Here’s a hard truth for small businesses marketers: people don’t buy things because they saw a picture of it. They don’t even buy things because they saw a picture of it and how much it costs. They don’t buy things because they saw a picture of it and how much it costs, accompanied by some catchy copy.

The problem: a need

Customers buy your things because they need what you’re marketing.

First, a quick terms check: marketing goes beyond the advertising piece or the organic social media posting piece, but for the purpose of this blog, small business social media marketing and paid ads management for small businesses are what this article will be focusing on.

The job of small business marketers is to identify a need that the target customer has—a desire so deep down that they might not even be aware of that need—and position a service or product as the solution to their problem.

Causing problems to sell stuff—unethical and not what I’m talking about

Marketing can be a manipulative industry. Playing into this is the ever thriving American materialism; fashion that’s faster than ever before thanks to Shein, Halara, and Cider; access to cheap products straight from China thanks to Temu and Alibaba…the marketing climate right now relies on tricking people, especially on social media.

Some creators are tricking people into thinking that what they’re hawking on TikTok Shop is a different product than what’s for sale on Amazon, that the skirt they’re seeing on their favorite celebrity is somehow the same one they can buy for $20, and that no matter what, you need the latest and best and newest and cheapest whatever-it-is.

I mean, good for them, I guess? Making up fake problems (I can’t afford to dress like Taylor Swift) in order to create a solution (I can buy that same purple tennis skirt from that video she posted!) is a supervillain genius move.

But true, healthy problem-solution marketing doesn’t create problems in order to solve them, it finds the problems that are there that people may have disassociated from and shows how the service or product you offer can help address it.

So what is it, then?

For example, let’s look at these ads I made for my own business.

People don’t pay a social media manager unless they need help with their socials. But why would people need help?

I could just say that it’s because they have a lot on their plate and they need to outsource something. That’s a good start. But that’s a surface-level problem—everyone has more to do than time in which to do it. How can I turn that need into leads?

Why would someone want to save time? What could they be doing with that time if they weren’t spending it posting on social media? Maybe doing yoga, maybe playing with their kid, maybe actually watching the baseball game they’re at instead of replying to comments.

This is where I as a small business owner can appeal to the human need that is at the root of the desire. A mompreneur, like any mom, wants to be a mom who plays with her kid over the summer—only a mom can be a mom, but I can handle social media marketing. A business owner who feels like they have to take work calls while doing yoga because they don’t have time for both no longer has to “split” their attention. Parents can be truly, deeply present at their kids’ events and can put their phone away.

In three different ways, I’ve positioned myself and my services as the solution to a deep human problem: FOMO. Thanks to social media management services from Aelsa on Socials, no one has to have FOMO about their kids or their extracurricular activities ever again. They can get as much time with their kids, with themselves, with their family as they want, all because they hired me.

Again, problem-solution marketing:

❌ does not create a problem that doesn’t exist and then convince potential customers that they have that problem

✅ does use what you know about your target customer to identify what their true desire is.

Find the problem…then solve it!

Finding your positioning can be tricky, but here’s a quick 5-step process you can try:

Identify your target customers. Who are the people who would benefit from your product/service?
Identify the benefit. How would your target customer benefit from your product/service?
Ask yourself why. Why would your product benefit your target customer?
Figure out what matters. What core need, value, concern, or desire does that “why” speak to?
Take them on that journey. Connect the dots for your target customer through your copy and creatives.

Let’s do a speed round. Let’s try…beef jerky.

Target customer: men who like meat
Benefit: beef jerky benefits men who like meat because it’s meat that doesn’t need to be refrigerated, is quick to grab, easy to eat, etc.
Why: quick access to meat benefits my target customer because they are busy, but need something that’s going to address hunger not just provide empty calories
What matters: efficiency and substance
Journey: don’t sell the jerky on its own merits, tie it into what matters through creative imagery and copy.

Marketing as empathy

If you’ve been around my blog or website for any time at all, you’ve bumped up against my value statement for Aelsa on Socials: effective marketing is an exercise in empathy.

Whether on social media, on billboards, or even within your process of coming up with new offerings, you will find that things work out better when you can put yourself in your target customer’s shoes.

You will not be able to successfully walk yourself through that five-step process if you can’t suspend your belief that everybody needs what you offer because your product is just that great. Tell you what, you might have an amazing snake breeding business with top-tier snakes and great snake prices, and I’d still never buy a snake from you because I don’t need a snake!!

If you’re out here trying to sell snakes, you need to be willing to focus on a target market and then prove to those people why they don’t just need a snake, but they need one of YOUR snakes. It takes humility to be a good marketer, and as counter-intuitive as it may seem, problem-solution positioning for your product or service is a good way to practice that.

Shameless plug…

I’m releasing a 3-page Canva template to jumpstart your creative process for problem-solution positioning to my email list on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 so join the list now to get access!

Plus, if you’re feeling stretched for time, like you want more time with your family and less time trying to walk yourself through five steps of problem-solution marketing, hit me up. I’d be happy to put together a proposal for you for either full-service packages or 1:1 consulting! You can send me a note here!

Small Business Social Media Marketing: Problem-Solution Positioning