The Business Problem is a dead simple definition of the painful problem that our customers face that we are solving for them. Ideally it’s a single paragraph that is a concise, plain-language description of the challenges and pains that our solution to solve for customers. It should capture the core issues shared across our target Personas that the company’s solution directly addresses.
The business problem is mostly about what we DON’T do. It’s a great tool to focus the organization on its core business problem and to prevent scope creep. It guides strategy by clarifying the scope of the game we’re playing: which customer problems the company solves and how. Internally, it ensures everyone understands the company’s fundamental mandate. Externally, it can be communicated to define the company’s space in the market (often in pitches or on the company’s website).
Business Problem Development Process
- Outline Core Business: Enumerate the key products or services the company provides and the target customer segments.
- Draft Something Up: Define a couple of options for the Business Problem in high level bullet point format. Keep it simple and high-level. LLMs can be profoundly helpful in this process.
- Refine and Align: Iteratively work through the options with your leadership team until you have a single, well defined definition. It should be unambiguous and free of buzzwords – anyone reading it should immediately grasp why this problem is a big pain for customers and why they’d want to pay money for a solution to solve it.
- Validate and Publish: Test the business problem definition with prospects and customers. Does it accurately reflect the problem from their perspective? Is it easy to understand? Once refined, publish it internally (in the company handbook or strategy docs) and externally as appropriate. Revisit it if the company pivots or expands into new lines of business to ensure it remains accurate.