If you spend even a small amount of time on social media, between cat videos, selfies, and food pictures, you’ll undoubtedly come across some version of a “What’s the correct answer to this equation?” post. The two things that always strike me when I see them are, first, an intense reflexive panic that harkens back to high school math, and second, amazement at the range of possible answers from, say, 60 to 7. Once I take a deep breath, I remember that in math, the “order of operations” is critical to correctly solving the equation. If you add or subtract before you multiply or divide, well, you’ll get a very different and incorrect answer. Trust me. I know.

Similarly, I imagine many of us have faced the challenge of assembling an Ikea product, starting with a box of peculiar parts and a 50-page, picture-only manual that guides you through a step-by-step process to build the rack, cabinet, or bedside table. Who among us has not skipped a step or two because the parts were handy, and well, they look like they go together, so why not? Lastly, who hasn’t then had to un-assemble what you just put together because, well, part CC4 has to go on before part CC2, or it won’t all come together?

On a much more important note, did you ever stop to consider that the same is true in marketing? It’s relatively easy to jump into editing your website, sending out an email, or crafting a LinkedIn post. But if you are only writing about stuff that you are interested in, you could be missing the mark, and an opportunity to engage with your prospects.

It’s really about them, not you.

When you shift your focus to what’s going on with the targeted businesses you want to attract, it changes your perspective. What are they dealing with? What issues do they face, or maybe there are missed opportunities they are not aware of? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, it’s time to ask them. That is the beginning of the equation for engaging content.

How do your clients articulate their issues? What words do they use? It’s true, their thoughts may just reflect the surface-level pain they feel, not the real root cause, but we have to start with what’s on their minds. Why? Because there are likely more companies that share those same pain points. A good way to start is to select one of your target markets and list 3 to 4 pain points they consistently complain about. Take the time to really dig into the emotional side of those pain points. How frustrating is it to them? How does it impact their business? How difficult is it for them to address, or even understand the problem?

Only then, once you’ve captured the aggravating issues they deal with, can you focus on the impact you can have on their pain. At this point you don’t even need to go into the details of how you solve their problems–connecting with them about the results your current and past clients see and have seen is, in itself, an effective response to their issues. Pain plus impact equals connection. (Our first marketing equation!)

Now, to add a multiplying effect to your messaging, think about how you differ from your competitors in solving your prospect’s problem. Of course, from the prospect’s perspective, one (wrong) choice is to do nothing, which occurs more than it should. Inertia is the enemy of growth and that, in fact, could be one of your client’s main pain points. We all know intellectually that ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away, but many companies sweep their issues under the rug. “Nothing to see here.”

Of course, you know that’s not the best approach. A much better and more productive way to engage with your market is by adding specific value messaging that differentiates you from other solutions. This is another area that might require you to have a conversation with a few key clients to capture their perspectives. Hearing from them about what makes us different in their experience and what value we brought to their organization can be very insightful.

The through-line for all of this, of course, is that your growth is not just a function of what you bring to the market, but also how you bring your unique value to prospects. Just as getting the right answer in an equation is the result of getting the order of operations right, so too is your business success going to be driven by the order of activities through which you bring your business to market. And getting that right = success.