Easiest ways to highlight customers’ problems
One of the easiest ways to relate to your potential customers is by showing them you understand what they are going through.
Why’s that, you ask?
Potential customers are looking for solutions to certain problems or pain points, and getting down to the bottom of what they are going through indicates you’ve been in the same boat. Someone who understands them is more likely to help them solve a certain problem than someone who doesn’t.
It also opens up a new worldview by showing them what is possible. Once you highlight their problems in a sincere and empathetic manner, it becomes much easier to help them solve such issues with your product/tool, which will result in more revenue — it’s all connected.
Let’s get to it.
Highlight the pain points in detail
I was once in your shoes. I understand what you are going through, and this is how I pulled myself out of this massive rut.
By now, you already know what your potential customers are going through. And since you completely understand the challenges they are facing, you can easily break down such pain points in detail, down to the nitty-gritty bits.
To get down to the bottom of everything and relate to the customers on a deeper level, you can tell a story of how you faced the same thing.
It’s basically telling them — I was once in your shoes, and I totally get it. It’s like those movies or books, which take you through a certain story and make it easier for you to relate to the character because you went through the same thing.
Take this example, for instance:
You developed a software program for design students that offers professional design functionalities. Since you know that most students don’t have a lot of extra income to spend on expensive licenses, you are offering it at an affordable rate, billed every month, making it easier for students to access it as they advance to other years.
This is the story I’d hook them with:
The year is 2000 — I’m a design student who couldn’t afford money to put food in my mouth, let alone buy a software license. While I had a computer for designing basic stuff, software programs required some cash. I had pending assignments coming up, and so did everyone in my class who couldn’t afford to buy a software license for $800. Anxiety filled up my body, and I could feel myself becoming tense.
Thinking about my pending assignments only made things worse, increasing the anxiety x 10. If this song — Anxiety by Doechii — was released by that time, it would have been playing in my mind at that moment. “Is there a cheap solution for all this? I know I don’t have $800 to spend on design software like many professionals in my field.”
Anyone who’s in the same shoes will instantly relate to what you are talking about because you’ve broken down a problem on a deeper level. You know exactly what they are facing — the phase of life they are in, the frustrations they are feeling, and other emotions that are almost crippling them. The only thing you don’t know is their names, which you will later on, because you are good at marketing ;).
Basically, you are telling them that you understand where they are coming from. And they will be more curious to know how you got yourself out of that rut and used less money on software programs.
Examples of other media forms that are quite effective in highlighting pain points include:
- Videos
- podcasts
Show empathy
Showing empathy is one of the easiest ways to connect with potential customers as you highlight a pain point. You are basically telling your potential customers that it’s okay to go through such. It validates what they are feeling because you felt it too at some point.
If someone goes through an empathetic story that breaks down a pain point in a friendly manner, their first thought will be: ‘hmmmm…this brand understands what I’m going through like a friend’.
This gesture shows that they matter, building a certain level of trust that makes it easier for you to help them.
Empathy communicates that you are willing to help without being pushy or salesy — and both sides will benefit from it.
Offer them a solution
While potential customers are looking for a brand that completely understands their pain points, they are also looking for solutions that will make their lives easier. By highlighting pain points in an empathetic manner, you will build some level of trust, which will ease them into the next phase.
Give them a trailer of how their lives will turn out once they solve the problem.
Ever watched a movie trailer and couldn’t wait for that movie to premiere in theatres because you know it’s going to be bomb? This is how your potential customers should feel when they picture the solution.
You can create the same experience with your customers. Make the solution look interesting with a triumph story or a cheerful story. It’s one of the easiest ways to show how things will turn out when a pain point is solved.
Remember earlier on when you gave a certain story that breaks down the pain point of potential customers? After reading such stories, most leads will be interested in the end results. They want to know how things turned out for you because they are in the same shoes. Think of it like guiding them through a certain journey. You’ve already hooked them with a story that shows you care, and now they are looking up to you for a way out.
Give them the happy ending that also empowers them and motivates them to take a certain action.
It would look like this:
After facing a lot of frustrations, I eventually got an interesting idea. I knew a designer who had a license, and a powerful computer, which could accomplish different design tasks. The only way I could pull myself out of the rut was through that. So I called him and asked him if I could borrow his computer for a few hours every day. Luckily, he had upgraded to a new computer and didn’t use his computer that much, and in the next few weeks, I used it to do various assignments.
But, here’s the thing: my friends were in the same predicament, and the only way to help them out was to rent out the computer, since it was in demand. Of course, I rented it out at an affordable price when I was not busy with my assignments. A small gesture like that opened so many doors, and we aced our exams.
Over To You
Diving deeper into pain problems will build trust and help you onboard more leads into your journey. It’s also quite effective in building trust and establishing yourself as the authority in a certain field. Remember to show empathy and break down everything to the nitty-gritty details in an interesting manner. And in the end, show them how life will turn out when the problem is solved.