It’s important in business to understand what your customer wants, but it’s even more important to understand why. What are the underlying needs, issues, concerns or problems that are driving people to seek out a particular product or service? Knowing the answers will help you create better content for your blog and social media.

In the marketing world, these are often referred to as “pain points.” The idea is that the customer is seeking a product or service to solve some sort of pain that they may or may not be aware of. I don’t like the negative connotation of pain, so I prefer to refer to them as “deepest desires.”

Here’s why they matter to you: As a provider, the more you understand why people need or desire what you offer, the better you can tailor your product or service to meet that need or desire. This applies to developing content as well. Knowing what drives people will help you to find the messages and words that will connect with them.

Suppose you clean houses. Why do people hire someone to clean their house? The obvious answer is that they don’t want to do it themselves. But why? Is it because they don’t like to clean? Then you want to talk with them about how you can take that job off their hands. Or, is it because they’re so busy?
Then talk about how much time you can save them.

But there’s more. Why is having a clean house important to them? Do they a greater sense of peace when their home is clean? Or do they want to avoid being harassed by an in-law? Maybe it’s a little bit of both. Should you be talking about how you can relieve stress or how you can help your customer impress the visitors?

Now, dig deeper. What’s important to them about how the product or service is delivered? Scheduling? Cost? Style? When you know the answer, you can talk in terms of how you will address their issues. They will see how you will solve their problem.

• Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think through the buying process from their perspective.
• Ask current customers about why they chose you and what your product or service has done for them.
• Talk to potential customers about what is important to them.
• Ask why, and then ask why, and then ask why.

It’s sort of like being a detective trying to uncover the truth.

Converting Deepest Desires into Creative Content

Once you’ve identified the deepest desires, it’s time to make it work for you. For starters, the deepest desires can guide you in choosing what to write about. Now that you know more about what your customers really need and want, you can find subjects that will speak directly to them. Keep the deepest desires in mind also as you write content for blogs and social media. It will help you make what you write more personal.

Consider how what you offer can fill the deepest desire. You can emphasize those points in your content. It shapes how you talk about what you do.

Let’s look at how this could work for a wedding photographer. His customers are couples who want to document the day.

Here’s what we might uncover in the first round of “why”

• To extend the celebration past the day.
• To remember it for years to come.
• To have holiday gifts for their guests

All of that is reasonable. They’re spending a lot of money on this event and they want to get the most out of it that they can. But why are they spending all that money?
Because they love each other and they want to share that moment with their friends and family not just on that day but over time.

Thinking about this, the photographer can talk on his website and in brochures about how a photo is more than just a picture, it’s a tangible illustration of their love. And, it’s a connection with friends and family through the years long after the day is over. The photographer can use those same themes for his blog and social media posts.

He can talk about how his photos will convey the tone of the party and serve as a visible connection to the event. He can talk about the high quality of the photos and how they will last throughout the years.

This is not meant to limit what you talk about or what types of posts you put up. But it serves as a guide and helps you from getting stuck.

 

Summer is for relaxing and we have just the course that can help. Sign up for this 8-week online workshop to take the stress out of online marketing. We’ll walk you through setting up a campaign to reach more customers and grow your business. First call kicks off July 10th! Register Now