How to find pain points for you and your customers

How do you catch a customer’s attention from a sea of advertisements? How do you draw them into your business and promise that they NEED your service? You identify your customer’s pain points.

Every business exists to solve a problem and with this comes certain pain points that serve as ‘support systems’ for each problem that we try to solve. Pain points exist for both businesses and customers. Let’s start with the common pain points that are associated with running a business.

Business pain points

Before you identify your customer’s pain points, it’s important to focus on your own first.

Marketing Strategy

One of the major pain points a business faces is whether or not they are visible enough to stand out from their competitors. A good marketing strategy is the first step in letting people know you exist.

Your business won’t survive without a strong marketing strategy as it is an honest reflection of your brand. What’s the point of having the most delicious pizza in the world if you don’t have any customers to try and rave about it? One of our favourite approaches to consider is content marketing where you can organically reveal the value of your products and services. It is a fantastic place to start if you are hoping to hook customers into your acquisition funnel.

Budget and profitability

Are you stressing as to whether you have the financial means to grow? You are not alone. The answer? Have a budget and learn the importance of cash flow in a business. You need to have a positive cash flow in order to grow. If you can’t afford to expand, you may need to look into making some cuts and asking the hard questions. Why is a certain product or service you are investing in a waste of money rather than a benefit?

Productivity

Are your levels of productivity suffering? Unfortunately for some, you will need to take a hard look at your employees and replace those who are not performing at the appropriate standard. Consider your employee engagement. Are you communicating with your employees on a regular basis and assessing their work? Talk to your employees about how they find their current work environment. What are the positives and what can be changed? Happier employees lead to higher levels of productivity!

Culture

Workplace culture also plays a role in employee engagement and productivity. If the current working environment appears to be stifling creativity, this is a problem. Instead, create an environment that allows for creativity and innovation so that employees feel empowered to share ideas with you.

Process

As a business, you’ll want to operate using certain strategies that involve managing the performance of your employees. Knowing how to manage your employees properly will be helpful in making sure your business is up and running. Be sure to communicate with your employees regularly and learn to correct any performance issues with further training and guidance.

Customer pain points

Knowing your customer’s pain points will put you in the driver’s seat for success and sales.

Survey your customers

Your current customers are the best source for answers. Learn about the pain they dealt with before purchasing your product or service to highlight what your future customers may be experiencing.

Read reviews and respond to them

If your customers are leaving reviews, pay attention to them and take a moment to reply (to both the positive and negative). Pay attention to the language they use in the reviews. What bothered them before they purchased your product or service? If the review isn’t all positive, find out why. What caused the product or service to fall short? Ask for suggestions from the reviewer on how to improve. This lets the reviewers know that you are listening and willing to make improvements if needed.

Check out your competition

What is your competition doing? What are they doing to improve their customer’s pain points? In fact, what pain points are those competitors overlooking? This will give you the perfect opportunity to capitalise on them and present yourself as the better option.

Address the pain points in communications

Whether it’s through an email list or a one-on-one conversation with prospective or current customers, pain points should be a hot topic. By doing so, you get a good idea on where to go when they are looking for a solution.

Final Thoughts

Identifying pain points will be easier if you follow the above for both your business and customers. If you are trying to build a business from the ground up, know what your own pain points are. As for your customers pain points, use surveys and reviews to your advantage. Always keep the lines of communication open so that you are able to make improvements if and where needed.