What Irritates Your Clients the Most? Finding (and fixing) their Pain Points.
An easier way for small businesses to create better client experiences.
Last year, at my Atlanta doctor’s office, the nurse did the basic height, weight thing. Of course I made sure that I took off my coat and put down my purse before I stepped on the scale. Uggggg. It still ten pounds higher than I hoped. And then she said the number out loud and the what she said was lower than the number on the scale. I looked at the nurse and she said, “oh, we take two pounds off of everyone’s weight.”
What? Really? Love it!
A pain point is any sort of discomfort, frustration, irritation, negative-moment that your client or customer has as they interact with your business. Now, the doctor’s office example may seem like such a tiny thing, but that scale is a pain point. Don’t tell me that you’ve never stood on that scale and thought, “Shoot! Why did I wear jeans and my heaviest sweater? Heck, these earrings are massive. They probably weigh half a pound!”
Often, I talk about identifying you client’s touchpoints when I talk about creating a better customer experience. But sometimes, that can be overwhelming. (you can read an article about touchpoints here)
When you think about customer experience and it starts to feel like too much, start small. Think about the pain points first.
What is the one thing that your customers would like to see change?
What drives them nuts?
What do you always hear them complaining about? What do they always need clarification on?
Here are hree examples of simple pain points and solutions.
1 | PAIN POINT: There’s a section of your contract that the majority of your clients either misinterpret, miss altogether, or need help understanding.
SOLUTION: You know, the real solution here is to pay attention and notice patterns. But, you can also ask them what is confusing about it and fix it. Rewrite it. What an easy fix.
But let’s say for whatever reason, you can’t change it. What if you do a screen record and bring this section of the contract up on your screen and, while you are talking, highlight the 2-3 questions that many people have. The screen recording is on a simple service like Loom. I think you can now do it on Canva, too. Then . . . . . you’ve shown that you listen and you have solved the problem before it exists.
2 | PAIN POINT: getting a massage and forgetting to bring a hair tie.
SOLUTION: A local spa provides new hair ties in case you forget yours.
3 | PAIN POINT: It’s pouring down rain outside and I just bought something that typically comes in the most beautiful packaging - the bag! the ribbon! the card!
SOLUTION: They put the beautiful bag into a plastic, waterproof bag. This is an example of fixing my problem before I realized I even had one! Okay, so this wasn’t really a problem, but I would have been disappointed to not experience the packaging.
Here are three actual issues I have had over the past couple of months. Easy fixes.
1 | “Do you have a good hair dryer or a bad hair dryer?”
Okay, this one may be just me, but I have a serious hair dryer at home and like to have that level on the road., And hotels have stepped it up in this small appliance area; rarely do I see those doll-size things attached to the wall anymore. There are some good hair dryers out there, and once in a while I find a hotel that has one. I have called sooooooo many hotels and asked. Most of the time the front desk folks laugh, but have no idea. If you are a hotel and have a good hair dryer, why not put that on your rooms page? If you invested in the dryer, then it must be something your guests care about, so tell them! And hyperlink to a (quality) image. Is it a nice surprise when you go into the bathroom and find a Cera T3 or a Dyson? Yes, but would have been even nicer if I had known and hadn't used up valuable luggage space.
2 | "I can never find your phone number when I'm on your mobile site."
If your customers never call, well, okay. But think about when they are trying to see what time you close - or if you are open on a holiday - or checking to see if the new shipment came in . . . . . And it must be click-to-call; the click on it on their phone, and it dials.
3 | Order sent to the wrong address.
I ordered something online from bombas (had never purchased from them) and a couple of days later I got an email saying it would be delivered that day - to my parents’ house. In North Carolina.
I had no idea how this happened. I had just signed up. Well, they use Shopify and once I ordered something from another Shopity site and had it sent to my parents. Somehow, that was the default address. They overnight another order and told my mom to keep the one she had.
Here’s what started this post. this story from The Post House Inn was just in my newsletter, but I added it back here.
The bar at The Post House Inn in Mount Pleasant
A couple of months ago, we were at the Post House Inn (FABULOUS) in Mount Pleasant, outside of Charleston. We just stopped in for something to drink, and sat at the bar. From the second I walked in, I could tell that they had thought through every detail - the napkins, the coasters, the decor, the menus, the uniforms, etc.
But then, I looked up and saw this cute little ticking stripe curtain……
I know you already know what is behind that curtain, but the fact they thought through it made me SO HAPPY.
The bar itself is a part of the beautiful dining room. and the room is just not a TV kind of place.
But as our (incredibly hospitable and helpful) bartender agreed, it is the kind of place where they might show The Masters, or The Derby, or a huge national event, etc. It is a hotel restaurant/bar and they are thinking about what their guests want. Both when the TV is on, and when it's not. Well done, Post House Inn!
