Cutting Through the Noise: Why Naming the Problem Matters in Agriculture
How shifting focus to problem-centricity builds stronger connections and drives revenue growth...
Average leaders name their products; great leaders name the problem.
In agriculture today, we have many average leaders who are really worried about what to call their thing and how to describe their solution.
And they hardly ever mention the problem they solve - if they mention it at all.
Then they wonder why no one is listening to their message and why they are missing their revenue targets…
The reason for this is really simple - they’ve lost their customers attention because they have stopped talking about something the customer is interested in hearing.
They don’t want to hear about how great you are.
They don’t want to hear about how great your product is.
And they don’t want to hear your manufactured lip service about how you love them while you obviously shill for VC, private equity, or establishment player’s interests.
The noble farmer-themed campaign might make your 30-something marketing manager feel good, but it's not doing anything to win the hearts and minds of actual farmers, retailers, distributors, etc.
The reality is that your customers are focused on the problems they face, and until they know you're willing to describe those problems in a clear way, your message won't get through.
Here’s how I recommend you put this into practice:
Your customers have dreams, get very specific on what they are and encourage them. Tell them that with you, those dreams are possible. What does the promised land look like?
You are not the first solution they've tried in order to realize this dream, that means they've failed before. Don't sell them a better version of what they’ve failed with, justify their past failures by giving them a new opportunity.
Doing something new is scary. You need to allay their fears, but don’t make the mistake of thinking this is an issue of logic. This is emotional, it won’t be solved with ROI calculations alone. They need to have the same epiphany you had when you decided to build this product or service.
Most of your customers suspect that something is wrong, but don’t exactly know what it is or how to frame it up in their mind. This is the single biggest reason we should be talking about the problem we solve more than the product we create. Frame it and name it to confirm their suspicions.
There is no great triumph without an enemy. If something is holding your customer back from achieving their dreams or has caused them to fail in the past, you need to tell them they can defeat this enemy. Your solution is the tool they need to finally do it.
Make something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers.
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