Let’s talk about something that transforms good content into genuinely helpful content: addressing your customers’ real pain points and struggles. This isn’t about being negative or dwelling on problems, and it’s certainly not about being manipulative.
I’m talking about meeting people exactly where they are and offering hope, solutions, and understanding.
Let me share how addressing pain points becomes a ministry of compassion that builds trust, connection, and ultimately helps you serve your audience more effectively.
What Customer Pain Points Actually Are
Pain points aren’t just “problems”. They’re the specific frustrations, struggles, fears, and obstacles that keep your ideal clients up at night or make them feel stuck.
They’re the gaps between where someone is and where they want to be.
For my audience, the pain points often include:
- Feeling overwhelmed by technology and not knowing where to start
- Worrying that their website makes them look unprofessional
- Struggling to explain what they do in a way that attracts clients
- Feeling frustrated that their online presence doesn’t reflect their heart
- Being confused by conflicting advice about marketing and websites
Pain points are deeply personal. They often involve emotions like frustration, fear, embarrassment, or feeling inadequate.
There are some models of marketing that then take this deeply personal pain, and twist it to get you to say yes to whatever solution someone is selling.
Let’s be honest: that’s gross.
This isn’t about exploiting pain for profit. Instead, it should be about recognizing pain as an opportunity for genuine service and transformation for the people that find our businesses.
Why Addressing Pain Points Matters More Than Ever
People Are Overwhelmed
Your potential clients are bombarded with information, options, and conflicting advice. Content that directly addresses their specific struggles cuts through the noise and provides relevant, helpful guidance.
Trust Comes from Understanding
When someone reads your content and thinks, “She gets exactly what I’m going through,” trust begins immediately. You’ve demonstrated that you understand their world.
Solutions Need Context
Generic advice doesn’t help much. But when you address specific pain points, you can provide targeted, actionable solutions that actually work for their situation.
I used to think if I kept things broad, it included everyone and every situation, instead of getting more specific. But when you try to speak to everyone, you wind up speaking to no one.
Be Careful of these Mistakes When Addressing Pain Points
Dig Deeper, Instead of Addressing Surface-Level Problem Identification
Some things are obvious. People come to me if they need a website or are having website problems. Duh. But digging a little deeper, there are bigger issues at play when it comes to how non-technical entrepreneurs view their websites and digital marketing.
Avoid focusing on obvious problems instead of digging deeper into the emotional and practical struggles underneath.
Don’t Read a Checklist, or Get Too Clinical
Having a list of pain points your clients or customers have shared with you doesn’t mean you should turn these into a bulleted list. Is there anything dryer than addressing pain points like a doctor reading symptoms instead of a friend who truly understands and cares about the struggle?
One Issue at a Time Instead of Overwhelming with Too Many Problems
A good rule of thumb to follow when creating content for your website (or any kind of post online, even social media) is to stick to one main thought at a time. Trying to address every possible pain point in one piece of content instead of focusing deeply on one specific struggle can leave your audience confused.
And…the confused mind says no.
Forgetting the Hope Despite the Pain Point
Let’s not make the mistake of dwelling on problems without offering genuine hope, practical solutions, or a path forward. Don’t leave people stuck.
Don’t be Gross by Using Fear as Motivation
Exploiting pain points to scare people into buying instead of addressing them with compassion and helpful solutions is not an ethical way to market your business or services.
How to Identify Your Customers’ Real Pain Points
As awkward as it is for this introvert to admit, I find talking to your clients or customers (or at least people in that niche) one on one to be the best way to really hear what they need, and how you can best serve them.
When I was rebranding my business and website, I met with ten people, some of them past clients, and some of them just in the niche I serve, and I asked open-ended questions.
I listened. I didn’t explain.
I let them tell me what things frustrated them and drove them up a wall. I let them express what they wish they had. Sometimes I’d ask for more clarity, but I didn’t interject what I did into the conversation at this point.
I paid attention to exactly how they described their struggles. I made a note of their words, not my proper professional terminology.
In particular, I noticed when these clients used words like “frustrated,” “overwhelmed,” “embarrassed,” “confused,” or “worried.” These emotional indicators reveal deeper pain points.
When I did speak, I tried to ask better questions. Instead of “What services do you need?” I asked, “What’s the most frustrating part of managing your online presence?” or “What keeps you up at night about your business?”
In addition to talking one on one with people I also went through past communications. Look through emails, consultation notes, and conversations for patterns in the struggles people mention.
Everyone knows I hate AI with a passion of a thousand burning suns. However, this is one of those times where I’ll say, “AI could be helpful with this one.” If you upload copies of all of this communication, AI can help you see patterns in all of it.
AI can also help you pinpoint words your clients use to describe the issues they’re having related to your niche. This can help you potentially find SEO keywords others are too proper to use.
Another place to find great pain points when doing market research is by reading reviews. I don’t just mean reviews of your products or services. But reviews of others in your industry. What do they do well? What kinds of things do their customers appreciate? What needs are their customers having unmet?
Bonus tip: when creating blog content or ebooks, reading Amazon Reviews of books on the topic can tell you what information others are looking for and hoping for but not finding. I hate Amazon about as much as I hate AI, but again, this is a helpful way to use this tool.
You can even combine them by copy and pasting reviews into AI to find commonalities.
Addressing Pain Points with Compassion
Start by validating that their struggle is real and understandable. Demonstrate that you truly get their situation. Use specific examples and scenarios that show you understand their world.
Help people understand that their struggles are common and don’t reflect personal failings. I see this a lot as a web designer. Most people assume they are the only people on the planet who don’t “get it” or who struggle to create content or market themselves. They aren’t.
As the expert in your field, you should offer hope and solutions. Move from understanding the problem to providing genuine, actionable help. Don’t just empathize. Offer a path forward.
Use what you’ve learned to create better offers and better content that meets needs people have.
Using Pain Points in Your Content
So how do you use “pain points” in your content?
Besides making it clear you understand the problem, and have the solution they’re looking for in your main content on your home page and landing pages, there are some other places where you can include information about pain points (and your solutions) on your website and other content.
Problem-to-Solution Guides
Step-by-step content that walks people from their current struggle to a better situation. These can include tutorials that help DIY’ers figure out fixes they need.
Behind-the-Scenes Stories
Sharing your own experiences with similar struggles and how you overcame them. I find this great for Social Media Reels.
FAQs
Addressing the questions people are afraid to ask or think they should already know the answers to is helpful to your audience and very helpful for search engine optimization.
Case Studies
Sharing real examples (with permission) of how you’ve helped others move through similar pain points to better outcomes can help those looking for solutions envision how you might help them.
The Heart Behind Pain Point Content
Understanding and addressing customer pain points isn’t about focusing on negativity.
It’s about meeting people with compassion exactly where they are, and serving them in a way that helps them in their needs.
