During one of my recent seminars, an attendee took issue with my use of the word “problem”. It seems he’d been trained to call them “opportunities” instead, and felt that using the word problem was negative. Now, I’m all for putting a positive spin on things, but in my mind problems are something we grow up with. Can you imagine how some of our day-to-day expressions might change if we substituted “opportunity” for “problem”? For example:

“Johnny, I’ve got an opportunity with your attitude.”
“Susie, please finish your math opportunities.”
“He’s a real opportunity in the classroom.”

I believe in telling it straight with a minimum of happy-talk, so in my world, you’ll find “problems” in a marketing effort, and “opportunities” in the want ads section. I mention this because developing a good marketing plan for your business is really a problem-solving exercise. You’ll identify your company’s marketing problems and then work towards solving them through your marketing efforts.

Problem-solving steps
As you develop a marketing plan for your business, first identify all marketing problems (i.e. lack of awareness, declining sales, pricing is too low, etc.) your business faces, and get them out on the table. Then, prioritize each to determine which ones require immediate attention. Finally, you’ll start addressing those that are the highest-priority problems.

Identify Your Problems
Perhaps your employees keep mentioning that your prices are too high. Maybe your customers complain that your product line isn’t broad enough. Perhaps you’ve found that competitors have broader distribution channels than yours. Maybe you’re just concerned that your business lacks awareness in its market.
If you have access to customer research, some of your problems will be easily found there. But if you don’t, here’s a list of the most common problems I find in growing businesses:

• Our market is shrinking.
• No one knows who we are.
• Our current customers are leaving.
• We’re not generating new customers.
• The market thinks we offer only one product or service—but we offer more.
• We don’t have a marketing plan.
• Our marketing is helter-skelter.
• We lack the staff to get our marketing done.
• We lack certain marketing tools
  (i.e. a brochure, a presentation).
• Our prices are too high (or too low).
• We’re attracting the wrong kinds of customers.
• Our geographic scope is too limited.
• We sell only one product.
• We lack a consistent image or brand.
• Our profits are declining.

Scan this list and then check off two or three of your most persistent marketing problems. After you’ve identified them, record them on one side of a legal pad piece of paper.

3-2-1
When I worked as marketing director at a $7 million company, my staff and I developed a project list with over 75 tasks on it. Seeking direction, I asked my boss which ones he saw as being most important. His answer was “All of ‘em.” Hogwash! Don’t fall into this trap of thinking everything is equally important. Instead, use a thoughtful prioritization process to help you weed out the urgent from the truly important.

After listing your key marketing problems on one side of a legal pad, go back now and assign each a priority using the 3-2-1 ranking system. In this system, a problem rated as a “3” is a very important problem that must be addressed within six months. A “2” is an important problem that must be addressed within 12 months. And a “1” is a somewhat important problem that can be addressed after a year (or during the next planning season). This system acknowledges upfront that all your problems are important, yet concedes some are more pressing than others.

If you have other folks involved in the development of your marketing plan, say committee members or task force members, simply have each person rank the problems individually. Then average everyone’s ratings to come up with an average score.

For example, let’s say your task force has identified “No marketing plan” as a problem. Four people rank it a 3, one ranks it a 2 and one ranks it a 1. The average value for this problem then is 2.5. After following this process for all your marketing problems you have identified, you’ll then have a snapshot of your company’s marketing problems, in priority order.

Remember…
If any step in the marketing process calls for candor, this Problem Identification process is it. All subsequent marketing actions will be built off of the problems you identify here. So, be honest. The truth hurts sometimes, but it can also set you free.

Author Bio

Jay Lipe, aka the “Plan Man”, is the CEO of Emerge Marketing; a firm that helps growing companies improve their marketing. He is the author of the book The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses (Chammerson Press) which is available at major bookstores and online at www.amazon.com. He is also a sought after speaker and seminar leader, and can be reached at (612) 824-4833 or lipe@emergemarketing.com .