According to the Small Business Administration’s 2015 statistics, there are 30.2 million small businesses in the U.S, some with no employees at all, others having anywhere from a few workers to under 500.

And while the larger ones undoubtedly have the dollars to hire a marketing team, that leaves millions of businesses trying to figure out how to market themselves in an increasingly crowded marketplace and attracting the perfect customers.

John Jantsch, the author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide, believes that every business is really in the marketing business. Given the fact that all businesses need to sell something, that makes perfect sense.

Nailing down your ideal client and getting people to know, like and trust you is the beginning of a successful marketing strategy and attracting the perfect customers.

But that’s not all. Whether you’re selling a product or providing a service, it’s important to gear the process with an eye toward first solving their problems.

Identifying your customer’s pain points can be tricky. Here are some suggestions:

• Ask open-ended questions at the beginning of a conversation and work your way into the specifics based on the responses you get and how comfortable the person is. An example might be: “What is your biggest challenge in growing your business?” and then the prospective client might respond by telling you that acquiring a substantial email list has been a problem. Asking questions that require a simple Yes or No is not recommended.
• Listen carefully to what the person is telling you and ask insightful questions in response. Too often, people want to jump in and contribute their “2 cents.” Sometimes it’s better to stop and politely wait until the other person has finished talking.

The above two examples seem easy, yet so many people fail to implement them. How important is to you that your clients trust you? Let me know in the comments.