The vast majority of flyers, business cards and posters begin the same way: with the company name, the year it was founded and a list of what "we offer". The trouble is that the customer picking up such a flyer is not thinking about your company. They are thinking about themselves - about what bothers them, what they are looking for and whether it is even worth reading on. Good advertising starts exactly at that point: with their problem, not your description.
This is not a matter of prettier words, but of the order of thinking. When you first name the reader's trouble, they feel the message is about them - and only then are they ready to hear that you have a solution. Let us look at why this order works and how to translate it into a concrete design for print.
- The customer does not buy the company - they buy a solution to their problem, so it is worth starting the message with the problem.
- "About us" and company history are information about you, not about the reader - in advertising, move them to the background.
- Turn features (what you have) into benefits (what the customer gets) - that is the bridge between product and need.
- One concrete problem works more strongly than a long list of advantages.
- A well-named problem still has to be well shown - hierarchy, paper and format decide whether the message gets read.
The customer thinks about themselves, not your company
Picture a person taking a flyer from a stand or receiving a business card at a fair. They have a few seconds of attention and one silent question: "is this for me and will it help me with anything?". If the first thing they see is "Company XYZ - professionalism since 2004", the answer is: unclear. Such a headline says nothing about their situation.
Advertising focused on the company assumes the reader is already interested in it. Usually it is the opposite - it is the advertising that has to make them interested. The starting point "me, my company, my offer" puts the wrong person at the centre. The starting point "you, your trouble, your benefit" immediately places the conversation where the reader's attention is.
From problem to solution - the natural order
An effective message reads like a short, sensible conversation. First you name a situation the reader knows. Then you show it can be solved. Finally you say how to do it with you. In this order every element makes sense, because it follows from the previous one.
- Problem - a concrete situation the reader recognises as their own ("guests do not know what to order", "flyers end up in the bin by the entrance").
- Promise of a solution - a short "it can be done differently" that gives hope and signals it is worth reading on.
- Your role - only now does the company enter, as the one who delivers the solution.
- A simple step - what the reader should do: call, visit the website, come in, scan the code.
Notice that the company appears only in the third point. It does not disappear - it simply stops being the first word. As a result, when it does appear, the reader has already engaged and wants to know who is behind it.
Features versus benefits - the bridge between product and need
The most common trap is confusing a feature with a benefit. A feature is a fact about the product. A benefit is a change in the customer's life. "350 g paper with lamination" is a feature. "A business card that does not bend in your wallet and still looks new after a month" is a benefit. The customer responds to the latter, because it concerns their situation.
How to turn a feature into a benefit
Behind every feature, ask "and what does the customer get from it?". Keep answering until you reach something the reader will feel. "Double-sided print" - so what? More room for content. So what? You can show the offer and a map on one sheet. So what? The customer immediately knows where to come and will not lose the information. Only that last sentence is worth turning into a message.
Do a simple two-column test. On the left, list everything you "have" (features). On the right, next to each item, add "thanks to which the customer...". If the right column cannot be filled with a sensible sentence, the feature probably is not a selling argument and does not need to appear in the advertising.
One problem instead of a list of everything
The temptation is always the same: since we are printing a flyer anyway, let us cram everything onto it. The effect is the opposite of intended - advertising that talks about ten things at once sticks in memory through none of them. The reader will not remember a list, they will remember one strong association.
That is why it is worth picking one problem that affects the largest group of your customers and making it the hero of the message. The rest of the offer can stay - but in smaller print, as a supplement, not as the main message. It is a bit like in conversation: if you want someone to remember something, you do not tell them ten things at once. You tell them one, clearly. You will find more on choosing that single thread in the text about what really works in local advertising.
A well-named problem has to be well shown
Even the best-stated message will be lost if the design does not support it. Naming the customer's problem is the first half of the work - the second is the hierarchy in which the reader first sees what matters most. The headline with the problem must be the largest element, the promise of a solution just below it, and the contact details legible without effort.
- Start with the problem on paper - write down the customer's trouble in one sentence before you open the graphics program.
- Build a hierarchy - problem large, solution medium, details small. The eye should travel in that order.
- Leave some air - empty space around the headline makes the message look confident, rather than like a pile of content.
- Match the medium to the situation - one format works on the counter, another for handing out on the street, another for postal delivery.
If the message is meant for letterboxes or a stand, classic advertising flyers work well, and when you want to show the offer and a map on one sheet - folded flyers. For one-on-one contact, a good business card with a clear benefit does more than a long list of services, because it focuses attention on the one reason it is worth getting in touch.
A short test of good advertising
Before you send the design to print, ask yourself three questions. Does the first sentence talk about the customer, not about me? Is it clear from the message which problem I solve? Does the reader know what to do next? If you answer "yes" to all three, you are on the right side.
Advertising that starts with the customer's problem is not a copywriting trick - it is simple courtesy towards the reader. You talk about what concerns them before you talk about yourself. And a company that can do this becomes an argument in itself: if it understands my trouble already in its advertising, it will probably understand it in service too. If you want to talk through a specific project, just write to us - we will suggest how to dress your message in good print.
