07 Who is to blame for our customer’s problem?
Who or what could be to blame for the problem that we face? This is a great question because in our lives there are many things that we have in our own locus of control.
The Villain or bad guy: There are a lot of things that are outside of our control or influence. For instance, if there’s something that is causing a problem… like for example the 2008 recession or economic crisis, this could be seen as a villain that caused a bunch of foreclosures or job loss.
Any time we can identify something that is the causal agent in a problem that somebody has that agent becomes the villain. Note: I always like to remind people that we have to be responsible for ourself, and that we have to always be at choice within our own lives… However, from a marketing perspective, it is extremely powerful to be able to blame a villain as the cause of a problem. That’s what I ask you to do.
Need a villain? Just brainstorm and think. Who or what could be the causal agent that is manifesting this particular problem?
This section is all about who or what is causing the problem that our customer is experiencing. Remember, from the perspective of persuasive marketing, it is extremely powerful to have a villain or a bad guy that is seen as the cause of a particular problem.
Quick tip: The villain doesn’t actually have to be a person it can be an event. So a great example of this would be the 2008 economic crisis that can be seen as the villain causing a whole heck of a lot of problems for a variety of different people. An example of a visible manifestation of the villain of the 2008 economic crisis might be unemployment or under employment. It might be not being able to pay bills. It might be frustration… But that’s getting us to the next step because in the next step is the invisible manifestations of our problem that was caused by the 2008 economic crisis.
