Top of Mind Thursday – December 11, 2025: In the Eye of the Beholder

You know that feeling when you are in pain but your friend or family member tells you, “That’s nothing. Just live with it. It’s nothing serious.”

That doesn’t make the pain hurt any less. In fact, it just makes your day a little more miserable, knowing that others aren’t able to recognize your issue or even empathize with what you’re feeling.

The current administration is telling Americans the affordability problem is not real. That pain you feel in your wallet when you go to the grocery store, the gas station, or (worse yet!) pay medical expenses? It’s nothing. Just live with it and don’t complain.

The problem is many Americans are living with higher prices combined with limited employment opportunities. Over 60% of Americans say they’re living from paycheck to paycheck, with more than half unable to handle a $400 emergency expense. For these people, the affordability issue isn’t a hoax—it’s a way of life.

There are many reasons why prices continue to rise, including tariffs on many goods and fewer immigrants available to work in agriculture and hospitality fields. But there’s also the ongoing issue around health insurance and skyrocketing medical premiums. Continuing to kick the issue down the road is a bit like taking an aspirin and ignoring what’s causing the situation. What happens when that nagging pain turns into a serious systemic issue?

Are your customers in pain? What can you do to help alleviate the problem? How can you be seen as part of the solution instead of the problem?

Telling me my pain doesn’t matter doesn’t help me and it won’t help you either.

Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.

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