Four Corners Of Problem Solving
Most people treat symptoms instead of exploring the problem.
Symptoms include low engagement, bad reviews, low share of voice, and dropping conversions. While it is easy to fix a symptom in the short term (increase spending, create an offer), it will eventually get worse.
It may sound duh,... but Knowing the problem is the key to developing a strategy to solve it.
I use a simple four-corner framework, running through it in this order:
Product: Start at heart; you would be surprised how much time and money is spent on fixing brand, marketing, and sales problems to realize they were simple problems like onboarding or packaging out of alignment.
Consumer: People's problems, needs, and wants shift. Audiences become saturated, and fatigue sets in.
Innovation: Every new and improved becomes old and inferior. It is the nature of the beast.
Company: Has a shift in the company affected the consumer experience and the brand?
Here are a few questions you can ask that poke into each corner. They are meant to start you, but make a list relevant to you.
Product
Has there been a feature change or a new product?
Has there been a change in reviews?
Has the LTV shifted? If so, where?
Have you expanded the service area/offering?
Has there been a change in the post-purchase journey?
Consumer
Is your ICP still your ICP? How they're changing
Is their problem, need, and want shifting?
Changes in customer buying habits (frequency, seasonality, location, usage)
Are you still relevant to them? Has your consumer base shifted? Are they saturated? Do they still care? If not, why not?
Societal and cultural changes affecting perceptions of the brand's benefits
Innovation
What about regulation and technology- are developments changing the space?
Customer needs from the category and how well the brand meets those needs
Other brands or services solving similar customer needs
Impact of regulations and technology on the brand's operating space
Company
Company ownership or management changes? This can cause periods of adjustments and alignments, which affect a brand's performance.
Have you implemented a new technology? It can be as simple as implementing a new chatbot or as complex as a new CEO who has changed the culture.
Have you opened new offices in a different region? I have seen new time zone differences create a ripple effect on performance,
Many more questions need to be asked. Remember who you ask and how you ask is crucial.
Going through the four corners, you often learn that there is not one big problem but a few small ones.