What is a marketing solution?

Product marketing focuses on selling an idea to potential customers through various channels. The objective is to convince them that they need your product/service – but it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with solving their problem.

In contrast, solution marketing (also known as 'problem-oriented' or 'customer-focused') focuses not just on convincing people they should buy something, but also explaining how your product solves a specific customer's problems. It does this by using words like "pain" and "need", and often includes statistics such as sales figures for competitors.

The first step towards becoming a successful Solution Marketing Professional is understanding exactly what a solution is. So here's our guide into what makes up a solution, and how it differs from a product.

What is the difference between solution marketing and product marketing?

To be clear, there isn't any one thing you must know if you're going to become a Solution Marketer. You don't even need to call yourself a Solution Marketeer - because Solution or Product aren't terms used exclusively within the industry.

Both can refer to someone who sells a product, whether that's physical goods or digital content. And both can apply to those who sell ideas too. In fact, sometimes it's hard to tell where one ends and another begins! For example, when Apple launched its iPad tablet computer, which was designed to solve the issue of being chained to your desk, it could arguably be described as either a 'product' or 'a service'.

But while there may be no strict definition of a product versus a service, there are some key differences between these two types of offerings. A product has tangible value, whereas a Service offers intangible benefits. Products typically cost money upfront, whereas Services usually come free with the promise of ongoing support.

When we talk about a product, we're thinking about what goes inside the box. When we talk about a Service, we're talking about what comes out of the other end.

So let's look at some ways to differentiate between the two:

Products are sold individually, whereas Services require subscriptions.

A good product will last for years, whereas a great Service only lasts as long as it continues to improve.

A product can be bought once and never again, whereas a Service needs to be renewed every so often.

You'll pay more for a new product than you would for a new Service.

If you've ever been offered a free trial of software, then you'll understand the concept. If you haven't had a chance yet, then take my word for it - free trials are awesome. They give you access to a feature without having to commit to buying the full version. But most importantly, they show you that the software works properly before you invest any real cash.

This approach to testing means you get all the benefit of learning about a brand or offering without committing to making a purchase.

What is the difference between solution and product?

We touched upon this briefly above, but now we want to explore what actually defines each term.

Solutions are defined differently depending on whom you ask. Many marketers define solution simply as a way to describe the process behind a business model, rather than a single product. Therefore, the best way to start defining Solutions is by looking at the steps involved in creating and delivering them.

For example, a well-known bookshop might offer bookshelves made from reclaimed wood. These shelves are created by cutting down trees, sanding and polishing them until they shine. This is a solution (or set of solutions) to the problem of maintaining bookshelves in a home environment.

However, a company called Ikea produces many solutions across multiple categories such as furniture, homeware and textiles. Each category features unique products that solve problems faced by consumers around the world.

These include things like the IKEA Kallax storage unit, which helps keep clutter off of kitchen tables, and the BERG bedroom collection, which provides a stylish alternative to traditional bed frames.

While Ikea is a manufacturer of products, they're famous for producing solutions.

What is a solution marketing?

As mentioned above, solution marketing involves describing how a customer's problem(s) are addressed by a certain product or series of products. To put this in perspective, think back to that simple definition of a solution.

It starts with identifying a problem, followed by researching possible options for addressing said problem. Then, finally, it describes the solution itself.

Of course, Solution Marketing professionals go beyond the basics. As the name suggests, they focus on finding effective ways to communicate with prospective buyers. They do this by carefully choosing the right tone of voice, phrasing messages appropriately, and ensuring that they use visual aids and images wherever possible.

And of course, they also consider the overall experience of interacting with the buyer. How easy is it to navigate the website? Are there enough contact details available? Is the layout intuitively laid out? Does the information provided make sense? Do the answers given provide adequate detail?

There are several frameworks that help explain how businesses create solutions, including the Market Solution Economics Model, the Solution Marketing Framework, and the Solution Selling Methodology.

Each offers insights into how to effectively communicate with consumers and ultimately generate leads. With these tools, you can learn everything from how to choose the best type of packaging for a product to how to tailor an email campaign to appeal specifically to female shoppers.

What is the meaning of a product solution?

Let's return to the original question posed at the beginning of this article. What is a product solution?

Well, according to Wikipedia, it refers to a combination of products that collectively address a particular consumer pain point. The term was originally coined by John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Markets Inc., in his 2005 book Conscious Capitalism.

Mackey explained that, while product managers focused on developing individual items, he believed that a better strategy was to combine complementary products together to form a complete package. By doing this, Mackey predicted that consumers would feel less inclined to switch suppliers.

Whole Foods markets have since expanded their range of products significantly. While still focusing primarily on organic produce, meats and dairy, they have added vitamins and supplements, frozen food and other convenience foods. Some brands were developed internally, others came directly from outside sources.

Nowadays, however, Mackey himself seems happy to acknowledge that a lot of the products he pioneered now exist independently of Whole Foods. He has refocused his attention onto the role of leadership and management, believing that success depends on the ability of leaders to identify and implement solutions.

That sounds pretty much like what we mean by a solution marketing. Which brings us neatly back to the title of this post...

Conclusion

Whether you're interested in taking the next step in your career, or already working in the field, there's plenty to discover in the world of Solution Marketing. Whether you're an entrepreneur hoping to find new customers, or a seasoned professional seeking to sharpen your skillset, you'll find valuable resources online to turn you into a masterful Problem Solver.

Do you have any questions regarding this subject matter? Or perhaps you'd like to share your own experiences? Please leave a comment below and we'll respond promptly.

In today’s world, businesses need to understand their target audience better than ever before, especially if they want to reach them at scale through digital channels. They also have to know which content will resonate well with customers. These two factors together form the basis for any successful brand strategy. 

With so much competition out there, it becomes imperative that brands create unique value propositions that stand out among others. But, this creates its own challenges when you think about reaching your target audience using multiple platforms. This is where marketers find themselves struggling with finding an effective balance between creating compelling messages and engaging with consumers while keeping costs under control.

But the truth is, most brands still struggle with these basic issues, despite all the technological advancements made over the years. The reason behind this lies in one simple fact – marketing has not evolved as fast as technology. And until we do, marketing won’t become more efficient, nor will it help us achieve our business objectives.

So, let’s take a look at how marketing could evolve into something more effective. Let’s start by defining what exactly marketing is, then move on to see what it should be doing instead.

What are the solutions to marketing problems?

Marketing has always been defined as ‘the act of communicating ideas, values, and beliefs to promote sales of goods and services’. So, essentially, marketing is about telling people things they don't already know. It's about sharing information and making connections, thereby increasing awareness and influencing purchasing decisions.

And yet, even after decades of evolution, marketing remains largely unchanged. Why is that? Because no matter how advanced technology gets, it hasn’t really changed anything fundamental about the nature of communication itself. That means that while we may now be able to share videos, photos, articles, quotes, etc., we haven’t actually found a way to communicate better. What’s worse is that most of the time, we end up repeating ourselves because we aren’t sure what else to say.

This is where marketing comes across as ineffective and wasteful. After all, who wants to read something that sounds like every other piece of writing out there? Marketing needs to evolve beyond just being informative and into helping solve real problems. We need to focus less on explaining things but rather on solving those problems.

How can marketing problems be prevented?

When we talk about preventing marketing problems, we mean coming up with creative solutions that make sense (and work) for both sides involved. For example, if you're trying to sell shoes online, you might come up with the idea of selling them via subscription boxes. You can get people hooked on receiving new shoes regularly and give yourself a steady stream of revenue. At the same time, you'll prevent your competitors from stealing away your potential customers' attention by providing them with something exciting to look forward to each month.

However, if you try to convince someone to buy your product without giving them a clear reason why they should, you run the risk of ending up losing money. To avoid falling into such traps, you have to ask yourselves questions like "Why should I buy my product?", "Who am I selling to?" and "Where will my customers go next?". Once you answer these questions, you'll quickly realize that offering subscriptions isn't going to cut it anymore. Instead, you might consider offering free shipping on orders above $100, or bundling discounts with other products.

Once again, we've seen that marketing doesn't necessarily change based on the latest trends, but evolves based on the fundamentals of human behavior. If done right, you can use marketing to solve problems and not simply tell people what to do.

What are five ways to improve marketing?

Now that you've understood what marketing is and what it shouldn't be doing, let's turn towards five practical steps you can follow to boost your marketing efforts.

1. Create a clear vision. Your first step towards improving your marketing is to define your goals clearly. Start by asking yourself questions like "what problem am I trying to solve here?" and "who are the people I'm targeting?". Then, write down everything you can possibly imagine related to your goal. Be honest -- don't leave anything out!

2. Define your audience. Now that you know who you're talking to, it's important to figure out how best to engage with them. By answering questions like "how far apart are my customers likely to live" and "where do they spend most of their time", you'll soon discover whether you need to adapt your message accordingly.

3. Build trust. Trust is essential if you want people to believe in what you're saying. In order to build trust, you must earn it. Do good work, offer valuable advice, and demonstrate genuine concern for your target audience. People will begin trusting you once they feel confident that you won't abandon them later on.

4. Make offers relevant. Offers are meant to entice buyers into taking action. However, it often happens that people ignore them completely because they assume they're irrelevant. But nothing could be further from the truth. When you provide useful information, people tend to remember it longer. Also, by focusing on helping your prospects make informed choices, you increase the chances of them buying your product/service.

5. Use data wisely. Data-driven marketing helps you optimize your campaigns effectively. As we mentioned earlier, knowing who your ideal buyer is makes it easy to tailor your messaging appropriately. With analytics tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights and Hubspot, it's easier than ever to track conversions and user behaviors. All you have to do is set up custom audiences and segmentation rules, and watch as your conversion rates skyrocket.

What is the effective way of marketing?

As you saw throughout this article, marketing used to involve very little thought. Today, however, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, and big data analysis technologies, we can finally put it to proper use.

The key thing to note here is that while AI can automate tasks that humans previously had to perform manually, it cannot replace humans entirely. Humans remain indispensable since they possess superior perception skills and creativity, allowing them to spot patterns and identify hidden opportunities. Therefore, whenever possible, you should combine artificial intelligence and automation to maximize efficiency.

If you'd like to learn more about how to leverage automation to grow your business, check out our guide below. Or if you'd prefer to speak directly to an expert, reach out to us at support@marketingautomationsoftware.com.

If you're reading this article, chances are that you've heard of "marketing" before and know that it involves advertising your business to reach customers. But if you really think about it, marketing can be much more than just advertising -- it can also involve providing useful information about your brand that helps people make better decisions when they buy things like food, clothing, cars, etc. The concept behind marketing is simple: help people decide whether they should purchase your product based on its quality, value, price, availability, and so on. This is true for both consumer goods (like clothes) as well as B2B industries (such as software development). In order to do that effectively, you need to clearly explain to potential buyers which qualities will make them happy and keep them coming back for more. And one way to accomplish this is by showing them how their problems have been resolved through your product/service. You'll notice that this approach sounds very similar to product marketing! So let me show you how these two types of marketing differ:

What is digital marketing solution?

Digital marketing solution refers to those aspects of your online presence that solve specific customer pains. For instance, consider Facebook Ads. If I'm looking at buying a new car, I may see ads for Ford cars and Toyota cars. Both of these ads feature photos of the vehicles themselves, but only the Ford ad features a picture of the interior. That means that while my eyes scan down past the exterior photo, I know exactly what I'd be getting inside the vehicle. It shows me all the important details such as seating position, storage space, fuel economy, safety ratings, engine specs, etc., without being too intrusive. In other words, the image tells me everything I want to know without making me feel pressured into taking action right then and there. Now imagine doing something similar with your own website. How could you use images, videos, testimonials, case studies, FAQ sections, blog posts, social media profiles, etc. to communicate the benefits of your products and services to prospective clients? What if instead of just selling products, you were able to sell yourself as someone who solves certain customer pains? What if you could provide valuable information to people who are considering using your product or service? These are the kinds of questions that lead us to discuss what makes up a good marketing solution.

What's an example of digital marketing?

Facebook has become quite popular among marketers because it allows businesses to target consumers based on demographics. One might assume that since most people spend time on Facebook, therefore everyone must fall under the category of "potential customers." However, what we actually mean when we say "digital marketing" is: any method used to promote your brand and build awareness around your offerings. Digital marketing includes email campaigns, landing pages, websites, blogs, SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay-per-click), display advertisements, social media platforms, video content creation, mobile apps, and even offline events. Just as important as knowing where to direct your digital efforts is understanding what kind of message you want to send. When it comes to building a strong reputation and positive association with your audience, you don't necessarily want to tell them about every single thing that your company offers. Instead, focus on communicating your strengths and solving common problems. Let me give you an example. Say you manufacture a widget that goes out of stock frequently. You could create an advertisement explaining that the reason your widgets go out of stock is because of high demand, and that you're working hard to increase production so that you can meet the increasing demands. Or you could create another ad telling people to contact you directly if they're interested in purchasing a particular model. Either option works, but neither provides enough detail about what happens after the sale. Would you rather deal with a customer who wants to complain about not receiving his or her item within 5 days versus dealing with a customer who understands that he or she needs to wait 2 weeks for delivery? Which type of person would you prefer to work with over the long term?

What is the meaning of marketing solution?

Marketing Solution is defined as a set of actions designed to address a problem faced by a customer and resolve it. It is a strategic tool that aligns itself with the overall strategy of the organization. Marketing Solutions are focused on addressing issues identified by customers and creating sustainable relationships with them. A Marketing Solution focuses primarily on resolving a customer’s issue(s). It takes a holistic view of the entire customer journey, and uses data analysis and analytics to understand the customer experience, identify problems, and develop effective solutions to improve the end user experience.  A Marketing Solution creates lasting impact by identifying unmet customer needs and developing innovative ways to satisfy them. Marketers leverage marketing solutions to deliver real value across multiple touchpoints throughout the buyer cycle. They ensure that the marketing solutions are aligned with the overall goals and objectives of the business.

Let's look at an example. Imagine that you had a restaurant whose menu consisted entirely of salads. People loved eating salad, but no matter how often you offered it, you always ran out of ingredients. Eventually, you decided to add chicken wings to the menu, hoping that this would encourage people to eat more vegetables. After a few months of offering chicken wings alongside salads, however, you noticed that sales were still low. You realized that although adding chicken wings was helping you overcome a major challenge (making sure the salad wasn't empty!), it didn't seem to be satisfying your customers' craving for meat. To make matters worse, you began noticing that many of your customers weren't liking their salads either, despite the fact that they claimed otherwise. At this point, you knew you needed to find a solution that addressed both the lack of ingredients and the poor taste of your salads. Luckily, you had recently started experimenting with frozen meals made from fresh fruit and vegetables. By combining these frozen fruits and vegetables with protein sources such as chicken breasts, fish fillets, and beef tenderloins, you created a delicious meal that satisfied both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Your sales skyrocketed and you became known as the place to come for healthy yet tasty dishes. Not only did you manage to get rid of the ingredient shortage, you also managed to turn away several dissatisfied customers who were now realizing that salads aren't necessary. As a result, you grew your business tenfold and won numerous awards. Congratulations! You successfully combined your knowledge of nutrition and culinary arts to produce a highly successful product that met the unique needs of your customers.

Now compare this story to the following scenario: suppose you worked for a large corporation that sold ice cream sandwiches. Every day, you saw dozens of children lined up outside your store waiting impatiently to grab a treat. Each child wanted to take home a sandwich filled with their favorite flavor. Despite the long lines, however, your corporate bosses decided to stay open later each night, believing that this extra hour of operation would allow them to serve more customers. Unfortunately, though, this decision led to problems of its own. Many parents complained that their kids couldn't sleep due to the noise generated by the late hours of operation, and the extra traffic caused accidents on nearby streets. Fortunately, you discovered that the key to improving productivity during peak hours was to hire additional staff members who specialized in handling the increased volume of orders. With the addition of four employees, you cut the average line length dramatically, allowing parents to pick up their children faster and reducing accidents on the street. Thanks to your innovation, you were able to grow your revenue exponentially.

The moral of the story here is pretty clear. Whether you run a small family bakery or a multinational conglomerate, you need to make sure that your product meets the exact requirements of your targeted audience. You wouldn't expect a mechanic to fix your car unless you told him what part you were having trouble with, and you shouldn't expect your customers to choose your product until you share the reasons why they should. Remember, you can never offer too much information regarding your product!

What is the difference between product and solution marketing?

As mentioned above, Product Marketing describes the physical attributes of a product and attempts to convince consumers to buy the product simply because it looks nice or performs well. On the other hand, Solution Marketing describes how a customer pain is solved, and encourages customers to select your product in exchange for compensation. Although product marketing tends to emphasize the aesthetics of your product, solution marketing emphasizes the practicality of your product.

Product marketing typically focuses on a narrow range of features, whereas Solution Marketing seeks to cover a wide spectrum of possibilities. Because product marketing is usually concerned with describing tangible benefits, it becomes difficult to describe intangible ones. On the contrary, Solution Marketing focuses on describing how a customer pain is solved, thereby encouraging people to engage with your brand and trust you implicitly.