Why you need to learn about your customers' pain points?
It might sound a bit too dark but hear us out. You probably heard about the thing about painkillers vs. vitamins. Painkillers are easy to sell because people need them right now to solve an immediate problem. Vitamins are harder to sell because they don't fulfill an immediate need. Everyone knows that certain apps can help you have a more balanced diet, but when you are on the road and hungry, Google Maps enables you to find the closest grocery store.
Your goal is to become an essential solution for your customers to solve their immediate needs now. After all, no one will buy you anything if you offer something that your customers might need or will need. You have to provide something that is needed right now.
If you want to jumpstart your sales, you need to create offers that solve immediate problems. To do that, you need to learn the pain of your customers. What is their most pressing issue that you can solve? What is the single most crucial pain-point that keeps them away from achieving their goals?
Once you know the problem - you can offer the solution.
How to learn about their pain?
Well, you need to do some research. There are three main areas where you should start.
Start with the most important and widely-used platform, Google. Everyone is typing their questions into Google in desperation to find a solution to their problem. Check keywords around your existing product or even within your industry - what is the most searched phrase. Check related Google searches, which gives you the exact questions your prospects are searching for answers. A simple Google search can provide you excellent top-of-the-head value around the most excruciating pain points your customers have. You can top Google searches up with tools like the Google Keyword Planner or Answer The Public - the latter is one of the most powerful marketing research tools.
Funny how the internet hasn't changed in the last twenty years.
After the casual search options, the second area where you need to look at are the forums. Online forums are places where people ask questions, socialize, talk, and exchange ideas. They are not forums per se, but platforms like Facebook Groups, Quora, Reddit, or any industry-related groups are the best options to get the gist of your customers' problems. Find the most active forums, groups, or threads - they usually have enough insights for you.
The last area where you need to look is the world of public reviews. It depends on your business, but platforms like Amazon, Yelp, even Facebook or Google My Business are an excellent way to gather relevant insights. Good, 5-star reviews are OK but focus on the bad reviews. People provide points that are missing from a product or a service - if you can create solutions that solve these missing points, you are in for business. Focus on your competitors first, then broaden your search within your industry.
We always recommend gathering the information into a spreadsheet for later use. It is essential to check the pain points but equally crucial to follow how your customers explain their pain. What words are they using? How they phrase their problem? That information can help you craft better ads, better headlines, better offers that address your customers' pain points with their own words. To your customers, you will become a mindreader with this tactic.
But pain is not enough - that addresses only those who are ready to buy now. What about those who haven't faced a problem yet? Click here to learn how to focus on the broader audience from the following tactical advice.
