The Value of Problems vs. The Cost of Solutions

by Michael Noll, CEO, Lightning Launch, LLC.

As marketers of innovative solutions to common problems, we’re always focused on how big the problem is that a product we’re evaluating solves. We typically try to assign a dollar value to the problem. Those conversations often sound like this: “Would most people pay $10 if they never had to worry about spaghetti sauce covering their stovetop again?”. Actually, they would!

Many times, we decide that the price of the solution is higher than the ‘value’ of the problem. For instance, most people would pay something to keep their stovetop free of spaghetti sauce forever – too few would pay $20, even fewer $50 and virtually no one would part with $100 to put all of that scrubbing behind them forever! So, if we were looking at a high-quality solution to the spaghetti sauce debacle that we could deliver to consumers all over the world for less than $10, we’d most likely be interested.

While it’s crucial that inventors understand this formula when they’re thinking about new products; it’s also a valuable insight for consumers. Since we’re often committing millions of dollars in media to turn an idea into a successful product, we’re laser focused on delivering a very high degree of value (or ‘solution’) for the price of all of our ‘As Seen on TV’ offerings. When you see a product with the iconic red and white TV logo, you can be assured that it will bring you much more value than the cash you’ll need to part with to make it yours.

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