I recently came across a marketing concept that, while not new to me, I thought was boiled down quite nicely.

It goes something like this:

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Problem Aware

These are the people who know they have a problem, but aren't aware of what the solution might be or that there even is one.

This is what we call a "pain point" in marketing, and we spend a lot of time on getting to know these and talk about them for our audience. And remember, that problem doesn't have to be big — it could be as simple as not knowing what shirt to wear or as big as not feeling loved.

(We don't focus on these, by the way, because we're mean people trying to make people feel bad, but because it shows a lot of vulnerability to say "Oh yes, I've had that problem too!"

It's also typically 1000% more relatable than starting with where someone wants to be (transformation) because they can't even picture themselves getting to that point, causing comparison instead of inspiration.)

Solution Aware

These people know there is a solution to their problem and what it is, but for some reason they haven't taken action — maybe they think it will be too expensive, no time, they haven't found "the right one," or some other objection.

Product Aware

We call this "product" but it could really be any offering you have — an event, group, service, campaign, whatever you're promoting.

At this stage, your audience knows you exist, but hasn't committed for whatever reason — maybe some of the same as above or perhaps for other objections.

The amount of time people will spend in each stage varies: you might have people who find out that you exist and sign up the same day, and others whose progress through these stages might take years (hmmm, remind anyone of the conversion process? The time it takes is unique to each person's journey with God!).

A wonderful subscriber and client emailed me recently explaining she'd had a lightbulb moment. In marketing, gurus will often tout "know, like, trust" as the progression we want our audience to make towards engaging with us.

She likened that to "know, love, serve," showcasing the higher calling our marketing takes to lead people not just towards us, but also towards God.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized it actually lined up exactly with how we want to move people through this this problem aware → solution aware → product aware dynamic:

Problem Aware:

The thing that will move people from being problem aware to solution aware is knowledge: knowledge that there is help and a transformation to be achieved.

But what's also key at this stage is helping them to FEEL known. We want them to know that they are not alone, that they aren't silly or crazy for experiencing this, and that there are people out there who understand them.

When we're marketing to people who are problem aware, we want to simply call out the problem first in as much of their language as possible. We want to evoke the reaction of, "Oh my goodness, it's me!"

Then, we go beyond the "what" of our promotion — you're not marketing an event, or a group, or a campaign, or a product or service. You're marketing a solution to a problem.

And to do that, we simply switch from "what" to "why" - why sign up, buy, donate, etc.? How will that help them?

Solution Aware:

Once they feel seen and known, and they know there is a solution to their problem, then they are solution aware. Our goal at this stage is to get them to become product aware — but we actually don't want them to just be product aware, we want them to be on fire with what we offer.

And how do we do that? Love.

As we move them from solution to product aware, we want to shower them with love. True love, not "I'm going to use this language to make it seem like I love you but what I really love is your wallet." But love like Jesus, driven by service.

We essentially say through our marketing: "We see you in your problem. And we're not running away. In fact, we love you in it because we've been there. And now? We want to show you the solution."

Product Aware:

And then once they become product aware? We serve them, even before they've taken the action we want them to take.

We shower them with helpful freebies and podcasts and emails and social media content, not just because it will probably lead to conversion, but also because we truly want to serve the people God's put in front of us, even the people who haven't pressed that call to action button yet.

(I'd argue that actually all of this marketing is service, but that's another email.)

We show them we love them by the way we serve them, not just by our words.

And that causes them to trust us.

And then once they do engage with you? That's where your true mission of knowing, loving, and serving them really begins.

You know, kind of like the Church has been saying for centuries. 😉

For His greater glory,

Emily

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