Writing Product Descriptions That Address Customer Pain Points

As a Director of E-Commerce, I used to think the key to product details page (PDP) performance was keeping the product name and add-to-cart button always visible, like if people saw it enough, they’d feel safe clicking it. And honestly? I wasn’t wrong. Visibility matters. But only after trust is built. And that trust has to start the second the page loads. Because for most people, the PDP is their first interaction with your brand. 60% of traffic lands on product pages. Not your homepage. Not your campaign hub. Not the beautifully branded story page your CMO is in love with. The PDP is where people show up quietly asking a question: "Is this the thing that will help me and solve my problems?" Help me feel more confident. Help me sleep better. Help me look the way I want to feel. Help me feel seen. And too often, we greet them with a checklist. - Bullet points we didn’t write for them - Specs we didn’t explain - Photos that are boring We build for compliance, not connection. And then we wonder why the bounce rate is brutal. I only started to get it once I started listening. We added one simple survey to the PDP: "What problem will this product solve for you?" And the answers were so raw. A woman looking for a gift to repair a relationship. A man trying to manage pain without another doctor visit. Someone just wanting to feel better in their own skin. They weren’t looking for a feature. They were looking for hope. So we rebuilt the page: - Leading with the why, not the what - Reflecting their words, not ours - Images that show how the product is used (to solve problems) It wasn’t perfect. It didn’t please every internal team. But it made the customer feel understood. And that’s what moved the numbers. This works for the most mundane products like underwear and the most luxurious goods like a Birkin If your PDP isn’t making customers feel something, it’s not going to move them. It’s just another dead end in a long scroll of missed opportunities. What problems do your products solve for your customers?

You can’t differentiate your messaging if you open with what you are. Instead, start with what they hate. I’ll explain: "AI-powered this." "All-in-one that." Nobody cares. Because your reader isn’t looking for features. They’re looking for a way out. So instead of pitching the product… Start by naming the pain. I'll give you 3 examples: ❌ "AI-powered customer support platform" ✅ "Still rewriting the same ticket reply for the 34th time?" ❌ "Fractional CFO services for startups" ✅ "Still guesstimating cash flow & praying for runway?" ❌ "GTM advisory for growth-stage SaaS teams" ✅ "Still duct-taping your GTM with advice from 7 different LinkedIn gurus?" See the shift? Same product. Different entry point. One gets ignored. The other gets attention. Here’s why it works: You're not selling a tool. You're selling escape. From soul-sucking tasks. From constant guesswork. From competitor flaws. So next time you sit down to explain what you do: Don’t lead with your solution. Lead with their frustration. That’s what makes them stop scrolling. That’s what makes them think “oh wait, that’s me.” And that’s your opening.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞. They care about one thing: How are you solving their problem? Awhile back we worked with an e-commerce client. They had everything you’d expect—a sleek website. Great product photos. And regular social media posts. But sales were flat. Why? Because their messaging was 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. “We sell premium this.” “Our products are the best.” “Look at our features.” The problem? Nobody buys a product because the brand says it’s great. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑏𝑢𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑒. We switched the focus. Instead of posting polished posts, we dug into their audience’s frustrations: - Shoppers who couldn’t find personalized service. - Customers frustrated with fast shipping promises that were never kept. - People overwhelmed by too many options. We built content around solving those pain points: - A guide that took the guesswork out of online shopping. - Behind-the-scenes videos showing the product in action. - Curated collections for “quick and easy” shopping experiences. The results? Their engagement doubled. Conversions climbed. They weren’t just selling products anymore—they were solving problems their customers cared about. In retail, it’s easy to shout about what you sell. But if you want to stand out, stop talking about yourself and start addressing your audience’s struggles. Because when you solve their problems, they won’t just buy once. They’ll keep coming back. 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞? Start with this: less selling, more solving. 📸 Snapped: Hanging at my favorite shopping center in Kuala Lumpur 🌐

Your buyer persona: “Meet Sarah. She’s 35. Drives a Honda. Drinks oat milk.” OK ... But that tells me nothing. I don’t care if she shops at Whole Foods. I want to know: 👉 what does she struggle with? 👉 what triggers her to buy? 👉 what words does she actually use? Most personas are packed with shallow info. Not what actually moves a customer to buy. You don’t need a cute name. Or a coffee order. You need insight. Here’s how to build a persona that actually helps you sell: 1. Do customer interviews 1. Talk to real people. 2. Ask open-ended questions. 3. Capture exact language. And during these interviews ... 2. Capture voice of customer (VOC) VOC are the words your customers use to describe: - their customer journey - your product VOC eliminates jargon. And ineffective messaging. It makes customers think, "They get me." 3. Map customer pain points 👉 What keeps them up at night? 👉 What problem are they trying to solve? 👉 Why have they failed to solve it? 👉 What else have they tried to solve it? 4. Identify search triggers 👉 Why did they start looking for a solution? 👉 What triggered their search? 👉 What makes their search urgent? 5. Document objections 👉 What gives them pause? 👉 What uncertainties do they have? 👉 Where have competitors failed them? 👉 What almost stopped them from buying? 👉 What makes them doubt your product? 6. Find "The Flip" What makes your customer flip from 🧐 “What is this?” ↓ 😍 “This is exactly what I need.” Build your messaging around this moment. ___ This is how you create a messaging guide. Not by guessing. Not with a cute persona worksheet. Knowing Sarah’s favorite podcast? Sorta helpful. Knowing what keeps her up at night? Insanely helpful. ____ ♻️ Repost this if you found it useful 🧐 Follow me (@lizwillits) for more posts 💌 Get VIP insights in my email newsletter

Knowing your customer's paint points isn't enough. You need to know how to leverage them to turn them into gold with your ads. Let’s break it down: 1️⃣ Understand the pain.  ↳ Use surveys, reviews, or forums to uncover your audience’s struggles. The more specific you are about what frustrates them, the more precise your ad will be. People resonate with ads that "get them." 2️⃣ Visualize the struggle.  ↳ Don’t just tell—show. Whether it’s tossing and turning in a mattress ad or breakouts in a skincare ad, relatable visuals grab attention faster than any words can. 3️⃣ Highlight the transformation.  ↳ The “after” matters! Use before-and-after imagery, testimonials, or aspirational visuals to show the joy and relief your product brings. Make the “after” irresistible. 4️⃣ Speak their language.  ↳ Mirror the audience’s words. If they’re “tired of back pain,” say that. When your audience feels heard, they’re more likely to trust you. 5️⃣ Use emotion strategically.  ↳ Fear and frustration can hook them, but pair that with hope and empowerment to drive action. For example, "Tired of constant back pain? Start living pain-free today." 6️⃣ Create contrast.  ↳ Use colors and tone to differentiate the “before” and “after.” Dark, dreary visuals for the problem and bright, vibrant ones for the solution reinforce the transformation. 7️⃣ End with a confident CTA.  ↳ Don’t leave them guessing. Tie your CTA directly to solving their problem—e.g., “Try it today” or “Start living pain-free.” Want to turn your audience's pain points into your brand’s gold mine? It’s all about showing them you *understand* and can provide the solution. ✨ Found this useful? Like, follow, and repost ♻️ so others can too!  ps. struggling with creative bottlenecks? We can help.

PagerDuty made one change that took them from "just another tech startup" to a billion dollar player. 👇 Most companies lead with features when they pitch their product. PagerDuty started the same way. Impressive technology, fancy demos, all the bells and whistles. But they were getting lost in a crowded market of digital operations tools. Prospects weren't biting. Then their CEO, Jennifer Tejada, made one critical shift. She stopped talking about what PagerDuty could do and started focusing on what customers were struggling with. Her team conducted in-depth interviews with prospects. They mapped out pain points. They listened to the real problems businesses were facing. 👉 What they discovered changed everything. Companies weren't looking for another digital operations tool. They were drowning in costly downtime and inefficient incident responses. So Tejada shifted the entire messaging strategy. Instead of talking about features, they talked about outcomes. Faster response times. Reduced downtime. Streamlined operations. And what those outcomes meant for their customers. The difference was immediate. Prospects stopped seeing PagerDuty as just another vendor and started seeing them as the solution to their biggest headaches. Without this shift, PagerDuty could have remained lost in the noise. They would have competed on features and price instead of value. They would have stayed just another option instead of becoming the obvious choice. 📌 Here's the lesson: Your value proposition isn't about what you built. It's about what problem you solve. When you lead with customer pain points instead of product features, everything changes. You stop selling and start solving. ✨ Enjoyed this post? Make sure to hit FOLLOW Leslie Venetz for daily posts about B2B sales, leadership, entrepreneurship and mindset.