Passion vs Pain... Good vs Evil?

Marketing tradition has always told us to lead with pain points as a way to evoke an emotion from an audience. It’s based on the human principle that where we hurt, we need something to make it better.

However, there are opposing views on Passion vs Pain Points. I personally think that, like everything in marketing, it depends on how you use it. Let me explain…

Pain vs Passion... Which will you choose?

Pain Point

A definition: Specific problems faced by your current or prospective customers in the marketplace. Carrying out a pain point analysis helps you to understand your customers better and allows you to be the solution to their problems. 

 

Passion Point

A Passion Point is everything that drives your customers, their interests, and hobbies. It’s also what motivates them, their ambition and ultimately what drives them forward and makes them feel happy and alive. 

 

In a nutshell, Passion Points give us energy and excite us. In Marketing, they are often referred to as positive messages - they activate the areas in life people are deeply interested in.

So, Is it a matter of Good vs Evil (Passion vs Pain), or is there a way we can connect with our customers better without losing integrity? 

 

When you’re a professional who offers a good product or service, I don’t think there is anything wrong with being a solution (to a problem). Just don’t resort to tacky and pointless scare tactics. 

 

Pain points can actually be used for positive messages. Ensure you understand your customer’s fears and pains to give a way to analyse their passion points. You can then create a positive message that truly relates to them.

 

 

Pain and Passion United

I’ll give you an example…Picture a young woman entrepreneur who has just started her business. Let’s call her Linda. She is on a new exciting adventure and dreams of an easier life, to feed her kids and give them anything they need, to go on holiday and to be…. Passion Point alert!!! SUCCESS!

 

Linda also feels the flip side of the excitement many entrepreneurs face. Feeling alone, overwhelmed, being scared. She questions herself…will I get clients, will I be able to still pay my bills and what if I fail??? – Pain Point alert!!! FAILURE

Remember I mentioned earlier that back in the day, pain points were used as a scare marketing messaging tactic? The fear got the customer’s attention, and then a solution was given to alleviate the fear. Nowadays, that is no longer the case.

 

At Marketing Nest, we LOVE uniting passion and pain points into one. Our clients are used to hearing us say... Think of APP (Aim+Pain+Passion) 

 

When writing your content, think of the Aim; why are you writing that post/content? Then think of your audience's pain and passion points.

So let’s do that with Linda… Imagine Linda sees our BLOG post:  Make your Weaknesses become your Strengths!

Linda read this and could relate to the feelings of…

 

PASSION- Confidence, uniqueness and memorability (she wants to feel these feelings to get success)

PAIN - She is new to this but wants to be taken seriously. (she wants to get clients to build her business).

 

These passions and pains are easy to relate to when you are a new business owner. In fact, there are times when these passions and pains are relatable to any business owner as a part of the ups and downs of being solely responsible for all aspects of running your business.

The content you give to your clients, prospects and followers needs to speak to their real pains.

 

 

Well-thought-out and relatable content is vital so you can connect.

Your content must be easily relatable, and it is up to you to let your clients know that they are in the right place for their needs.

 

The right place - is with your business - where you can give them relevant advice, make them feel like they are in a professional environment and show them that your values are the same as theirs.

 

Remember, it is not all about the sale; engagement is your chance to show your values, your personality and your company.

 

A well-written social media post, blog or statement, lays your message out in a simple way for people to understand and stay with you. Think about how to make your content take your followers on a journey. 

 

Buying Behaviour

Let’s go back to the basics to understand consumer behaviour. Do you know enough about your consumer and their buying behaviour? If you don’t - you need to.

You absolutely have to be well aware of who needs your product or service.  And even then, it is not enough just to know who needs it. You also need to know enough about your prospect so you can gain their attention and get them interested in what you have. Then you can make it easy for them to make the decision to use your product or service.

 

In the case of our example, Linda. She is at the beginning of her entrepreneurship journey. We want her to feel like she is in the right place to get advice and not feel alone.

We do not take on clients that we do not believe in, and that, together with our softer and intuitive approach, helps us build a strong relationship with our clients. We know what you need, and we will stop at nothing until you get it. So if Linda came to us, we could help her with guidance and support, some technical marketing know-how, encouragement and advice so she can feel confident in what she does and get the clients she would like for her business.

 

What about YOU? Are you taking the time to really know your customer?

An in-depth analysis is a highly valuable and effective tool to sustain your business.

Take the time to use the findings in your analysis in all areas of your marketing plan. From branding to blogging. It should be in all areas where your customers go to. Do you produce webinars and blogs? Use pain and passion there to elevate your message.

 

In summary:

• Know your audience and their buying behaviour
• Speak to their passions and pains
• Show them they are in the right place for the answers

 

We invite you to follow our revamping journey at Marketing Nest.

Do you know…we are reviewing all our content? At Marketing Nest, we practice what we preach. At the moment, we are updating our message to make it easy for you to find the information most helpful to you and your business.

 

We want our information to be relevant, practical and easy to understand so you get the marketing tools you need and then you can get on with successfully running your business.

 

We are always here to help you in whatever way we can, small or large, so that you have peace of mind and an unhindered journey to success.

 

We invite you to follow our revamping journey at Marketing Nest.

Join us on our journey, and allow us to become a part of yours. Welcome to the family. #BuildNurtureGrow

 

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