The Problem with Pain Points: Why Good Messaging Isn’t Just About Agony

If your entire value prop hinges on your customer suffering, you’re not building desire — you’re just poking bruises.

Let’s talk about the cult of “pain-led messaging”

Somewhere along the way, we started treating customer pain like it’s the only angle that matters.

• “What keeps them up at night?”
• “Twist the knife!”
• “Agitate, then solve!”

Yes, pain is a door in — but it’s not the whole house.
People don’t just buy to escape something. They also buy to gain something.

The Two-Emotion Model: Pain and Pull

Think of messaging like a seesaw:
Too much pain? You sound desperate.
Too much aspiration? You sound vague.

What you want is tension — a contrast between what is and what could be.

Pain = “This is broken.”
Pull = “This is better — and it’s closer than you think.”

What pull looks like in practice:

• From “Your team is drowning in manual work”
  to “Your team could free up 10 hours a week — without hiring.”
• From “Your current tools are clunky”
  to “This is what streamlined actually feels like.”
• From “You’re frustrated”
  to “You’ll feel in control again.”

This isn’t fluff. It's an aspiration with credibility. And it works.

A framework to balance pain and pull:

1. Name the struggle (don’t exaggerate it — just reflect it)
2. Paint the after (be vivid, specific, tangible)
3. Bridge the two with your product as the enabler

Final thought:

Pain might get attention, but pull builds momentum.If your message only stings, it won’t stick.