We have all heard about them in business but in order for business owners to really understand and overcome them, and service providers to identify and solve them, you should never underestimate the influence of pain points and how they might affect a business.
A pain point can be defined as a problem or need a business or company aims to solve (Source: Collins Dictionary). In short, they are unsolved problems that lend themselves to being fulfilled.
Whilst the term is frequently used by marketers, ‘pain points’ can be experienced as part of a business owner’s own company or for the clients you serve.
The pain points can be categorised as four factors:-
1. Financial pain points
2. Support pain points
3. Process pain points
4. Productivity pain points
The first steps to never underestimate the influence of pain points are:
· Identify the biggest pain points that you face
· Determine why they have become pain points
· Ask yourself if there is anything that can solve them
· Review what is stopping you
As a client, these are the hurdles that create your headache that doesn’t allow you to move forward in the way in which you had aimed and hoped. Never underestimate the influence of pain points and you
As a service provider, being able to identify these pain points will allow you to get stuck in and help to alleviate these headaches for business owners, consultants and individuals alike. Qualitative research is likely to be the best way to collate the information required to ensure they are covering the main factors a business owner feel are causing them overwhelm.
1. Financial pain points
The Client’s financial pain
Is it easy for you to spend money that you don’t have?
Do you dread your bank statement arriving or reviewing your cashflow to see that there are more ‘outs’ than ‘ins’?
It is not much difference in business and a business owner should never underestimate the influence of pain points when financial matters are concerned.
An accurate cashflow and financial forecast will mitigate unnecessary potential financial pain points as budgeting will lead to sound spending.
Wasting money is another financial pain point that a business owner might feel if they invest in something they never use. This might be a subscription, training or membership.
Underselling, overpaying and low profitability are factors that will create financial pain points.
Finances: never underestimate the influence of pain points
A person with a strategic mind and sound financial knowledge can help to alleviate the financial pain points for a person and as they should never underestimate the influence of pain points they should first identify the compulsory expenditure their client has before streamlining and strategising.
By working with someone with business acumen, it can lead to a spend reduction and better cashflow management.
2. Support pain points
The Client’s support pain
When it comes to service, never underestimate the influence of pain points that a lack of support will lead to.
If a Client feels unsupported or that there is no effort in relationship building, a business owner might well think they should give up on what they are doing.
The customer or Client is their ultimate objective and so if they are unhappy, the support pain point will be felt strongly.
Support: never underestimate the influence of pain points
As a service provider, it should be natural to be able to offer a good level of support to any of your Clients.
The key to getting it right is to be able to perceive exactly what a person wants and how -quickly! If you are one step ahead in what they are thinking and what they need, you are going to make a difference to them and make their lives easier.
People generally don’t want to take the time to explain things to someone else, they like to have it done the way they like and understand.
Only if this has to be changed (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), it is important to lead them through the process communicatively so that they feel comfortable with the support they are receiving.
A true support person will never underestimate the influence of pain points! It is their bread and butter so doing so would damage everything they set out to achieve.
3. Process pain points
The Client’s process pain
The consideration of processes and systems are often left too late in business.
It is easy to start a business or project and not have a modus operandi in place.
Whilst a business owner is starting out, doing things for the first time and testing the waters, it is all important to never underestimate the influence of pain points so that when they get further down the line, there is a system in place with processes and procedures to follow, allowing them to save time in the long run.
Process: never underestimate the influence of pain points
Having a specialist person to help with the set up of systems and procedures under the existing framework that a business owner uses will be of huge benefit to anybody wishing conduct business effectively.
Experienced people to do this, who have knowledge of how different people work, is an advantage when implementing operational procedures. They never underestimate the influence of pain points and it is because of that which allows them to offer their expertise and knowledge in order to provide the best advice.
A strategy and plan should be set at the outset, with tweaks expected along the way, so that any process undertaken is of value.
4. Productivity pain points
The Client’s productivity pain
Time for a business owner is one of the fundamental factors in allowing them to drive business forward and that is why they should never underestimate the influence of pain points when considering productivity.
The lack of and deficient use of time should be carefully reviewed because when a business owner is caught up in doing things that are supplemental to their business it will create a pressure on their productivity.
Time is one of the most valuable assets a business owner has so using it wisely proves to be really important.
Productivity: never underestimate the influence of pain points
By outsourcing certain functions to experts or specialists, a business owner is investing in a professional service that will reap rewards.
It is this type of business owners that never underestimate the influence of pain points
and recognises the importance of being able to do the things they are best at and leaving other functions to those that have more experience.
The work they outsource will be professionally completed in an efficient and less time consuming way whilst they can concentrate on the parts of their business they need to be involved in.
Conclusion
With a proactive approach, pain points can be anticipated and therefore avoided.
A business owner and their support team should never underestimate the influence of pain points, the consequences of doing so are a risk to business.
If you are a business owner wanting to reduce and eliminate you pain points, or if you are a proactive assistant looking to help alleviate a person’s pain points, get in touch to discuss how I can help.
Anna
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