about it. Invoke suspense and intrigue. Don’t bore people with your solutions. Bring up their problem and the people with the problem you bring up will give you their undivided attention.
Elements of Word of Mouth Marketing
- Problem — People spend money to solve problems. People ignore features, benefits and solutions that don’t relate to their problems. Help make this essential connection by describing the problem you solve.
- Solution — People are not interested in your solutions or the benefits or features of your products or services. Rather, they simply want to solve their problems.
- Target Audience — Take your attention off yourself, your company, your organization, your products and your services. And present your ideal customer’s perspective.
- Questions — People naturally have questions. Don’t think of them as objections. People just want to know about this or that, or how it works or applies, etc. So, answer their questions for them. Don’t make them ask.
- Case Study — People go where people have gone before. Present a simple case study of someone who has had a problem like the one you described, and how they solved it with your products and/or services.
- Risk Reversal — People crave safety. Make doing business with you safe by providing a guarantee of some kind.
- USP Your Unique Selling Proposition — Why should anyone buy from you, rather than from someone else? If you don’t tell them, they won’t know.
Call for help with your marketing plan and implementation.