Pinpoint the Pain Point
In my first business, I believed that if I could just create the coolest aesthetic, a good product and word-of-mouth referrals, I’d be off to a great start. I was a coffee roaster. I saved up and purchased my first $4k roaster, an Aillio Bullet, and everything seemed to be looking up. I dove in on top of my day job and interested, kind-hearted friends kept me afloat for a while. I had my branding where I wanted it, I had my “why” mapped out, I had my SOPs refined, my roasting was getting better. It was a lot of fun.
But two things killed it.
First, my margins were awful – shipping ate up almost the entirety of my profit and I couldn’t configure a way to get around that without needing to invest in a larger roaster to go wholesale or quitting my day job to give it more time.
Second, my product wasn’t solving anything but a caffeine headache. Many speciality coffee companies struggle with this. They sell a luxury good. The pain they solve for their customers is hard to pin down. Lack of Status? FOMO? The pain they are fixing is undefined and therefore, it stunts their business just as it did for me.
Pain sucks. None of us want to think about pain. But it’s a critical aspect of what makes a business go from “nice-to-have” into “need-to-have.”
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Last week, we explored one way to help founders struggle less with their marketing. We want to start by narrowing the niche. Once this niche is identified, the next step is understanding what's getting in the way for your niche.
Identifying pain points can seem straightforward. However, IMO, it's one of the most common areas where assumptions can lead founders astray.
We need data to back up our pain points, not hunches.
And in the early stages of a community, relying on hunches can be particularly risky. Not to mention expensive too if you're considering investing thousands for market research.
Launching a community is meant to replace the bulk of the cost of market research. Over time, the community itself becomes the market research you need to go-to-market. A community validates PMF for you.
Businesses exist to solve problems. If you can't pinpoint the pain point of your niche, you won't know what you're trying to solve. So how do you get started? Start with your current audience. They will help you identify if you're on the right track for identifying the pain points of your niche.
Here are a few action steps to get started with insightful data from your niche:
Refining Your Understanding of Niche Pain Points
To get better at understanding your niche’s pain points, it’s crucial to communicate clearly and use language that resonates with your customers. Here’s how you can refine your approach:Consider which pain points your audience is experiencing: Zendesk identifies 4 common types of customer pain points:
Process pain points refer to the internal procedures that get in the way of your customer's success. This could include a complex POS, unhelpful customer support, or delays.
Financial pain points are more straightforward. The customer either can or can't afford your product/service. Additional pain points can emerge from hidden fees or unexpected costs.
Support pains are all about how a customer feels after connecting with your sales team or customer service. This includes slow response times, inefficient resolution of issues, or lack of knowledge.
Product pain points all come back to your product. This is when your product is actually hindering your customer's success or productivity. This could be the result of incorrect workflows or features that don't drive value.
Engage Directly: Initiate conversations through social media, emails, or direct interviews using tools like Typeform to gather nuanced feedback. Better yet, see if you can offer a discount or incentive to get on a 20 min call with your ICP to discuss their primary pain points.
Analyze Data: Utilize customer support data and web analytics like Google Analytics to identify common issues or user behavior patterns. The amount of tools out there to track customer behavior scares me. Honestly, the internet has more power than it should (just take a look at Adam Robinson’s recent scramble with 6Sense).
Seek help from SMEs within your niche: If you’re newer to your niche, odds are someone else knows a lot more about your niche than you do. Get on a call with them and seek to understand their take on what your niche is struggling with most.
Hop on Reddit: Pay close attention to discussions within relevant forums or groups. Members often freely discuss their challenges, giving you direct insight into their pain points.
Testing and Validating Your Solutions
Once you've gathered insights, it's time to test your theories:Beta Testing: Introduce potential solutions to a select group of users and gather feedback on their effectiveness.
Iterative Feedback: Use community feedback to continuously refine your approach, ensuring that your solutions remain aligned with user needs.
Reach back out to that SME: See if your niche SME would agree with both the pain point you’ve identified and the solutions you’re currently offering. Be open to their feedback while simultaneously holding onto the solution that your gut tells you will work.
A/B Testing: Implement A/B testing on different solutions to see which ones truly resonate and meet the customer’s needs effectively.
By methodically testing your solutions within the community, you not only validate their effectiveness but also build trust, showing that you are committed to solving the real issues that your members face.
Eager for more insights on identifying and addressing customer pain points effectively? Follow me on LinkedIn for daily updates and tips at 8:30 AM EST. Together, let's dive deeper into turning community feedback into actionable solutions that drive your business forward.
Engage, analyze, test, and lead. With these steps, you can transform your community's feedback into strategic solutions that not only meet but exceed your customers' expectations, securing your place as a leader in your niche.
