What is a customer problem template?

Understanding the problems faced by your customers is crucial for any business. One way to do this is by using a customer problem statement template. This template helps you see an issue from the customer's perspective.

The template contains two exercises: one is the customer problem statement itself, and the second exercise dives deeper into the problem by asking some specific questions.

The customer problem section consists of five elements:

• I am: The customer who is facing the problem
• I'm trying to: The outcome that the customer is hoping to achieve
• But: The barriers to achieving the outcome
• Because: The reason for the barriers
• Which makes me feel: The emotional impact it has on the customer

The second exercise has some questions that you can answer to get more insights into the problem:

1. What's the problem?
2. When does the problem occur?
3. What are the possible root causes for the problem?
4. Which customers face this problem?
5. What's the emotional impact on customers?
6. What's the measure/metric of the impact on customers?
7. What alternatives do customers use to solve this problem?
8. What are the disadvantages of using these alternatives?
9. What are the things we can do better to address the problem?

Who can use this template?

A customer problem statement template can be a useful tool for teams to identify and address the issues that a customer is facing:

• Leadership teams: To pinpoint the key challenges that the overall business is experiencing
• Design teams: To understand the challenges users may face on the UX/UI front
• Sales teams: To gain insights into pain points that customers may experience during the buying process
• Product management teams: To clearly define the problems of potential customers so they can provide solutions in the product