Understanding Your Target Customer’s Pain Points and Passion

In this blog, we want to highlight why understanding your customer’s pain points and what they’re passionate about is so important. When people feel understood, they are more likely to convert.

Once you understand your customer’s pain points, you can tailor your messaging and content to be more effective and have a higher conversion rate. Let’s dive in.

WHAT ARE PAIN POINTS?

Pain points are problems individuals regularly face. They can be simple, like not having enough time. Consider these categories of customer pain points:

1. Productivity
2. Support
3. Financial
4. Process
5. People/HR
6. Marketing/positioning
7. Small business

Every individual, entrepreneur and business faces pain points. For digital marketers and businesses, pain points can be an opportunity. If you correctly identify your target customer’s pain points, you can tailor your messaging and marketing strategy to persuade and convince them that you can solve their pain points.

But first, you have to find the pain points.

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT YOUR TARGET CUSTOMER’S PAIN POINTS?

Identifying your customer’s specific pain points boils down to asking the right questions — and avoiding making assumptions.

Open-ended questions can be more effective than leading questions. Contrast these two questions and their responses:

LEADING QUESTION
Business/Marketer: “Do you find it challenging to hire a reliable roofer?”

Customer: “Yes.”

OPEN-ENDED QUESTION
Business/Marketer: “What is the biggest challenge or frustration you face when choosing a roofer?”

Customer: “If I need to find a roofer, it takes awhile to contact them, set up a quote, receive the quote, schedule the job and deposit the payment, then finish the work. I wish the whole process was faster.”

The first question provides only a yes or no answer. And if asked, the customer answers yes, that finding someone reliable can be challenging. The first question assumes the biggest challenge is reliability. This isn’t entirely wrong, but it may not be completely correct, either.

The second, open-ended question allows the customer to provide more detail. We learn the biggest frustration for this specific customer is time and the lengthy process.

Digital marketers must craft a personalized marketing message that align with their customers’ pain points and needs. When people feel understood, they are more likely to convert.

Here are some open-ended questions you may choose to use next time you are investigating your target customer’s pain points:

• What’s the most significant challenge or frustration your business is facing?
• What will happen if you do not resolve this challenge/pain?
• Have you tried relieving this pain? If so, how? What solutions did you attempt?
• What has prevented you from solving this pain?

HOW DIGITAL MARKETERS CAN USE CUSTOMER PAIN POINTS TO INFORM MARKETING STRATEGIES

Once you understand your target customer’s pain points, you can craft personalized marketing messages. Identify the vocabulary and language that your target customers use to describe their pain points; then use this language in your marketing message.

When you speak to your customers via sales call, meeting or email, ensure they understand how you can solve their pain points. Be helpful, clear and transparent.

EXAMPLES OF PAIN POINTS INFORMING MARKETING EFFORTS

At Dream Local, one of the most significant pain points of our target customers is their lack of time and or resources to implement a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. Investigating your target customer’s pain points, values and preferences takes time and expertise. And a solid marketing strategy is based on data and analytics.

We solve these problems in a variety of ways. Some examples:

PROBLEM: For our roofing and home services clients, pain points for their customers include pricing, wanting a reliable person to work on their home, and quick results.

SOLUTION: We create content around free estimates and competitive pricing, reviews from past clients, and a promise to get the job done quickly and efficiently. This allows the roofing and home services businesses to build trust with their clients.

PROBLEM: For our real estate clients, a customer pain point is feeling overwhelmed by the process.

SOLUTION: We created messaging and content around simplifying the process and highlighting the broker’s experience to help them through it. This marketing message resonates with their customers’ frustrations and reassures them. Thus building rapport and trust!

For digital marketers, businesses and entrepreneurs, building trust with your leads is key to increasing conversions. Dream Local Digital offers free consultation to learn how our marketing team can help your business reach new heights. We can do the heavy lifting to identify your customers’ pain points and build a message that is well-received. This results in increased lead conversion, brand recognition and more money in your pocket.