Why Your Tech Startup Needs a Problem Statement…
Articulating a clear and compelling problem statement is an important step in the development of your B2B tech startup. It defines the challenge your customers face and positions your product or service as the solution. It serves as a guiding principle that shapes your brand messaging, marketing and overall strategy. It’s worth understanding why having a problem statement matters, its applications and a step-by-step approach to creating one.
What Is a Problem Statement?
A problem statement isn’t a standalone piece of text working in isolation that magically fixes everything. It must be part of the foundation of your messaging framework, and as such incorporated into your brand and messaging guidelines. Before you can effectively craft value propositions, a tagline or product descriptions, you must first identify the problem you’re solving. This sets the tone and direction for what comes next, making it easier for your target audience to visualise where you fit in the market and how you help customers like them. A problem statement helps build trust quickly, as potential clients want to feel understood and that you are there to help them. When your messaging speaks directly to a customer’s challenges, they’re more likely to view your business as a credible and empathetic partner.
How To Use Your Problem Statement
A well-crafted problem statement is the anchor for your startup’s identity and strategy. It provides clarity and focus, helping founders to explain effectively and all stakeholders to understand the purpose of your solution.
Here are some key reasons why a well-crafted problem statement is essential:
- Customer-Centric Focus
A problem statement forces you to think deeply about the challenges your target market faces.
- Brand and Messaging
It forms the starting point and backbone of your messaging and marketing copy, ensuring consistency and relevance.
- Differentiation
A unique problem statement helps set you apart in the crowded and confusing B2B tech sector by highlighting a specific pain point that competitors overlook.
- Investor Appeal
Clear articulation of the problem shows investors that you understand the market and the unmet needs of the customers you’re addressing.
- Alignment
Internally, it helps teams stay aligned and focused on the mission and vision, guiding product development and strategic decisions.
Demystifying Your Proposition
Without a solid problem statement, you risk creating a solution in search of a problem, a common pitfall for startups. In addition, your messaging may struggle to hit any of the key points necessary to hook prospects if you’re fishing blind in this way. You cannot afford to leave it up to people to try to figure out for themselves what you do and who you do it for.
When selling to other businesses, prospects don’t have the time or inclination to try to interpret confused or imprecise messaging and will come to impulsive conclusions. Your messaging needs to be crystal clear, leaving nothing to chance and asking little from the audience to understand. By being clear about the problem you solve, the rest of your messaging can be more succinct and effective.
What You Need to Know First
When preparing to write your problem statement, there are several factors to consider. Below are the questions you need to answer before you can get started. If you can answer these questions in detail, then you may have the information you need to make your first attempt at creating the statement.
Top 7 Things You Need to Know Before Writing Your Problem Statement:
1. When and Where
Start with these two important questions:
- When does the problem occur?
- Where does the problem exist? Include details of the industry sector, segment and department where the problem manifests.
2. Understand the Problem
What circumstances create the problem, not the symptoms, but the root causes?
3. Alternatives
How do customers try to fix the problem today. Do they use their in-house interventions and workarounds or purchase third-party solutions?
4. Who?
Which persona(s) in the specified company types feels the pain the most?
5. Emotional Damage
How does this problem make the customer feel?
6. Quantifiable Impact
Can you quantify the impact of the problem by a unit of measure? For example, hours lost in productivity, rising cost of operations, reduced sales volume, increased risk etc.
7. Why Existing Solutions Don’t Work
What are the disadvantages of the way companies have historically tried to fix the problem?
Study and Understand Your Customers
Researching the market and answering these questions in detail is a critical step in preparation before you can attempt the first draft of your problem statement. Take your time conducting the research, talking to both existing and prospective customers to ensure you are ready to move to the next stage.
Next, you may want to read: “5 Step Guide to Crafting Your Problem Statement.”
