Nice product strategists fall in love with the person’s downside, not the answer.

“Query the whole lot. Study one thing. Reply nothing” — Euripides

It appeared customers hated the location or no less than weren’t participating as anticipated. Unable to give you a purpose, I stored asking myself why. I simply launched a killer function that ought to have considerably elevated person engagement on the location. Who doesn’t love free content material, in spite of everything? Particularly a wholly free information to search engine marketing (this was greater than a decade in the past). All I requested for was their e mail.

But, after engaged on the launch all evening, I sat in my home questioning why. I used to be drained, pissed off, and bewildered. Possibly I simply wanted some sleep. Sure, that’s it. Take a break. So I stepped away for just a few days. I wouldn’t take a look at the metrics.

After I got here again, nothing modified. Now I used to be in full-on panic mode. Was there an issue with the location? Did I waste all that point creating wonderful content material solely to fail? In fact I did. What I needed wasn’t according to my person’s expectations. I wasn’t fixing their downside; I used to be fixing my very own. I needed their e mail. They needed free content material first. It was a standoff.

There’s a well-known saying from Stephen Covey, “Start with the top in thoughts.” This quote is taken by many as enterprise gospel. In relation to product technique, nothing could possibly be farther from the reality. It could be finest in case you start with out something in thoughts.

All too usually, we imagine we already know the reply. That’s the place we go fallacious. I assumed customers would need my content material badly sufficient to commerce their e mail, no questions requested. I failed the primary take a look at of product technique.

I began with what I believed. I began with what I needed. I didn’t begin with the issue my customers had. I started with the top in thoughts — which was to get their e mail.

On the time, search engine marketing was a little bit of a black field. Enterprise leaders knew it was important, but it surely was the area of search engine entrepreneurs and gurus. Gurus who, for my part, charged method an excessive amount of cash to coach you on a self-discipline evolving at warp velocity. I needed to alter that. To promote a course that advanced with what labored in search engine advertising. I needed to supply it at a disruptive value level.

I knew that to succeed I wanted to construct a sizeable e mail record. With common conversion charges within the single digits, a major variety of emails was the one option to gross sales. The query was get these emails.

I believe you may see the place I went fallacious. I wasn’t in love with the person’s downside; I used to be in love with my very own problem — getting emails to promote a course that met my goals.

What did I do subsequent? Fortunately, I didn’t proceed to imagine in or execute a failed technique. As an alternative, I assumed lengthy and arduous about the issue — not my downside, however my person’s downside. Earlier than you’re employed or rework a product technique, it’s essential to know what your consumers and customers will need. Solely then are you able to create a product that may promote.

I simply wanted to seek out the precise downside I might remedy that might make a person really feel comfy sharing their e mail and concurrently constructing belief. Sadly, I incorrectly thought customers have been so determined to study search engine marketing that they might leap on the alternative to provide me their contact info.

Discovering the precise downside to concentrate on is tough, little doubt. But, the success of your product is dependent upon it. Finally, I believed in my coronary heart that there was a marketplace for my product. I simply wanted sufficient emails to show it.

Stepping again, I finished worrying about emails and refocused on the person downside. Why would a person need the knowledge I needed to supply within the first place? Nice downside exploration begins with sticky notes you may put in your wall. My tough ideas on the time have been:

• Affordability: Was it a query of value customers have been attempting to resolve?
• Supply: Was it a query of hiring a guru vs. agency vs. DIY?
• Updates: Data within the search engine marketing area was evolving on the velocity of the web. Was it a query of preserving updated?
• Overwhelmed: Did customers really feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by the problem of studying search engine marketing, which seemed to be a black field?
• Do it Your self (DIY): Did customers even wish to study search engine marketing within the first place?

I then began jotting down why my goal, small and medium-sized companies (SMBs), would hesitate to share their e mail.

• SMBs wish to strive earlier than they purchase in a low-pressure, low-risk method
• SMBs wish to defend their e mail from spam
• SMBs want to grasp what they’re getting in return for his or her e mail
• SMBs wanted to know they might belief me earlier than sharing one thing private, their e mail

Whereas illustrative and never the exhaustive record, I believe you may guess the place I landed. Customers wanted to know they might belief me earlier than sharing one thing private, their e mail.

Then, after speaking with just a few customers, I landed on the next revised downside assertion.

Small and medium-sized enterprise house owners wish to optimize their website to rank excessive in search outcomes to drive gross sales. Nonetheless, they might not afford gurus or advertising companies. As an alternative, they should study on their very own. But, they worry losing time, studying solely to fail given the velocity of change. Due to this fact, they wanted not solely to study however maintain their data updated, they usually needed to maneuver at their very own tempo.

Quick ahead to the answer. I might open-source the bottom information and supply a free publication. Thefreeseoguide.com was born (be aware: I shut it down years in the past). Customers who offered their e mail deal with might obtain the information (versus entry on-line solely) and obtain the most recent search engine marketing information of their inbox. This method achieved the target, constructed belief, and emails began coming in. It additionally allowed me to promote the course with ongoing updates at a disruptive value level. By understanding and specializing in the person downside, I achieved my aim.

Through the years, I can’t depend the instances I’ve been requested choose the precise downside assertion. Whereas there isn’t a magic components to deciding on the proper downside assertion, there’s a framework I exploit to slender down the choices. Finally it comes right down to prioritizing for affect at scale.

• Impression: What’s the web constructive affect of fixing the issue assertion for the person and your group? For instance, will it enhance a key metric (e.g., income) by greater than 50%? Will it scale back a person’s time to finish an motion by greater than 50%? Impression means important enchancment.
• Scale: How far does the issue attain? You wish to know that the attain is way sufficient that the affect will translate to tangible outcomes. 100% affect on 1% of the income or one buyer will produce no worth at scale. Higher than 50% attain, in fact, with the occasional exception, is the goal.
• Candy Spot Quadrant: The no-brainer class. You might be above 50% attain and 50% metric affect. Your path is obvious in case you solely have one downside assertion on this class.
• Contemplate Quadrant: These are downside statements value contemplating however shouldn’t be your first selection. In case you have no downside statements within the Candy Spot, I encourage you to take one other move. On the finish of the day, in case you can solely give you an issue assertion that impacts 50% of the members however has an 80% affect, it’s nonetheless value exploring.
• Why Hassle / Not Sufficient Impression Quadrants: Don’t transfer ahead.

Your aim is to seek out an issue assertion that hits the candy spot. An issue that may attain sufficient customers/consumers and have sufficient affect to generate significant outcomes in your group (e.g., income) and your consumers/customers (e.g., time saved).

I can’t stress this level sufficient — be sure you nail an issue assertion that may have an effect at scale earlier than you progress to the following step within the product technique. If you happen to can’t discover one for the product you wish to create, you need to return to the product idea drafting board.

Within the case of my search engine optimisation coaching and consulting enterprise, I lastly landed on an issue assertion that I felt had sufficient affect at scale. Nonetheless, I additionally discovered that you have to first begin your product technique with an issue orientation.

It’s by no means good to construct an answer that solves solely your downside and one that’s not sufficiently big to affect your online business. As an alternative, begin by asking your self, will this downside be significant for my person or purchaser or group — and have sufficient scale potential to be well worth the time invested?