Leading With the Problem
I run a lot of workshops for agency clients.
Most of the sessions are focused on positioning and messaging - trying to help firms tell the world what they do, why it matters, and how it’s different.
I absolutely love this type of work. It’s the perfect intersection of problem-solving, creativity, and word-smithing. But invariably, we spend almost all of our time talking about the firm and the type of work they do or want to do. And that means we gloss over the most important parts - the client and their problems.
This is rarely a well understood topic, which makes it overlooked. But you realize how valuable it can be once you spot an agency who knows exactly what is keeping their clients up at night.
It’s the design firm that helps investment banks create better data interfaces for analysts.
Or the marketing firm focusing on clinical trial patient recruitment.
Unfortunately, these are the rare cases. Take a look at your competitor’s website or, better yet, your own. Chances are the first thing you’ll see is something about what you do, nothing about what you solve for (and certainly not framed in language your client speaks). That’s fine. But what we continually misunderstand is that if you want to capture someone’s attention you have to resist the urge to talk about what you want. Talk about what they want. To them, there’s nothing more interesting than self-interest.
Like it or not, agencies only exist to solve our client’s problems. And the degree to which you understand and enumerate those problems is the biggest indicator of success in the marketing and sales process. Fortunately, when done correctly, showcasing knowledge about the client’s challenge is the perfect segue into doing what we’re all so eager to do - talk about ourselves.
The alternative? Solving a problem you haven’t set up at all - and relying on the client to make the connection.
Understanding the problem
An agency is successful because they understand their clients' problems and can solve them. They stay successful because they anticipate what the next set of problems is going to be and figure out how to solve those as well.
All of this is infinitely more achievable when you have a defined audience and focus. Not only can you become an expert in a very clear and specific problem your clients face, your understanding of their entire ecosystem becomes more clear (after all, you can take learnings from client to client now). Soon enough, you’re no longer a vendor offering tactical services, you're a strategic partner helping to guide their business.
So next time you revisit your website, sales deck, or marketing materials - think more about what your client is actually trying to overcome. Your description of your agency matters, but it only matters insofar as you understand how it solves your client’s problems.
If you need help getting started, Logline offers workshops to help agencies think deeper about the client challenges they solve and how they position themselves to address them. We only work with agencies to help them improve their marketing and sales - and we’re learning more everyday.
