A customer pain point is a specific obstacle to completing a task or getting the expected value. Identify the obstacle and who experiences it before adding tools or rewriting the whole journey. These ten tactics turn recurring problems into work someone can own and review.
1. Research the actual task
Conduct in-depth customer research through surveys, interviews and observation where appropriate. Ask about a recent experience rather than a preferred solution in the abstract. Record the context and recruitment limits; a voluntary survey does not represent every customer.
2. Make support reachable and accountable
Publish accurate contact routes and realistic response expectations. Assign ownership and escalation for unresolved issues. More channels do not help if none is maintained or customers must repeat the same information at every handoff.
3. Use technology for a defined gap
A chatbot may answer documented questions; a CRM may help retain relevant case information. Neither automatically resolves the issue or creates an accurate customer profile. Use journey information only when necessary and appropriately obtained.
Provide a route to a person when automation is uncertain. NIST’s generative-AI risk profile identifies inaccurate generated content as a risk; a fluent support answer still needs a reliable basis.
4. Remove avoidable buying friction
Show product details, eligibility, total costs and delivery conditions before commitment. Test forms, payment status and error recovery on a phone. Removing a screen is not an improvement if it hides information or makes mistakes harder to correct.
5. Let customers express relevant preferences
Offer useful choices rather than assuming an algorithm knows the customer’s needs. Explain why information is requested and allow preferences to be corrected. The ICO’s minimization guidance provides a UK framework for limiting collection to the purpose.
6. Explain limits as clearly as benefits
Keep prices, renewals, cancellation, returns and feature restrictions understandable. Correct conflicting claims across advertisements, product pages and support material. A transparent explanation should describe what the service actually does, including situations it cannot handle.
7. Test usability and accessibility
Review intuitive navigation, readable controls and meaningful alternatives to images or media. The W3C forms tutorial explains labels and feedback. Test actual tasks with relevant users rather than assuming a new theme or accessibility plugin fixes the experience.
8. Support what happens after purchase
Provide the setup, delivery, warranty or return information relevant to the product and market. Make it possible to find an order and check its status. Do not promise immediate support if staffing or operating hours cannot deliver it.
9. Close a useful feedback loop
Treat feedback as evidence to investigate. Prioritize by severity, affected customers and effort, not only the loudest request. Assign an action and review date, then explain the response when appropriate; collecting a suggestion is not a promise to implement it.
10. Maintain practical learning resources
Clear guides can empower customers when they match the current product and show prerequisites, steps, limits and a way to check the result. For example, SU Social’s posting guide documents its supported publishing workflow. Product documentation should help a user complete a real task, not merely repeat marketing language.
Review whether the change reduced the original problem, while monitoring errors, support burden and unintended effects. Customer satisfaction and loyalty are outcomes to assess, not automatic results of completing this checklist.
Meet the Author
Natalie Smith is an experienced online marketer with over a decade of experience in the industry. She specializes in spearheading compelling & effective marketing campaigns for startups that drive results & increase brand awareness.
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