Pain points
Also called customer pain points, pain point
What are pain points?
Pain points are the specific problems, frustrations or needs that a customer experiences and wants solved. They can be about money (too expensive), time (too slow), effort (too complicated) or support (no one helps). Knowing your audience’s pain points tells you what to say in marketing and which benefits to put first.
Pain points are usually grouped into a few types: financial, productivity, process and support. A bike owner might feel all four: repairs are pricey, the bike is out of action for days, booking is awkward, and nobody explains what was fixed.
The most useful pain points are phrased in the customer’s own words. "My back aches by mid-afternoon" is more powerful in a caption than "musculoskeletal discomfort", and it is the kind of line people recognize instantly.
Why pain points matter
Marketing that names a real pain point feels relevant from the first line. It shows you understand the reader, which builds trust before you even mention your product. Frameworks like PAS are built entirely around this.
Pain points also guide what to make. Each one can become a post, a video or a section of a landing page that addresses it directly, giving your content pillars a solid base.
How to find customer pain points
- Read reviews of your business and your competitors, especially the three-star ones.
- Look at the questions customers ask before buying, in messages, emails and calls.
- Ask a few recent customers what almost stopped them from buying.
- Browse forums, groups and comment sections where your audience talks.
- Write each pain point in the customer’s words and rank them by how often they come up.
Pain points example
A bakery’s pain point research finds that office managers ordering for meetings worry most about late delivery and not knowing what is allergen-free. Its next posts show the delivery window guarantee and a clearly labeled allergen menu.
Pain points FAQ
What are the four types of customer pain points?
A common grouping is financial (cost), productivity (time and effort), process (how hard something is to do) and support (lack of help). Many real problems mix several types.
How do you use pain points in marketing?
Name the pain point in the headline or hook, show you understand it, then present how your product removes it. Use customers’ own words wherever you can.
Related terms
A buyer persona is a fictional profile of an ideal customer, based on research, that helps a business write and plan for real people.
The PAS framework is a copywriting formula: name the Problem, Agitate it so it feels urgent, then present your Solution.
Objection handling is answering the doubts that stop people buying, such as price, trust or timing, before or when they come up.
A target audience is the specific group of people a business wants to reach with its marketing, defined by needs, traits and behavior.
A value proposition is a clear statement of the benefit a customer gets from a product, and why it is better for them than the alternatives.