Confronting your customer’s pain points: what’s the best approach?
We talk a lot in marketing and copywriting about our customers’ problems, their pain points. (I kind of hate the phrase pain points because I think it’s a little dramatic, but anyway.)
And often, we do our best to really amp up those problems. We want our customers to know that we get their struggles and that they’re a big deal to us. We looked at a great example of this just a few months ago in this newsletter. (tldr: Cornish seafood brand Seafood & Seafood & Eat It headlined the main drama with eating crab by chucking the word painstakingly on the front of their packaging.)
But sometimes you want to do the opposite. You want to downplay your customers’ problems. You want to make them seem less serious, less heavy, less insurmountable. Why? Well, if you’re an uplifting brand, dragging your customers down doesn’t really feel on brand. And it’s much harder to uplift folks if you’ve just reminded them of all their problems.
Let’s take a look at an example. Bravissimo.
Now, they solve the problem of finding supportive, comfortable and appealing bras for bigger boobs. But nowhere will you see them talking about back pain, or wires that dig in, or why bras for big boobs have to be as structurally delicate as the Clifton Suspension Bridge. In fact, their copy could not be more upbeat. And they’re super confident they can solve your problems. Though they don’t ever mention them by name.
Even their page about post-surgery bras has a friendly, supportive smile on its face.
Why does it work?
The brand’s mission is to “inspire big boobed women to feel amazing”. And no big boobed woman is going to feel amazing if everyone’s constantly banging on about what a pain in the back her knockers are. So the brand’s decision to stay silent on those pain points makes perfect sense.
The brand then reinforces that decision with copy that is chatty, chipper and highly personal. Notice how they write as though speaking directly to their customers. How they use brackets, italics and exclamation points to make their copy feel super conversational.
The problems are there, they’re hidden behind a curtain of “You can enjoy D cup and up bra shopping” and “Your bra options post-surgery shouldn’t be something to worry about”. But, like that pile of stuff on the stairs, we’re not looking directly at them, confident that they’re already halfway to sorted.
Make it work for you
Weigh up the benefits of framing and even supersizing your customers’ problems versus doing a Bravissimo and considering them already solved.
What works best with your brand personality? (Frank or straight-talking brands might lean towards exploring the problems, upbeat or optimistic brands might leave them out.)
Which is more likely to make your customers feel seen? Which might nudge them towards a sale?
Think about how word choice can support your decision. If you’re leaving your problems at the door, reflect that with positive, sunny language.
This is an excerpt from my monthly newsletter, The Right Place. To get it straight to your inbox, add your name to the list. It’s currently on a brief hiatus, but sign up now to be the first to know when I’m back.