Customer Pain Points: Definition and Types

Customer Pain Point

What is a Customer Pain Point? Definition and Meaning

A customer pain point is a specific problem, frustration or unmet need that a customer experiences and that a product or service can solve. Understanding pain points is the starting point for good marketing, because people buy solutions to problems they care about. Pain points meaning: the problems or frustrations customers have. Common types are financial (it costs too much), productivity (it takes too long), process (it is hard to buy or use) and support (help is poor).

Common types of pain points

Financial: paying too much, or unclear costs.
Productivity: wasted time, or processes that are too slow or complicated.
Process: friction in buying, onboarding or getting support.
Support: not getting help when it is needed.

How to find your customers’ pain points

Interview customers and ask what made them look for a solution.
Listen to sales calls and read support tickets.
Read reviews, including your competitors’, especially the negative ones.
Look at the questions people search for, and at discussions in forums and on Reddit.

Using pain points in marketing

Name the problem in your customers’ own words, show that you understand it, and explain how you solve it, with proof. Pages that address specific problems also match the searches people make when they look for help.