What is solution marketing?
Solution marketing is a well-known technique in the marketing world that focuses on selling an idea rather than a product or service. It is usually presented as the solution to a problem that the audience may have, whether they know about it or not. This takes the form of aware and unaware customers – the ones who know they need an answer to a problem, and the ones who didn’t know that there was a problem in the first place.
To make solution marketing effective, it needs to communicate intangible benefits based on values, ideas and beliefs, rather than the more obvious benefits that can be found in any specifications list. This allows you to tap into the emotions of your audience and show yourself not just as the solution that they have been looking for (or not looking for, as the case may be) but also as a way to make their lives easier, better and free from some of their stresses as this can be a bigger selling point than any of the features of your product.
Understanding what solution marketing is and doing it effectively are two very different things.
Getting solution marketing right
The first step to getting solution marketing right, is to identify the problem that you are aiming to solve. You need to understand what position your audience finds themselves in and how that makes them feel if you are going to build an effective marketing strategy around it.
This will help you to find the right tone of voice for your marketing. This needs to take into consideration the mood and stresses of the audience and it must appear to be relatable to them.
At this point, it can be easy to jump feet first into listing the features of your product, but in solution marketing, this is not what provides value to a customer. They want to know that an item is easy to use, not how many speeds it has, so try to think about what they are looking for from you, as this is likely to be a lot more enticing.
Often, in marketing, we tend to put the product at the centre of our campaigns – it seems like the obvious thing to do as that is what you are trying to sell. However, in solution marketing, it is the customer who needs to be in the middle of everything that you do. Focus on them, use trigger phrases to inspire or motivate them, educate and inform them and then show how what you offer will make their lives easier or better.
We live in a world that piles increasing amounts of stress onto our shoulders every day, so it stands to reason that people are now more receptive to the idea that you can bring relief, security or peace of mind. After all, the problem you have is how to market your product, and we have spent the last 600 words showing you that the creative minds here at Koobr are the answer to your prayers.
