How to find real customer problems in the wild

"Is this actually a pain point for you?"

That's the kind of question that puts your research dead on arrival. Here's why:

When you ask someone if they have a problem, you get their sanitized, rational self. But when you catch them actively struggling with that same problem? You get raw emotion, specific details, and most importantly - the truth.

It's like the difference between asking someone "How do you handle technical challenges?" versus finding their 1 AM Reddit post titled "Why does every 'no-code' tool require a developer to set up?!"

Think about it. When someone's actively struggling with a problem, they'll tell you exactly:

• What specific situation they're in
• What's bothering them (from major frustrations to subtle needs)
• What they've already tried and why it didn't work
• What they're willing to invest in and why
• Their fundamental beliefs about how things should/shouldn't work

This kind of raw, unfiltered feedback is invaluable for product development and marketing. The catch? These valuable insights don't live in carefully crafted social posts. Instead, you'll find them in places where people feel safe to complain, vent, and ask "stupid" questions without judgment.

Why organic discussions beats asking people

Here's what happens when you catch people actually struggling with a problem (instead of just asking them about it):

1. You get the messy details: Instead of a sanitized "Yes, that can be challenging sometimes," you get "Just spent 45 minutes on hold only to be told I need to email them instead. Why do I pay $99/month for this?"
2. You dodge the observer effect: The moment you ask someone if something's a problem, they put their professional mask on. They rationalize. They downplay. They might even disagree with what you’re saying. But catch them in an unguarded moment? That’s when you see their true challenges emerge.
3. You hear their real voice: Nobody's filtering their language or trying to sound smart. They're just venting. Which gives you the exact words you need to write marketing copy that resonates.

To find these authentic conversations, you need two things: the right platforms and the right tools.

Below, I'll show you four specific platform and tool combinations I use to consistently uncover valuable customer insights.

1. Use the Hive Index to find communities worth researching

TheHiveIndex helps you discover where your target customers are already having conversations.

Here's how to use it for research:

1. Map your research territory
   • Start with your core topic (e.g., "marketing" or "SaaS")
   • Note adjacent topics where customers might discuss problems (e.g., if you're building email marketing software, look at "sales", "CRM", and "marketing automation" - your customers likely discuss email problems in all these spaces)
   • Look for niche communities where people are more likely to share detailed struggles (e.g., instead of broad "digital marketing" communities, find specific "ecommerce email specialists" or "Klaviyo power users" groups where people share technical implementation challenges)
2. Prioritize discussion-focused platforms
   • Forums and Slack groups often have deeper conversations
   • Reddit communities tend to have more candid problem sharing
   • Specialized Discord servers often host detailed technical discussions
3. Look for these research-friendly features
   • Forums (where people ask detailed questions)
   • Chat (for real-time problem discussions)
   • Member counts (1,000-20,000 members is the sweet spot—enough activity to find patterns, but intimate enough for people to share openly)

2. Use Reddit's hidden network to uncover connected customer problems

Reddit hosts some of the most honest customer discussions anywhere—if you know where to look (it’s also my favorite).

Anvaka's Map of Reddit shows you exactly where your customers hang out and talk openly about their problems.

Here's how to use it:

• Start with a known subreddit (like r/marketing)
  • Click nodes to discover connected communities
  • Look for smaller subreddits (under 50k members) where people actually ask questions.

This is where Anvaka's map becomes incredibly valuable: by visualizing connected subreddits, you can see how one problem manifests across different communities. It's like putting together puzzle pieces.

For example, if you're building a social media scheduling tool, start with r/marketing. The map might lead you to r/agency, r/freelance, and r/socialmediatools.

Now watch how one image quality problem shows up differently in each connected subreddit:

• In r/marketing: "Why do my scheduled images look pixelated on mobile but fine in preview?"
• In r/agency: "Client furious because their logo looks blurry in posted images. Preview looked crystal clear!"
• In r/freelance: "Wasting hours re-uploading images because they get compressed to potato quality"
• In r/socialmediatools: "Paying for professional photos but posts look like they were shot on a 2005 flip phone"

By following these connections in the map, each subreddit adds a new angle - from technical frustration to damaged client relationships. Now you understand not just the bug, but its real business impact.

3. Turn Slack communities into real-time research channels

Slack communities are goldmines because you're catching problems as they happen. Because of Slack's real-time nature, people post when they're stuck, frustrated, or need help right now.

Here's how to tap into these conversations as they happen:

1. Find the right communities:
   • Use TheHiveIndex and Slofile (specific to Slack) to discover active Slack groups
   • Look for both broad (marketing) and niche (marketing-ops) communities
2. Set up keyword notifications on Slack:
   • Common help phrases ("anyone know how to...", "struggling with", "help needed") if you’re still exploring the problem space.
   • Domain-specific terms (for marketing: "attribution", "conversion tracking", "lead scoring") if you’re trying to dial-in on the pain.
   • Competitor names and alternatives solutions, again if you’re dialing in.

4. Mine the comments section on LinkedIn

Most people look at influencer posts for insights. But the real value lies in the comments, where their followers reveal their actual struggles, doubts, and objections.

While everyone else is studying what influencers say, you'll be mining the raw, unfiltered reactions from their audience.

Use LinkedIn's search functionality:

1. Search for your specific topic (e.g., "sales automation")
2. Filter by "Posts" and "Past Month"
3. Look for posts with:
   • At least 15+ comments
   • Active discussion threads
   • Author responses in comments

What to look for in comments:

• Context: The specific situation they're in ("As a solo founder...")
• Pain Points:
  • Look for both:
    • Direct frustrations ("I'm tired of...")
    • Questions asked ("How do you handle...?" - these are hidden pain points)
• Current Solutions: Tools or workflows they've already tried and why they failed
• Worldviews: Their beliefs about what should or shouldn't work ("I don't think AI can ever...")

Your action plan

1. Pick your starting point:

• Need to map your market? → Start with The Hive Index to discover active communities
• Want to see customers' real, unfiltered problems? → Use Anvaka's Map to find relevant subreddits
• Need real-time insights? → Monitor Slack communities and LinkedIn influencer discussions

2. Set up your research system (start small):

• Choose ONE platform (Reddit is recommended)
• Join 2-3 mid-sized communities (1,000-20,000 members)
• Set up relevant keyword notifications
• Create a simple research log (your notes app works)

3. Collect these specific data points (with verbatim quotes):

• Situational triggers: "I was in the middle of [task] when..."
• Raw frustrations: "Why is it so hard to..."
• Failed solutions: "Tried [tool/process/system] but it doesn't..."
• Investment signals: "I'd gladly pay for..." or "I'm already paying for X, Y, Z"
• Belief systems: "The problem with most solutions is..."

Remember that 1 AM Reddit post I talked about? That's what you'll find when you follow this approach. Instead of doing drive-bys in communities asking "Is this a pain point for you?"—which puts people in presentation mode—you're catching real problems in their natural habitat. When someone's posting at 1 AM about their struggles, they're not trying to sound professional. They're in diagnosis mode trying to solve their problem. And that raw, unfiltered reality is exactly what you need to understand.

Thank you for reading!