Terms

Pain Point

A pain point is a specific, recurring problem that inconveniences or annoys current or prospective customers. These issues can manifest at any point in the customer's journey and often relate to financial costs, productivity inefficiencies, or process-related frustrations. Ultimately, they are any source of trouble that a customer experiences in relation to a product, service, or market.

Identifying Common Pain Points

Understanding customer pain points is the first step toward offering a real solution. These problems often fall into a few key categories, revealing where prospects feel the most friction. By identifying the specific type of pain, you can tailor your approach to address their most pressing needs effectively.

  • Financial: Spending too much on current solutions or wanting to reduce overall costs.
  • Productivity: Wasting time with inefficient solutions or wanting to use time more effectively.
  • Process: Wanting to improve internal workflows, such as lead assignment or nurturing.
  • Support: Lacking adequate help at critical stages of the customer journey.

Strategies to Address Pain Points

Once you've identified customer pain points, the next step is to address them directly in your messaging and strategy. This involves a combination of research, targeted communication, and demonstrating your value proposition. Here are five effective strategies to get started:

  • Research: conduct qualitative research and gather insights from your sales team.
  • Messaging: tailor your communication to directly address the specific problems identified.
  • Validation: use customer testimonials and case studies to build trust and show proof.
  • Benefits: focus on the positive outcomes and value your solution provides, not just its features.
  • Emotion: connect with prospects by using language that evokes relief or aspiration.

Pain Point vs. Challenge

While often used interchangeably, "pain points" and "challenges" represent distinct concepts in outbound messaging.

  • Pain Point: A specific, urgent problem causing frustration. Addressing it creates strong emotional resonance and can drive quick conversions. However, this focus can be narrow and feel negative. It's ideal for enterprises with acute issues or mid-market firms needing immediate, tangible solutions.
  • Challenge: A broader obstacle or area for improvement. This approach has wider appeal and a more positive, aspirational tone. The downside is a lack of urgency, which may slow conversions. It suits enterprises with long-term strategic goals or mid-market companies focused on growth and innovation.

Impact of Pain Points on Business

Unaddressed pain points directly harm business performance by creating friction in the customer journey. This often leads to customer dissatisfaction, negative reviews, and a loss of business. When prospects feel their problems are ignored, trust erodes, causing them to abandon the sales process entirely.

The impact extends to operational efficiency and financial outcomes. Ineffective campaigns that fail to address pain points result in wasted marketing spend. Ultimately, this leads to lower conversion rates, missed growth opportunities, and a direct negative effect on overall revenue.

Case Studies: Overcoming Pain Points

Case studies offer tangible proof of how a solution resolves specific customer frustrations. They move beyond abstract claims to show real-world success, building trust and credibility with prospects by demonstrating value in a relatable context.

  • Proof: They provide concrete evidence of your solution's effectiveness. By showcasing a real success story, you make it easier for prospects to visualize the value for their own business.
  • Relevance: A case study is only effective if the prospect relates to the featured customer. If the industry or specific pain point doesn't align, the message can fall flat and fail to resonate.

Frequently Asked Questions about Pain Point

How do I find my customers' real pain points?

Go beyond surveys. Conduct one-on-one interviews, analyze support tickets, and listen to sales call recordings. Your sales and customer service teams are goldmines for genuine customer feedback and can reveal the most pressing issues your prospects and clients face daily.

Should my messaging always focus on pain points?

Not always. While addressing pain points creates urgency, a challenge-based approach can be more aspirational and appeal to long-term goals. Tailor your messaging to the prospect's mindset—whether they need an immediate fix or are focused on strategic growth and innovation.

How do I prioritize which pain points to address?

Focus on the most urgent and widespread problems that your solution is uniquely equipped to solve. Prioritize issues that have a significant financial or productivity impact, as addressing these offers the clearest and most compelling return on investment for your customers.

Other terms

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Serviceable Obtainable Market

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) is the portion of the market you can realistically capture with your current resources, sales, and marketing.

Serviceable Obtainable Market

Intent Data

Intent data tracks a user's online behavior—like searches and site visits—to identify signals that they are ready to make a purchase.

Intent Data

Account-Based Marketing Software

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) software helps teams coordinate personalized marketing and sales efforts to land high-value customer accounts.

Account-Based Marketing Software

AppExchange

AppExchange is Salesforce's cloud marketplace, offering a vast ecosystem of apps and expert services to extend Salesforce functionality.

AppExchange

Loss Aversion

Loss aversion is our tendency to feel the sting of a loss more acutely than the pleasure of an equivalent gain.

Loss Aversion

Inside Sales Rep

An inside sales rep sells products or services remotely from an office, using digital tools like phone and email to connect with customers.

Inside Sales Rep

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is the predictable income a company expects to receive from its customers over a one-year period.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model where affiliates earn a commission for promoting another company’s products or services.

Affiliate Marketing

CPQ software

CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) software is a sales tool for creating accurate, configurable quotes for complex products and services.

CPQ software

Account-Based Analytics

Account-Based Analytics measures engagement and impact across target accounts, not just individual leads, to guide B2B sales and marketing efforts.

Account-Based Analytics

Touches

Touches are the individual interactions you have with a prospect throughout the sales process, from emails and calls to social media messages.

Touches

Integration Testing

Integration testing is a software testing phase where individual modules are combined and tested together to verify their interaction.

Integration Testing

Account-Based Advertising

Account-based advertising is a hyper-focused B2B strategy that targets key accounts with personalized ads across multiple channels.

Account-Based Advertising

Buyer

Learn about buyer, including identifying your ideal buyer, understanding buyer's journey, & evaluating buyer decision processes.

Buyer

Outbound Leads

Outbound leads are potential customers a business proactively contacts through outreach like cold calls, emails, or social media.

Outbound Leads

Self-Service SaaS Model

The self-service SaaS model allows customers to independently sign up, use, and manage a product without any direct help from the company.

Self-Service SaaS Model

Cost Per Impression

Cost Per Impression (CPI) is the price an advertiser pays for each time their ad is displayed to a user, irrespective of clicks.

Cost Per Impression

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication method allowing users to access multiple applications with one set of login credentials.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising uses AI and real-time bidding to automate the buying and selling of digital ad space, targeting specific audiences.

Programmatic Advertising

GPCTBA/C&I

GPCTBA/C&I is a sales qualification framework for understanding a prospect's goals, plans, challenges, timeline, budget, and authority.

GPCTBA/C&I

Corporate Identity

Corporate identity is the visual and verbal persona of a company, encompassing its logo, color palette, communication style, and core values.

Corporate Identity

Voice Broadcasting

Voice broadcasting is an automated system that delivers a pre-recorded voice message to a large list of phone numbers simultaneously.

Voice Broadcasting

Personalization in Sales

Personalization in sales means tailoring outreach to a prospect's specific needs, interests, and context to make communication more relevant.

Personalization in Sales

Trusted Advisor

A trusted advisor is an expert who builds a deep client relationship by consistently prioritizing their best interests over any single transaction.

Trusted Advisor

Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a web security vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into trusted websites.

Cross-Site Scripting

B2B Sales Channels

Learn about B2B sales channels, including types of B2B sales channels, strategies for effective channel selection, & integrating technology in B2B sales.

B2B Sales Channels

Lightning Components

Lightning Components is a UI framework for building dynamic web apps for mobile and desktop devices on the Salesforce Lightning Platform.

Lightning Components

Proof of Concept

A Proof of Concept (PoC) is a small exercise to test whether a business idea or project is technically feasible and has real-world potential.

Proof of Concept

Direct-to-Consumer

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) is a business model where companies sell products directly to customers, bypassing traditional retail middlemen.

Direct-to-Consumer

Rapport Building

Rapport building is the process of establishing a connection and mutual understanding with someone, creating a foundation of trust and affinity.

Rapport Building

Data Management Platform

A Data Management Platform (DMP) is a software that collects and organizes audience data from various sources for targeted marketing efforts.

Data Management Platform

Landing Pages

A landing page is a standalone web page created for a marketing campaign. It’s where a visitor “lands” after clicking an ad or email link.

Landing Pages

CSS

CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is the code that styles a website. It controls the colors, fonts, layout, and overall look of a web page.

CSS

Dialer

A dialer is software that automatically dials phone numbers for agents, boosting call efficiency and connecting them to live prospects faster.

Dialer

Key Accounts

Key accounts are a company's most valuable customers, vital due to their significant revenue contribution and strategic importance for growth.

Key Accounts

Pipeline Management

Pipeline management is the process of tracking and managing potential customers as they move through the different stages of your sales process.

Pipeline Management

Custom API integration

A custom API integration is a bespoke connection between software, enabling them to communicate and share data to meet unique business requirements.

Custom API integration

No Cold Calls

No Cold Calls is a sales strategy that replaces unsolicited calls with warm outreach to prospects who have already demonstrated interest.

No Cold Calls

CCPA Compliance

CCPA compliance is adhering to the California Consumer Privacy Act, a law that grants consumers more control over their personal data.

CCPA Compliance

Sales Dashboard

A sales dashboard is a visual tool that centralizes and displays key sales data, metrics, and KPIs to help teams track performance and goals.

Sales Dashboard

Customer Retention

Customer retention refers to the strategies and activities a company uses to prevent customer churn and encourage them to continue buying.

Customer Retention

Bounce Rate

Learn about bounce rate, including understanding bounce rate implications, key factors affecting bounce rate, & reducing your bounce rate effectively.

Bounce Rate

Dark Social

Dark social is the sharing of content through private channels like messaging apps or email. This traffic is hard to track as it lacks referral data.

Dark Social

Business Process Management

Learn about business process management, including benefits of implementing BPM, steps to effective BPM, common BPM mistakes to avoid, & BPM tools and software.

Business Process Management

Champion/Challenger Test

A Champion/Challenger test pits a new 'challenger' against the current best-performing 'champion' to see which one performs better.

Champion/Challenger Test

Touchpoints

A touchpoint is any time a potential or existing customer comes in contact with your brand, from seeing an ad to receiving an email.

Touchpoints

Subject Matter Expert

A Subject Matter Expert (SME) is an individual with profound knowledge and authority in a particular area, topic, or industry.

Subject Matter Expert

Buyer Intent

Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.

Buyer Intent

Always Be Closing

“Always Be Closing” (ABC) is a sales mantra meaning every action a salesperson takes should be with the ultimate goal of closing the sale.

Always Be Closing

Email Verification

Email verification is the process of confirming that an email address is valid and deliverable, which helps improve campaign performance.

Email Verification

Customer Retention Cost

Customer Retention Cost (CRC) is the total amount a company spends to keep an existing customer over a certain period of time.

Customer Retention Cost

Warm Email

A warm email is a message sent to a prospect with whom you have a pre-existing connection, like a mutual contact or a prior interaction.

Warm Email

Challenger Sales

The Challenger Sales model is a methodology where reps teach prospects, tailor their pitch, and take control of the sales conversation.

Challenger Sales

Lead Magnet

A lead magnet is a free incentive offered to potential customers in exchange for their contact details, like an email, to generate sales leads.

Lead Magnet

Trade Shows

Trade shows are events where companies in a specific industry showcase their latest products and services to find new customers and partners.

Trade Shows

Competitive Landscape

A competitive landscape is an analysis of your direct and indirect competitors, revealing their strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning.

Competitive Landscape

Price Optimization

Price optimization is the process of finding the ideal price for a product or service to maximize profitability or other business objectives.

Price Optimization

Sales Script

A sales script is a pre-written guide of talking points that helps salespeople navigate conversations with potential customers.

Sales Script

Data Privacy

Data privacy is an individual's right to control their personal information, including how it's collected, processed, stored, and shared.

Data Privacy

Follow-up

A follow-up is a communication sent after an initial interaction to continue the conversation, provide more value, or prompt a response.

Follow-up

Sales Productivity

Sales productivity is the measure of a sales team's efficiency, focusing on maximizing revenue generation while minimizing the resources spent.

Sales Productivity

Regression Testing

Regression testing ensures that new code changes don’t negatively impact existing features. It's a key step to maintain software quality after updates.

Regression Testing

Consultative Selling

Consultative selling is an approach where salespeople act as expert advisors, diagnosing customer needs to provide the most suitable solutions.

Consultative Selling

Warm Outbound

Warm outbound is a sales strategy for contacting prospects who've shown interest in your brand through prior engagement, like website visits.

Warm Outbound

Demand Generation Framework

A demand generation framework is a strategic process for creating awareness and interest in your product, ultimately driving new business.

Demand Generation Framework

B2B2C

Learn about B2B2C, including benefits of B2B2C model, key strategies for B2B2C success, & B2B2C vs. B2C vs. B2B: understanding the differences.

B2B2C

Enterprise

An enterprise is a large-scale organization, often a corporation, defined by its complex structure and substantial number of employees.

Enterprise

Logo Retention

Logo retention is a key B2B metric that measures a company's ability to retain its customers, or 'logos,' over a specific period.

Logo Retention

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

A Representational State Transfer (REST) API is a web service that uses a simple, stateless architecture for systems to communicate online.

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

A/B Testing

A/B testing is a method of comparing two versions of something, like a webpage or email, to determine which one performs better with your audience.

A/B Testing

Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts a victim's files, holding them hostage until a ransom is paid for the decryption key.

Ransomware

Forward Revenue

Forward revenue is the total value of all active, committed contracts that are expected to be recognized as revenue in the future.

Forward Revenue

Product-Market Fit

Product-market fit is when a product meets the needs of a strong market, leading to high demand, customer satisfaction, and organic growth.

Product-Market Fit

Smile and Dial

"Smile and dial" is a high-volume sales tactic where reps make numerous cold calls from a list, often with little to no prior research.

Smile and Dial

Decision Buying Stage

The decision stage is where a well-researched buyer chooses a vendor. They compare specific products and pricing before making their final purchase.

Decision Buying Stage

Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open-source system for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

Kubernetes

No Spam

“No Spam” is a commitment to sending only relevant, solicited messages. It means avoiding bulk, unwanted emails to respect the recipient's inbox.

No Spam

Browser Compatibility

Learn about browser compatibility, including understanding the importance, common challenges, best practices, & tools for testing.

Browser Compatibility

Marketing Qualified Account

A Marketing Qualified Account (MQA) is a target company that has shown significant engagement, indicating it's ready for the sales team to pursue.

Marketing Qualified Account

Account-Based Marketing

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a focused B2B strategy where marketing and sales collaborate to target and convert high-value accounts.

Account-Based Marketing

Scrum

Scrum is an agile framework that helps teams structure and manage their work through a set of values, principles, and practices.

Scrum

DevOps

DevOps is a culture and set of practices that merges software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten development cycles.

DevOps

Pipeline Coverage

Pipeline coverage is a key sales metric. It's the ratio of your total open pipeline value to your sales quota for a specific period.

Pipeline Coverage

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is the set of marketing tools a company uses to sell products, defined by the 4Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Marketing Mix

Marketing Funnel

The marketing funnel is a model illustrating the path potential customers take, from initial awareness to making a purchase.

Marketing Funnel

Tire-Kicker

A tire-kicker is a prospect who shows interest in a product but has no intention of buying, wasting a salesperson's time and resources.

Tire-Kicker

Closing Ratio

Closing ratio is a key sales metric that shows the percentage of leads or proposals that result in a successful sale.

Closing Ratio

Product Recommendations

Product recommendations are a marketing strategy that uses customer data to suggest relevant products, boosting sales and customer engagement.

Product Recommendations

Cold Emailing

Cold emailing is sending unsolicited emails to potential customers you haven't contacted before, aiming to start a business conversation.

Cold Emailing

Revenue Operations KPIs

Revenue Operations KPIs are quantifiable metrics that track the performance, efficiency, and health of a company's revenue-generating engine.

Revenue Operations KPIs

Cold Calling

Cold calling is a sales tactic where reps contact potential customers by phone who haven't previously expressed interest in their product or service.

Cold Calling

Buying Criteria

Buying criteria are the specific requirements and standards a customer uses to evaluate products or services before making a decision.

Buying Criteria

Batch Processing

Learn about batch processing, including benefits of batch processing, best practices for implementation, & common use cases.

Batch Processing

Point of Contact

A Point of Contact (POC) is the designated individual or department that serves as the main hub for information and communication on a matter.

Point of Contact

Solution Selling

Solution selling is a sales approach focused on understanding a customer's pain points to offer a comprehensive solution, not just a product.

Solution Selling

Sales Playbook

A sales playbook is a guide that outlines your sales process, best practices, and tools to help reps sell more efficiently and consistently.

Sales Playbook

Soft Sell

A soft sell is a low-pressure sales tactic that uses subtle persuasion and relationship-building to gently guide customers toward a purchase.

Soft Sell

Brag Book

Learn about brag book, including crafting your outstanding brag book, essential components of a brag book, & brag book vs. resume: unveiling the differences.

Brag Book

Buyer's Journey

The buyer's journey maps the path a potential customer takes, from first becoming aware of a problem to making a final purchase decision.

Buyer's Journey

Decision Maker

A decision-maker is an individual with the authority to make significant choices for a company, especially regarding purchases or strategy.

Decision Maker