People have problems and it is now time to consider the people that you are delivering your solution for. Before this can happen, it’s important to pick apart the problem you are trying to solve and then unpack your solution to this problem into features and benefits.
The important thing to remember here is that it is always going to be people who have problems and these people will pay for solutions to their problems. This being said, when you are thinking about your proposition and trying to flesh out your idea, you really need to try and see everything possible through the eyes of the people. Even if you feel as though you’ve got a really good handle on that, you are still going to have to think about how people are going to access your solution. People are always going to be at the core of everything you are trying to consider.
Who are you trying to solve a problem for?
Let’s consider designer bags for a moment. Leaving people out of it, you have essentially got a load of bags and you need to think about what you need them for. How are you going to sell them? The obvious answer to this is in luggage shops or online, on Amazon perhaps. However, as soon as you add people to the mix you realise that it is actually fashion that you are talking about and you start looking for and then engaging with people in a completely different way. You start to think about your branding or the value that you are genuinely adding to people. It completely changes the way that you look at your product.
Take us for example
The above example is pretty simple; standard baggage versus designer bags, but what about a slightly less black and white example. What about us here at The Cake Mix.
- What about OUR Proposition?
- What have WE done?
- Have WE thought about the people?
Here at The Cake Mix, we are an Consulting Agency and so we effectively help SMEs with marketing and strategy. When we are thinking about how we are going to do this, we are thinking about people.
There is a massive array of people out there who need help to market and grow their business, all at different stages and under different circumstances, so our number one priority has been looking at how we can split up our proposition to make sure we are trying to deliver the right amount of value in the right way, to the right people.
As an agency helping other businesses to market their product and services, a big part of our job is to help clients delve into their own propositions, to make sure that all the necessary elements have been addressed. After all, if their marketing campaigns are to be successful, they need to have a well thought out product and be targeting the right people!
You’ll notice that there are all sorts of different ways of engaging with us, depending on where you feel you are and the level of help you feel you need. This has really helped us consider how we are trying to help people and what our product really is. These considerations help to guide how a proposition develops.
Thinking in this way also helps you find demographics you can target and to find out what your ideal market is. It creates ideal customers that you write for. When you are creating content, it guides your brand and pricing and improves your user experience.
Everything you are trying to do, when you are trying to solve a problem for a person, makes a completely different context to how you actually view your outcome.
Questions to ask yourself:
The people involved are now your main consideration. The questions provided below will help you to define who you are trying to help. It’s vital that you don’t just skim over these areas or you’ll face a whole heap of trouble further down the line. Your customers keep your business afloat at the end of the day, so you want lots of customers!
Once you can answer the following questions honestly and your idea still stands strong, you are almost there:
- What does your typical customer look like?
- What’s the YouGov Profile Type?
- What other types of products/brands do your typical customers like?
- What kind of social media platforms or geographical places do they hang out?
- How many of them are out there?
- What have you done to prove that this type of person has the kind of problem you think they have?
- What have you done to prove that this type of person would like the kind of solution you’re offering?
At the end of the day, having a clear picture of people is important because people become Demographics and demographics become targeting.
Once you’ve considered ‘The Problem’, ‘Your Solution’ and ‘The People’ it’s now time to assess ‘Your competition’.