One of the more useful ways to look at the world through your customer's eyes instead of your own is to ask what problem you're solving.
If you're Apple, you can create a product that solves the "I don't have that object, and now that I've seen it I desperately want it" problem. Jimmy Choo solves that problem (or did when the brand was launched in the 90s), and so does Hermès and the Bugaboo. If you have the talent and the marketing budget, it's not a bad route, but it's closed to most of us.
Seth Godin solves that problem as well. He gives you answers to problems you didn't understand you had until you read him. Smaller marketing budget, but there's still the talent thing.
(Godin makes the excellent point in this video of a speech to Google that if the problem you're solving isn't compelling, you've got a rough road ahead. No one cares much about their "I'd like a slightly better version of something that is already just fine" problem.)
Some useful problems to solve
Aaron Wall solves the "I want to be on page one of Google" problem. Copyblogger solves the "my writing doesn't make people do what I want them to" problem. Ed Dale solves the "I hate my life in a cube farm" problem.
eBay solves the "my mom threw away all the great stuff I had when I was a kid" problem. Blogger and WordPress and TypePad solve the "Web coding is hard" problem. Google solves the "Internet is too big" problem.
I started out solving the "writing is hard" problem for my employers and customers. Somewhere along the line I also started to help people with their "making Web sites is hard" problem.
The problem that's interesting to me now is "our customers don't love us enough" problem. How to take a company with a really great product and ease that light out from under the bushel. How to tell the world what you're already doing right. How to communicate respect and integrity . . . with words on a page or a screen, and with a million other things, small and big.
Now what?
At some point, you need to ask what problem you're solving. (Whether that's with your business, your nonprofit, your project, your committee.) What problem do you wish you solved? Is it a real problem? Does it matter to someone other than you?
This can be a terribly scary question. You might find that your answer is, well, weak. It's not going to get any less painful to figure that out tomorrow.
Peter Drucker once asked: What problem are you able to solve rather easily, that would be hard for most people?
Now, who could you help with that?
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Great post. No one can find the right answers if they are not asking the right questions.
Great advise as always!! I just finished watching the Seth “Google” video. I think I’m becoming a fan of his.
By reading your article I realize that what I can easily help people is not what my blog is about!
Thanks for the article. Really incisive and quite true. We need to offer a solution if we are to sell ourselves.
moserw
http://www.nela.in
“What problem are you able to solve rather easily, that would be hard for most people?”
So true. Once I started answering this question, I have seen income from my blog/website expand dramatically. I wrote a few little utilities that make life easier for people trying to make complex charts in Excel. In only a couple months, this income stream has zoomed well over the AdSense stream.
I didn’t follow anyone’s advice to start selling solutions, if I had I’d have started years ago. But it’s been fun, and now I can’t stop thinking of additional utilities to develop.
Great article and advice, do you have any tips for B2B blogs? Do you have any advice on how B2B blogs can specifically solve problems?
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One problem for “humanistic” folks like me is that we don’t “solve” problems so much as “help with” or “lessen” or “ameliorate.”
Language is important. The loss of modesty in the marketplace can have a negative effect on the culture, but I’m not complaining – it’s just the way it is.
Shaun
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I love how you write, Sonia; so clear & undertsandable. Your Drucker quote is the perfect summary to a timely article. Many thanks! P.
That’s definitely true! Since I read this post, I’ve questioned the real value of what I blog about. You’re right, if it’s something people don’t really care about, it’s weak. There are many things people don’t care about improving even if I personally care about it. Now I’m on exploring something I thought would greatly benefit others. How to make money fast through blogging! (or even just faster than we thought we could) Maybe we could all use a bit of it, especially if it’s safe, legal and a bit fun
This is the number one issue we face with new clients who come in wanting help with a startup. They usually have a product or service all fleshed out, but cannot tell us what problem it solves, how many people have that problem or how painful the problem is for people who have it. This is a great post. You do a fantastic job of breaking down a topic our clients confront on a daily basis and providing some examples that make the issue very easy to wrap your arms around.
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I just learned this week that I can help solve the “speaking (or writing) is scary” problem for people. Now I’m updating my blog to reflect this!
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It’s a nice article, and given me a new vision of the word or the phenomenon, in my sense, i call “Problem”. I’ve given a long time to think that what could be the problem that people need to be solved, but i never found and answer. Now looking at this article i feel, like i really never new the exact meaning of problem, indeed i made it a bit more complicated, than it is. But in the end i will say that the article is a greater help, at least for me. Thanks
I’m glad I came across this article. I entered the blog scene in a rush to see some form of monetary outcome. It’s become clear to me that to make a successful site, one has to solve problems. Thank you for this insight.
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Good article Sonia.
People don’t buy products, they buy solutions to their problems. Love your work here, at copyblogger, and marketing for nice people.
Sonia, Great article. Very down to earth, you’ve explain it perfectly. I think phrasing the questions that readers have just as you’ve done will help me find a good niche!
Nice Post. I really like it.. Thanks for sharing..
So true, but sometimes this can be a difficult question to answer and once you do – then sticking to it on your blog or website. I think it can be so temping for people to go down the “I” road – it’s like a bad habit that can be hard to break – so we must hear this “it’s not about you” message over and over to really find our place in the solution equation. We bookmarked this as our reminder.
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