Symptoms before Solutions

Speak to symptoms first, not problems or solutions.

Every market is divided into different levels of awareness, with the largest percentage of people being in the "symptom aware" category.

Levels of Awareness in Marketing

1. Symptom Aware - Most of your audience is here.
2. Problem Aware - A smaller percentage is here.
3. Solution Aware - An even smaller percentage is here.
4. Product Aware - The smallest percentage is here.

Most people aren’t aware of their ‘true’ problems because the root is often buried beneath a lot of complexity (beliefs, trauma, misconceptions, assumptions, programming, etc).

But what people are aware of is their symptoms (how that problem makes them feel and the circumstantial challenges that arise in their daily life as a result of it).

For example, someone might not realize their struggles with money stem from deep-rooted trauma and beliefs engrained in them since childhood, but they do know how struggling with money feels and the challenges it leads to.

If you start by talking about the deeper problems, their solutions, or how your product can help them, you're leaving out the vast majority of your audience who isn't yet aware of why they should even pay attention to those things.

But if you begin by speaking about the surface level symptoms, emotions, and situational realities someone is experiencing, you'll get a much larger number of people to perk up and listen to what you're saying.

Once you have someone’s attention, it’s possible to lead them towards a deeper, more permanent solution.

Without their attention, however, you can’t serve them.

Speaking about symptoms and situational challenges gives you the best chance to capture more attention and lead more people towards the solution you have to offer.

When creating your next piece of content, use these prompts to guide you:

What unpleasant or uncomfortable realities is my ideal client experiencing in their daily life that they don't yet have a solution for?

What negative thoughts or complaints might they have going through their mind?

What is the external challenge and the associated internal emotion they experience as a result?

Then begin your piece of content by immediately speaking about the specific symptoms (internal or external) of the problem they haven't yet solved.

Show that you understand their challenge before trying to solve their problem. People need to first know that you understand them before they will fully trust you to provide a solution.

Still not sure?

Just imagine a past version of yourself and think of the symptoms, emotions, and daily challenges you faced at some point on your journey. Then make a piece of content as if you were addressing that version of yourself.