Audience Intelligence: Challenges Vs. Pain Point

*^{Photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash}*

I’m currently in the middle of launching a new funnel for my business.

And I’m using, for my business, the exact same workbook I use for my coaching clients.

The Audience Intelligence part was a bit challenging, even for me! (And now I’m taking this moment to appreciate those that have filled this part in the past; it’s truly not so easy!)

I did something, however, just to ensure I end up with objective data. I asked my assistant to also fill the Audience Intelligence part of the Workbook for the same funnel. Would later compare our individual entries, and then merge them into one.

She however reached out to ask for clarity on some of the questions.

One thing I did intentionally, which I learnt from my copywriting experience (most of the tough questions were actually adapted from my long-time “copy questionnaire”), is: many of the questions look alike, but just worded differently.

It’s intentional because it forces you to think about the same thing from different angles.

But really, “look alike” isn’t same as “synonymous”. The similar-looking questions are actually different, even if just slightly.

Challenge vs. pain point

An example is “Challenges” vs. “Pain point”. You might want to argue that they’re the same thing, but my counter-argument to my assistant was that some challenges really aren’t pain points.

A challenge is what it is: an obstruction; a clog in the wheel, etc. A pain point is something bothersome…that causes worries, pain, sadness or even depression.

Let’s take weight loss for example.

A pain point of someone that wants to lose weight might be some of the health problems associated with weight. Or even the lack of self-esteem some overweight people experience.

A challenge might be the inability to find a perfect meal plan out of the thousands available online.

The pain points I listed are things that can keep someone up at night, feeling sad and depressed. But I’m not sure someone would cry their eyes out because there are too many meal plans available and aren’t sure which would work for them.

These are just examples; you’d probably come up with better answers if it’s your niche and you have enough time to think.

Desires vs. Hopes

Another example is “desires” vs. “hopes”.

My assistant had to do some Googling on her own, and then she found that desire is wanting something, while hope is the expectation or anticipation that the desire will be fulfilled.

This is one of those questions that force you to think about your audience from different angles (and the more you do that, the better).

The desire of someone who wants to lose weight is to…well, lose weight. And their hope is that they are able to do or find what helps them to indeed lose weight.

Can you see how you can sell differently from both angles? That’s the essence of it all!

Ask challenging questions!

Before you create your offer, before you build your funnel, before you write copy…before you attempt to sell anything, make sure you research and think about your dream client/customer from several angles.

You should ask the same questions in different ways, and endeavor to not write the same answers. Here is where the real magic happens: when you’re forced to think of new ways (answers) after you hit the wall.

This is the kind of good mental stress Audience Intelligence puts you under! ????