Finding Attractive Opportunities

Whilst naming problems and showing how to solve them is bread and butter for marketing campaigns, there is another way to think about them.  An attractive opportunity can be just as compelling as a solution to a problem.  Many solutions are equally attractive opportunities.

Mousetrap baited with 10 Euro note

The mousetrap may solve a problem but it is not an opportunity for me or the mice. steinchen / Pixabay

This doesn’t always work.  I have mice, on and off and from time to time contemplate mouse control products.  Mice are a problem and there are several possible solutions.  All of then involve killing mice, hardly scope for an attractive opportunity!  A house without mice is an attractive concept I experienced before the mice arrived!  Mice are a problem that requires a solution, not an opportunity.

I mentioned Utility Warehouse (affiliate link) in my post, Indirect Benefits of Your Offer and they are an example of an attractive opportunity.  Like all genuine business opportunities, they are an opportunity subject to you putting in the work.  Usually people become distributors for Utility Warehouse to build up their income through assets.  They receive rewards for the work they put in and soon discover they are part of a supportive community.

An attractive opportunity can be a solution to some problem.  The challenge to any marketing campaign is to ask, is it better to emphasise the opportunity or the problem?  This will depend on your audience.  Anyone who responds to your offer will get everything you offer.  Some may opt for it because it solves their problem and others because they find the opportunity attractive.

You have options when you market your offer and you are fully equipped when you know what they are!

Website Design: An Example

Many organisations benefit from a website designed to meet their purpose.  The problem is they don’t always know their purpose or see they have something to market online.  A website can present an overview of their work but they won’t necessarily understand how a generic presentation of the opportunities they offer can work for them.

The challenge for a website designer is getting across how online activity opens up a world of possibility for most organisations.   They may need help to see the potential to uncover and meet their desired outcomes.

Sometimes this is a problem.  One prospect could not see how building lists now would benefit them in the future.  Their attention was on the developmental phase of their project and taking on a website was an additional burden.  They have improved their site but still have no list.

Another prospect has the potential to generate much-needed income online but has a designer who is not interested in what they’re doing and has other priorities.  In a few years their projections show they will have to close because they will run out of money.

These examples show how immediate problems can lead to neglected opportunities, no matter how favourable those opportunities may be.

Can anyone suggest an attractive opportunity that does not solve a problem?

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About the Author

I've been a community development worker since the early 1980s in Tyneside, Teesside and South Yorkshire. I've also worked nationally for the Methodist Church for eight years supporting community projects through the church's grants programme. These days I am developing an online community development practice combining non-directive consultancy, strategic management, participatory methods and development work online and offline. If you're interested contact me for a free consultation.

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