Blog

No Pain, No Gain

June 27, 2017   /   by  Michael Westafer

Focus on Buyers’ Pains for Marketing Success

There’s a brutal reality that marketers need to face.

No one cares about your business. (Well, maybe your mom.)

No one cares about your awesome products and amazing services.

I’m sorry.

The key to successful marketing is to convince people that you care about them. That you understand – really understand – their pain points and that your products or services are the best way to take away their pain, solve their problems and make their lives better.

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.--Dale Carnegie

It’s not about you. It’s about them. And all your marketing efforts need to reflect that.

It’s a bit of a paradigm shift for people who’ve been in this business for a long time, who are used to focusing on features and benefits. Unfortunately, features and benefits rarely motivate people to buy. Instead you must focus on the specific pains that your buyers are facing and show how you can alleviate them.

Remember when you are telling anyone about your products and services, the one thing that most people are thinking is – what’s in it for me?

Different audiences have different pain points. For example, imagine you are selling software.

  • The end user’s pain may be that they are frustrated because their current software is too complicated and takes too long to learn and use.
  • The CEO’s pain may be disappointment that he invested in software that his employees aren’t using, or worry because it hasn’t produced a good ROI.

Those are different problems that need to be addressed differently. And to know what different pains your customers are facing, you need to do some research and create buyer personas. Once you know exactly who you are marketing to and what their pain points are, you can craft more effective and engaging messaging.

When you start with what’s at stake for the buyer, you earn the right to their attention.--Gartner analyst Jake Sorofman

It’s time for more painful marketing.

If your marketing efforts aren’t driving enough traffic, generating enough leads or improving sales, we feel your pain. We can help. Let’s Talk.

Michael Westafer

Michael Westafer

CEO

As the CEO and founder of Roger West, Mike brings over 25 years of marketing, leadership, and business strategy experience to our team, clients, and partners. Under his leadership, the Roger West has grown from a scrappy startup to a full-service, award-winning agency. He believes in getting things done, making big things happen for clients, and delivering expert fist-bumps.