Marketing to Prospect’s challenges

Posted by Jerry Smith · November 27, 2009 · Print This Article

It’s Thanksgiving here in the US. Well, it was yesterday anyway! It is still the season to be giving thanks for the blessings we have. However, in marketing terms, there is something else to consider and that is challenges and problems – those of your prospects that is.

It has been said there are only four reasons people buy:

To avoid pain NOW - this is the most powerful driver. Your prospect is dealing with an issue or challenge right now, and they are very interested in resolving that pain. They may not be aware of it until you bring it up, or at least may not be aware that there is a solution available. Think about a frustration or challenge you are seeking to resolve in your business or personal life right now. Are you interested in someone who understands that and offers a solution? An example might be a prospect who has just discovered a leak in their roof and needs it fixed cost effectively right away.
To avoid pain LATER – in other words, take action now to avoid a problem down the line. Insurance is an example, retirement saving is another. Your prospect wants to do something in anticipation of a problem at a later date – again, they may not even be aware of this at the moment.
To gain pleasure NOW – in short, buying something makes their life better NOW. This is often where retail businesses operate,especially the day after Thanksgiving! Making that purchase is pleasurable, and is a driver to purchase.
To gain pleasure LATER – deferred gratification. Saving money to spend later is a good example – savings planning. In the expectation of getting something good later, people will spend some money now.

So what does this have to do with marketing? With the possible switching of items 2 and 3, this is basically the order of priority people go through when deciding how to spend their money. Note that all these are very much focused on THE PROSPECT THEMSELVES. Nowhere here is there some sort of altruistic desire to simply give money to a service based business.

The implication is pretty clear. Your marketing message will be hugely more effective when it plugs into one of these four desires. The most powerful expression of all is when it talks to issues of pain the prospect is dealing with NOW. Here is the good news – you know these pain points. They are what you set your business up to solve. It is the problems your greatest clients overcome when they work with you.

Make sure you are always focussed on the issues and challenges faced by your prospects. When you get into a conversation with them about hiring you, you will have ample time to expand on your service offering but that isn’t the place to start – remember your prospects are looking at one of the 4 areas outlines above, they don’t care about your stuff unless and until you demonstrate you understand them at the level they are dealing with those issues.

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