Find The Pain Points

Yesterday was all about discovering the customer’s experience with you. You may have been surprised to find that you were the one who inadvertently put up barriers to doing business with you. I’m sure you found several areas where your customer’s perception was not in alignment with yours.

Every industry has buzzwords, many of which I despise, but the marketing term “Pain Points” is apt. A pain point is something that customers feel needs fixing and solving. They may not be able to articulate it but they feel it. They are not emotionally satisfied with what they perceive they are receiving. It could be simple annoyances or bothers that they brush off but the feeling lingers. It could also be an unmet need in the market place. Or it can be customers’ overall negative impression of your entire industry that you have to take into account.

Today’s gift is a treasure hunt. I want you to find your customer’s pain points. You should have discovered a few yesterday. Some are going to be quick and easy fixes. Others may require a long-term investment in creating new materials or developing new product or service offerings.

Don’t know where to start? Begin by finding a way to answer the questions you are constantly asked. If someone has a hard time finding something or doing something then it is a pain point. Is your web site easy to use? Is it cluttered and confusing? Is your material easy to read? If you own a store is your signage working? Study how people move about your store. Where do their eyes go? Is the till area selling for you? If you have a long sales process are you neglecting a decision influencer or possibly ignoring one of the phases?

One of the biggest pain points to solve is determining if you are meeting the “real” needs of your customers or not? Each pain point you solve for your customer adds to the success of your business. Happy hunting.