Creating a Top 10 List of your customers problems can save your business in a number of ways. Some of these are obvious while others lay hidden below the surface, just waiting to be exposed.
I was reminded of this tonight while sitting in class and listening to Professor Marilyn Blocker‘s husband (Edward Blocker) guest speak during our lecture.
In reality and in my own experience, many businesses fail to understand exactly what the problems and challenges are that their customers face. I am going to argue that the best position you have in creating any type of product or service is one from a place that lets you actively see the challenges and obstacles that your customers face.
In other words, you must create your solutions with your customers problems in mind from the beginning.
Create The Solution Directly from the Problem
For example – If you were going to create a product that showed people how to get six pack abs, you should focus on creating a list of the top 10 biggest challenges people face while trying to get those rock hard abs and then create your product around those 10 things.
Your list might look like:
1. Too much belly fat
2. Not sure what to eat
3. Not sure what exercises are the best
4. How long do they have to train for?
5. Do they have to keep switching exercises
6. How many days per week should they exercise their abs?
etc… And the list goes on.
Once you have a list that looks like this with the Top 10 (or even more) problems and challenges that your customers face, you can begin to create a product with the perfect solution. Eventually, you will know the needs, wants and desires of your customers better then they do. You will be able to make decisions for them and guide them down the right path.
Turn the Problem Into The Solution
You can literally begin to turn these problems into solutions. Your product or service will literally build itself and your customers will thank you for providing the information that they need to solve their problems.
Let’s go back to our list and give some examples of how we can solve these problems:
For this example, let’s assume that we’re creating an informational product on this topic.
1. You can write a chapter that explains what to eat to reduce belly fat. You can explain carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
2. You can include recipes and meal plans.
3. Give detailed exercise and workout plans for people to follow.
4. Recommend a certain amount of time to be spent training and advise not to go under or over it
5. Introduce the concept of doing “split” workout routines and give detailed examples and plans.
6. Answer this question specifically
7. Send me 20% of all sales of this product… Just kidding… Not really… Send me 25%
That’s How You Create A Business
If you’re in business, you simply CAN’T afford to ignore this. By knowing what problems people face you are able to solve them and provide a valuable service that people are willing to pay for. This is the foundation of any profitable business.
Following this method takes all of the guess work out of the process and leaves you with better products and services that appear as though they were created with a high degree of precision specifically for the unique problems of your customers.
I love doing this because it adds another dimension to product creation. I always talk about how important it is to create the right kind of product for the right target audience – but this is one concrete way in which it can be done.