Identifying Customer Pain Points : A Guide For Entrepreneurs

Customer have problems and need solutions so as an entrepreneur you must become good at identifying customer pain points.

Hi Trish Davies here and today I want to help you understand your customers and potential customers more. I am going to show you how to become great at identifying customer pain points.

You have an amazing product or service, and you’re positive that customers will love it. You know they have a problem you can solve with your business, and you’ve done your homework on their pain points.

Indicators of the customer’s pain points can be found by listening to what they say. However, this isn’t always easy.

People don’t always directly express their frustrations and problems. instead, they might speak about habits, routines, and traditions that aren’t serving them well anymore.

This is where finding the indicators comes in handy. This article will give you all the tips you need on identifying customer pain points as an entrepreneur. Then you can better understand your target audience and find opportunities for growth.

Identifying Customer Pain Points: Ask Questions – The Most Important Step

identifying customer pain points

Asking the right questions about customer pain points is the most important part of the process. Here are a few guidelines to help you get started.

Be specific. In order to get useful answers, you need to ask specific questions.

For example, asking customers, “What do you like most about our product?” isn’t as valuable as asking, “What is the one thing that you really like about our product?”

Ask Quantifiable Questions. Asking questions like, “What do customers want?” is too general and doesn’t help you narrow down your focus. Instead, ask specific questions, such as, “What percentage of customers wants product X?”

Ask Open-Ended Questions. Open-ended questions give customers the freedom to really open up and share their thoughts and feelings.

Closed Questions. On the other hand, often elicit one-word responses like “yes” or “no.” Avoid closed questions like “Did you enjoy the product?” and instead, ask something like, “What did you like about the product?”

Be A Participant, Not Just A Watcher 

Sometimes, you can’t just ask people how they feel about their pain points. You have to get out there and be a participant.

Try Out The Product Or Service Yourself. This is one of the easiest ways to identify pain points. Try out the product or service yourself and see if it’s easy to use and if it solves the problem.

Then, you’ll be able to identify pain points and opportunities more easily.

Conduct Surveys. This is another effective way to get people opening up and sharing the pain points they experience with your product or service.

You can use software like SurveyMonkey to create and publish surveys, or you can have an online poll.

Conduct Interviews. Interviews are another great way to get people talking about their pain points. However, it’s important to remember to take note of not just what customers say but also how they say it.

Behaviours and body language can be just as important as words.

Watch For Keywords & Behaviours

There are some pain points that customers might not even realize they have. Therefore, you may want to pay attention to what customers say and the keywords they use to indicate their pain points.

Take Note Of How Customers Talk About Their Problems. When customers talk to you or write to you, pay attention to how they express their issues.

Take Note Of Habits & Routines That Are Hard To Break. Customers who are stuck in routines don’t always realize it, but they often have pain points related to those routines.

Watch Where Customers Spend Their Money. This is a great way to identify pain points related to financial issues.

Look At What Existing Product Or Service Is Missing. Sometimes, people don’t have pain points with what you offer but with what is missing from what you offer.

Watch Where Customers Spend Their Money 

customer spending habits

This may sound a little counterintuitive since you’re watching where customers spend their money. However it’s actually a great way to identify pain points.

Take note of what customers are spending their money on. It can be a helpful clue to understanding why they make the purchases they do. Sometimes customers choose not to purchase something that they really need.

Take note of when customers buy and when they don’t buy. Sometimes customers have pain points that they don’t even recognize, and they’re still spending money on them.

Take note of what customers are paying for. Sometimes customers experience pain points by paying for things they don’t actually want.

Take note of when customers are using coupons and when they are not.

Look At What Existing Product Or Service Is Missing 

This is another means of identifying pain points. Take a look at what your product or service offers and see if there are any gaps in the offerings.

Note the pain points that your product or service is designed to address. Sometimes, customers are satisfied with their current pain points, and the product or service you offer just doesn’t address their needs.

Note what the product or service does not address. Sometimes customers are dissatisfied with their current pain points, and the product or service you offer just doesn’t address the needs.

Identifying Customer Pain Points – Bottom Line 

Customers don’t always know what they want, but they always know what they don’t want. That’s where pain points come into play. They are indicators of where customers are having problems.

Once you start paying attention to them, you can better understand your customers and find opportunities to improve your product or service.

That way, you can better serve your customers and encourage them to become loyal, repeat customers.

Helping you build your authenticity, authority and audience.

Trish Davies

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