The External Problem is always the easiest one to identify because it is so obvious.
It’s usually the one that tends to pop up first when someone asks what you do.
If you run a health site for example and someone asked what problem you solve you could answer that you help people lose weight.
That’s the external problem and that’s where most people stop and that’s why they don’t really build a brand that people attach to.
The reason why is because you can learn how to lose weight from a lot of different places so your site is just another run of the mill site. There is nothing separating it, no matter how cool the design of your site is.
However, this doesn’t mean that you should ignore the external problem.
It’s important that your site and your messaging address the external problem because it’s the one the Hero is also aware of.
Many people say they want to lose weight so if they go to a site that doesn’t say it will help them lose weight they’ll go find another site that will say that.
You can’t have a restaurant that doesn’t serve food.
The external problem is the obvious answer to the question what do you do?
If it takes you longer than 5 seconds to answer that question then you’ll want to rethink the problems that you’re solving.
It’s also important to recognize the external problem because it will help you understand the internal problem.