Is there a difference between customers’ pain and problems?

The short answer is YES, there is a difference. In fact, businesses must understand it and address both customers’ pain and problems in order to become wildly successful.

Customers’ pain is attached to emotions—such as joy and sorrow. Customers’ problems, on the other hand, are more tangible—like health problems and productivity issues.

Can you think of any products and/or services that address BOTH?

Starbucks, being a coffee shop, naturally addresses an individual’s physical needs (i.e. hunger) while also creating an environment for people to hang out and chat.

Both Uber and Lyft fulfill an individual’s basic transportation needs while easing the hassle of navigating around a new city.

I am sure you can think of many more examples.

Although I help my clients with profitability and cash flows as a CPA, I also care a great deal about their emotions and their passion for their businesses.

This whole discussion reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Steve Jobs: “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”