How to know when you’re solving the wrong problem

Oftentimes when I sit down with a client for the first time, the question I am trying to help them answer is this: Do you have a product problem, or a marketing problem? 

This usually applies to situations where the client is having some sort of business difficulty, but the question is valuable in just about all cases as well. And there are several variations to the answer.

• The product is fine and the marketing is good. Success! Keep doing what you’re doing, with an eye on your competition and an ear toward your customer.

• The product is fine, but the marketing is not. This might be the most frustrating, but is the easiest of the variations to solve. This is a straight marketing and PR exercise, a function of trying to find the right message to move the needle and deliver that message through the correct channel.  

• The product has a problem, but the marketing is fine. Sometimes you can get away with having a subpar or flawed product if the marketing itself is good. But that usually isn’t sustainable — customers figure out in the long run if there’s an issue with the product or service, and can find alternatives if need be.

• The product has a problem and the marketing isn’t helping. Now you’re in trouble. Whatever product or service you’ve developed has a flaw, and the marketing isn’t working, most likely because no amount of marketing can hide a flawed product forever.

Example: Early in my career, my firm worked with a rural hospital that was struggling to attract patients. They were convinced that it was a marketing problem, that they had just gotten a bad rap in the community. But upon doing a site visit, we saw clear problems that were contributing to this perception. The facility wasn’t as clean as it should have been. Front-line personnel lacked customer service skills. The care might have been fine, but the experience was lousy. And it was costing them. 

So how do you figure out which issue you may be facing? It’s expensive to be wrong — organizations invest time and money in the wrong fix because they haven’t identified the actual cause of a problem.

There are a few ways to get to the bottom of what ails you from a business standpoint. All of these concepts apply to both goods and services, and to for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

• It starts with a very simple concept, but one that people struggle with more than you may realize: Honesty.

Not “honesty” in the sense that people are trying to be purposefully deceitful; this is usually (but not always) more of an ego-driven issue that clouds judgment and obscures reality. Sometimes, it’s just difficult to believe that all the hard work you may be doing isn’t moving the needle. But if you can’t be honest and open-minded, chances are you’ll never really see the full extent of the problem. 

• The customer is always right — so ask them what the deal is. Engaging with customers should be a function of continuous improvement and identifying problems before they become problems. Talk to them. Send them follow up notes. Survey them. Do everything you can to get information from them on what’s working and not working.

• Talk to people who DON’T use your product or service. And ask them questions such as these:

Does the product/service we’re offering make sense?

Does the way we talk about the product/service help you understand it?

Do you use a similar or competitive product? If so, why? 

• Find your sweet spot. Let’s say you’re selling widgets, and the widget you are making is really good, but it’s not the best widget on the market. That’s fine — if you’re not representing that your widget is the best widget on the market. Maybe you’re better off selling at volume. Maybe your price should be in the low- to mid-range of the market. But don’t try to be something that you’re not. If you do, the customer will figure it out.

Again, all of these things apply to both products and services. And people can be part of the problem in both cases. You may have an excellent product or service, but if the people interfacing with the customer don’t represent that product or service with the right message and with a focus on quality, it won’t matter.

So if you’re trying to figure out how to put your organization in the best position for success, be a little introspective. Be honest. Then ask outsiders what they see and experience when they interact with you. If you do, you’ll be better able to figure out exactly what it is you need to improve.