Knowing your customers inside out is crucial to building a successful business. Unlocking the doors to your customer’s brain is the path toward creating exceptional products and services that win hearts, minds, and wallets. Recognizing their struggles, frustrations, and unmet needs becomes crucial if you want to grow.

But how do you understand what they want? The key is to conduct market research and create an understanding of customer pain points. This blog will share some examples of customer pain points in different industries. Use these examples to unearth what your customers want. 

Customer pain point examples from different industries.

Target audience research can help you understand the pain points. For the sake of discussion, every example is illustrated by hypothetical scenarios, target audiences, and types of business. These examples of customer pain points will help you understand how to conduct your research and document your target audience. 

Example from IT and cloud computing industry.

For a cloud service provider targeting small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs), here’s a potential pain point: 

• Ideal customer: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• Pain point: Limited IT infrastructure, high costs, and resources hinder SMEs from harnessing the full potential of cloud technologies, resulting in reduced efficiency and scalability.

To address their unique needs, a cloud service provider can develop a simplified, user-friendly platform with seamless integration and handholding support.

Example from the consumer electronics industry. 

For a consumer electronics manufacturer like Apple, a potential pain point based on market research is as follows: 

• Ideal customer: Tech-savvy individuals seeking high-quality, seamlessly integrated devices and services.
• Pain point: Fragmented user experiences across different devices and platforms, leading to inconvenience and suboptimal productivity.

Any business or company targeting the customer can build a seamless integration between multiple devices and services while emphasizing user-centric design and intuitive interfaces to ensure a seamless and personalized experience across the entire product lineup.

Take the example of Apple. They target the ideal customer profile (ICP) and successfully address the pain point with their macOS & iOS lineup. 

Example from Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) industry. 

For a D2C brand operating an eCommerce platform offering niche apparel, a potential pain point can be as follows: 

• Ideal customer: Millennial and Gen Z consumers looking for unique, high-quality products with a personalized shopping experience.
• Pain point: Overwhelm caused by excessive product options, lack of trust in online purchases, and difficulty finding authentic, ethically sourced products.

eCommerce platforms can implement advanced data analytics and recommendation algorithms to curate personalized product offerings, create nifty supply chains, and establish a strong brand identity that resonates with the target audience. One can emphasize sustainability, social responsibility, and customer-centric values to attract millennials and Gen Z. 

Customer pain point example from the software development industry.  

For a developer tools and services provider catering to software developers and development teams working on large-scale projects, the following pain point has been identified based on feedback from tech entrepreneurs focused on software development:

• Ideal customer: Software developers and development teams working on large-scale projects.
• Pain point: Inefficient software development processes, lack of collaboration tools, and difficulties in managing complex codebases.

A developer tools and services provider can offer integrated collaboration features, streamlined workflows, and automated testing and deployment tools. Additionally, ensuring seamless integration with popular development frameworks and libraries will enhance productivity and code quality.

Customer pain point example from the telemedicine industry.  

For a telemedicine platform targeting health-conscious individuals seeking convenient and accessible healthcare services, the following pain point has been identified based on insights from various health tech entrepreneurs:

• Ideal customer: Health-conscious individuals seeking convenient and accessible healthcare services.
• Pain point: Limited access to healthcare providers, long waiting times, and difficulty scheduling appointments.

Telemedicine platforms can focus on user-friendliness, prompt responsiveness, and convenience. The platform should offer on-demand consultations, efficient appointment scheduling, and secure medical data management. 

By integrating smart devices for remote health monitoring, individuals can easily track their health parameters and receive personalized health recommendations based on their preferences and health data.

Customer pain point example from the Fintech industry. 

For a personal finance management app, here’s a logical pain point:

• Ideal customer: Young professionals and individuals looking to manage their finances effectively.
• Pain point: Lack of financial literacy, difficulty tracking expenses, and limited visibility into spending habits.

A fintech startup can build an educative personal finance management app with calculators and budgeting tools to help users plan and allocate their finances. It can also offer expense tracking features for better expense management. Additionally, the app can provide personalized financial insights, offering users a clear understanding of their spending habits and financial health. 

Educational resources can be incorporated into the app to enhance financial literacy, providing users valuable information and guidance on managing their finances effectively.

Example from the logistics industry.  

For a business in the logistics and last-mile delivery industry, a potential pain point can be as follows: 

• Ideal customer: Online retailers and e-commerce businesses. 
• Pain point: Inefficient last-mile delivery processes, delays, and customer dissatisfaction with delivery experiences.

Entrepreneurs targeting the industry can develop an intelligent last-mile delivery solution. Route optimization algorithms can be developed and integrated to streamline the delivery process, minimize inefficiencies, and improve delivery timeframes. 

By focusing on improving the overall delivery experience, including efficient processes, reduced delays, and effective customer communication, the last-mile delivery solution can help online retailers and e-commerce businesses enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Example from the Edtech industry. 

For an online learning platform catering to lifelong learners and students seeking accessible and personalized educational resources, edTech entrepreneurs have identified the following pain points:

• Ideal customer: Students, professionals, and individuals seeking accessible, personalized educational resources to upskill themselves. 
• Pain point: Limited access to quality education, outdated learning materials, and lack of engagement in traditional classroom settings.

An online platform can package everything — interactive learning materials, such as videos, quizzes, and simulations, etc., add personalized learning paths based on their individual goals, interests, and learning pace, add gamification elements, and make it more accessible through mobile and web app platforms. 

Example from the food delivery industry. 

Let’s take a customer pain point example for a food delivery business: a meal kit subscription service targeting busy professionals and families seeking convenient and healthy meal options. The potential pain points can be as follows: 

• Ideal customer: Busy professionals and families looking for convenient, healthy meal options.
• Pain point: Lack of time for meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking.

Entrepreneurs can develop a meal kit subscription service with pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes, eliminating the need for extensive meal planning and time-consuming grocery shopping. The meal kit subscription service should offer various meal options that accommodate diverse dietary needs, such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or low-carb. Integrating customization options allows customers to tailor their meal kits to their tastes and preferences. This can include choosing specific recipes, swapping ingredients, or adjusting portion sizes. 

By providing customization, the service enhances customer satisfaction and ensures a personalized experience. The service should also offer nutritional information for each recipe to help consumers make informed decisions. 

Utilize Gapscout to automate audience pain point research today.

In a world of agile development, spending weeks gathering customer feedback isn’t feasible. Gapscout helps automate market research by scanning online reviews. Here’s how Gapscout enables you to collect, analyze, and automate research about your audience’s pain points: 

• Sentiment analysis: Analyzes customer reviews to determine the sentiment expressed by customers. It can identify positive, negative, or neutral sentiments, helping businesses understand the overall satisfaction levels and pinpoint areas of concern.
• Identification of recurring issues: Gapscout can identify recurring themes or topics customers mention online and help map the social media customer journey. This helps businesses pinpoint specific pain points that are consistently affecting their customers’ experiences.
• Competitive analysis: Gapscout allows businesses to compare their customer reviews with those of their competitors and identify areas where they may be falling short or areas where they excel in relation to their competitors.
• Insights for product/service improvement: Gapscout provides businesses with valuable information for product or service improvement. It helps them understand what aspects of their offerings need enhancement or modification to better align with customer expectations.
• Early detection of emerging pain points: Gapscout’s continuous scanning and analysis enable businesses to stay updated on the evolving needs and concerns of their customers. By identifying emerging pain points, companies can proactively address them before they escalate and impact customer satisfaction.
• Data-driven decision-making: With Gapscout’s data and insights, businesses can make informed decisions based on customer feedback and preferences. It allows them to prioritize and allocate resources effectively to address pain points, improving customer satisfaction and driving business growth.

So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for Gapscout and get real-time insights about customer pain points today. 

Also Read: 

• 6 ways to gain customer insights for your business.
• Best target audience research tools.