It is customer needs that should shape business value propositions. Step into the shoes of your target buyer persona, consider their pain points and you’ll craft a better value offering.
For entrepreneurs learning how to start your own business, understanding customer pain points is one of the most important early steps. Before refining branding, pricing, or marketing strategies, you need clarity on what real problems your audience is trying to solve. That clarity matters more than ever. 73% of consumers say customer experience plays an important role in their purchasing decisions, which means businesses that fail to understand and address real customer pain points risk losing customers before they even convert.
The challenge lies in figuring out the best approach to solving your customers’ problems. Prepare accordingly and you’ll make the stressful stress-free, the confusing clear and the frustrating enjoyable.
This is your inside look at identifying and understanding customer pain points to enhance your messaging and your value offering.
What are customer pain points?
Pain points are problems to solve. Such problems rarely take the form of physical pain. Rather, they are practical problems, complex financial challenges or even emotional issues.
Everyday people, workers and businesses alike are faced with recurring obstacles, frustrations and problems. It is up to your business to solve those problems with solutions that are superior to those provided by the competition.
Adopt the psychology of your target buyer to better understand his or her unique pain points. Take some time to ponder the questions, complaints and objections of those individuals.
Once you’ve seen the world through the lens of your target buyer, it is up to you to craft a tailored solution.
Customer pain point versus symptom
Symptoms manifest after problems arise. The symptom is a sign of an underlying issue. The value is not in alleviating the symptom. Rather, the value is in addressing the pain point itself.
Pinpoint the cause of the problem, address that deeper reason and you’ll successfully address the pain point.
4 types of customer pain points
No two pain points are exactly the same. The needs of one buyer persona are distinctly different from those of another. Pinpoint the category the pain point falls into and your business will be that much more capable of responding with efficiency.
Financial pain points
Financial challenges sting especially harshly as money is the lifeblood of personal livelihood and also that of businesses. If something is too expensive, has the potential to be a waste of money or has an unclear cost, it is a legitimate pain point.
As an example, the cost of maintaining, replacing and using a traditional lawnmower has been addressed with remote controlled robotic lawnmowers.
Another example is an excess of software-as-a-service recurring subscriptions that has the potential to be egregiously expensive. Replacing some subscriptions with alternatives might alleviate the financial pressure.
Productivity pain points
Productivity is the name of the game. The more productive and efficient customers are, the less time and effort they have to invest in work. Even something as simple as consolidating the steps necessary to use something can save a considerable amount of time, money and effort.
Consider a business that relies on human labor for production or manufacturing. Programming machines to do the same labor is that much more productive and efficient.
As another example, consider how unproductive it is to measure the water and coffee grounds necessary to make daily cups of coffee. Automated machines have emerged that perform such measurements and coffee-making on the user’s chosen schedule.
Process pain points
Processes that are confusing, difficult to start or unclear are legitimate pain points. Even something as simple as the processes of human resources when hiring new additions can be simplified through an outsourced headhunting service.
As another example, artificial intelligence is now used to automate workflows that previously consumed a considerable amount of time and effort.
Support pain points
View the world from the eyes of your targeted buyer persona and you’ll soon realize there is insufficient guidance, it’s often difficult to get help and response times are often slow. You can address such pain points with timely service in the form of remote live chat agents or even automated chatbots.
In other instances, outside expert consultants provide invaluable guidance that are unavailable in-house.
Customer journey pain points: where they show up
Pain points have the potential to manifest throughout the entirety of the customer journey. From the initial point when customers seek assistance to the point of purchase, problems inevitably arise.
Before buying
Pain points inspire customers to convert into buyers of products and services. However, options have the potential to confuse and frustrate. Even something as seemingly simple as clear pricing has the potential to be confusing. Moreover, the failure to establish trust also gives target buyers pause prior to conversion.
During purchase
Even the slightest inconvenience during the booking or checkout process can sour the customer experience. Minimize friction, consolidate steps and clarify each of those steps to steer your customers to the finish line of conversion.
After purchase
It is the aftermath of purchases that determines whether customers become loyal to the business. Clarify onboarding instructions, eliminate gaps in support and provide ongoing support for mutually beneficial communication.
Customer pain points examples
Take a moment to envision your target buyer’s daily challenges. Recognize those unique pain points, proactively address them and you’ll make headway toward winning and preserving business.
As an example, consider the pain points of customers in need of services from local businesses. As an example, most people aren’t sure how to clean home siding. As such, they are willing to reach out to local small businesses for support. Yard care also presents numerous pain points in the form of fertilizing grass, artful presentation for curb appeal and maintaining the optimal lawn height.
Ecommerce clients have unique pain points in the form of shipping challenges, customer service and more. Creative solutions solve such problems, oftentimes with the assistance of cutting edge technology such as AI-powered bots.
Digital products have the potential to be burdensome as they tend to be overly-complex with a steep learning curve. Moreover, tech is dynamic, meaning it changes with time. Providing software on demand in the form of a service available on the web ameliorates such pain points.
Even professional services such as bookkeeping present idiosyncratic pain points. The development of software solutions specific to professional niches helps those service providers overcome their unique hurdles.
How to identify customer pain points
Pinpointing customer pain points is that much easier when you rely on structured feedback instead of assumptions. This is where understanding what is market research becomes valuable. Market research helps you systematically gather insights through testimonials, interviews, surveys, and behavioral data so you can identify patterns instead of relying on guesswork. When you approach customer pain points through research rather than instinct alone, your solutions become more precise and more effective.
Ask customers the right questions
Take a moment to question what caused the pain point and the customer’s search for a solution. Consider what your target buyers attempted prior to seeking outside assistance.
In most cases, outdated methods or alterations to tech, business or society induced frustration. Identify the frustrating aspects of the old approach and proactively simplify those challenges.
It’s also prudent to consider what stopped your target customers from following through with a purchase. There’s no harm in asking what, exactly, stopped them from buying and addressing those concerns with pinpoint precision.
Pay attention to objections
Listen closely when interacting with target buyers. If prospects object even in the slightest, listen closely. Take notes to all objections and review them with your team.
It is the substance of those objections that shapes your development of solutions moving forward. If the objection is cost, develop a more economically efficient approach. If the target buyer is unsure if the proposed solution will work, demonstrate its utility and value for transparency.
Some object to the proposed value offering by stating they need more time. An insistence on delaying the decision indicates the customer is considering other options. Emphasize the value of your solution to reinforce its merit and you’ll nudge those objectors toward conversion.
Read reviews
Reviews of your business and also those of your competitors provide invaluable insight. Look for recurring themes in those reviews to get a sense of what customers appreciate and also what they complain about.
Now that you are aware of common complaints, address those weaknesses appropriately. In some cases, even slight modifications to service or products can significantly increase customer retention rates.
Watch where people get stuck
When in doubt, observe. Watch your target buyer persona in action and jot down pain points for future reference. Everything from questions to friction at checkout or even problems during ordering constitute an opportunity for improvement.
Prioritize pain points that affect buying decisions
Narrow your focus on what motivates or deters prospects from converting into buyers. If you notice specific pain points drive action, address them right away. Certain pain points prevent conversion while others lead to excessive churn.
Prioritize these critically important pain points over the less important and you’ll boost sales while simultaneously increasing your customer retention rate.
How to use customer pain points to improve your business
In the end, it is the manner in which you address or neglect customer pain points that shapes the success of your business. Pay close attention to pain points throughout the buyer journey and revisit them as time progresses.
Make a concerted effort to alleviate pain points with creative solutions and you’ll shape the customer experience for mutual benefit. Moreover, insights gleaned from pain point analysis also shape the language and presentation of ensuing offers for persuasive purposes.
Above all, highlight what, exactly, is included in your value proposition. Such clarity makes your value offering overt instead of it being perceived with skepticism.
The transition away from covert to overt also includes clarification on the details of the value offering. Enhance your pricing transparency to eliminate any potential confusion. Adjust your messaging to match the language used by your target buyer personas.
Getting prepared before doing customer research
The quest for conversions requires organization and extensive preparation. Such steps are to be taken prior to the point of customer research.
Invest the time necessary to organize your approach to customer research and you’ll find highlighting pain points is significantly easier. A strategic approach to understanding the psychology and practical needs of your customers really does set the stage for the development of a pragmatic value offering.
Part of the organization process is segmenting your finances. As an example, combining personal and business finances creates completely unnecessary confusion.
Tailor Brands is here to help. Our platform assists business founders establish a foothold and remain organized. Though our platform does not guarantee sales or business success, it will likely help your organization fulfill its true potential.
Conclusion
Businesses that narrow their focus on identify and addressing pain points often steal market share from those that have superior value offerings. It is customer pain points that tell the real story of why people and businesses convert into loyal clients.
In the end, the winners in business are those that solve actual pain points with practicality and efficiency.
The process begins with proactive listening. Pay close attention to your target buyers, listening for patterns in feedback and complaints. Address each individual friction point one at a time and you’ll progress toward capturing market share.