What’s stopping your customers? Understanding barriers to entry

Every business has a barrier, a hurdle or a bit of friction that makes people hesitate.The key is to figure out what that barrier is and then tackle it head on.

Most marketing advice talks about ‘persuasion’ but what if the issue isn’t how persuasive you are but how risky the decision feels to your customer? Most buyers today are cautious, overwhelmed and risk-averse - even the ones who really want what you’re offering.

That risk could be anything:

• Financial - “That’s a big investment for us right now"

• Time - “This looks useful but I don’t have 10 hours to get up to speed"

• Switching - “We’ve used X for years - is this really worth the hassle to change?"

• Trust - “Are they actually good, or just good at marketing?"

In other words, your customers aren’t always comparing features, they’re secretly weighing friction. Which means your job isn’t just to sell the value - it’s to reduce the resistance.

What if, instead of asking “How do we make this sound more appealing?”, we asked “What’s making this decision harder than it needs to be?”.

Spotting your own barrier

This part takes a bit of honest reflection - ask yourself:

• Do leads drop off at the same stage every time?

• Are we hearing the same objections again and again?

• Do people say things like "This looks great, but..."?

• When we DO win a client, what made them finally say yes?

To discover the answers to these questions you can:

• Survey lost leads or past customers

• Look at analytics to find exit points on your site

• Map your customer journey and flag where the emotion drops

The important thing is to not fall into the trap of automatically assuming that the barrier is price - it might be of course, but often it's something else in disguise.

Identify, empathise and dismantle

With your barriers identified, we find it a useful exercise to personify the problem: write a few sentences from your customer’s point of view, explaining their hesitation - this will help you to empathise with the customer and really understand their concerns. 

The next step is to dismantle it:

• If the barrier is trust: show process, case studies, behind-the-scenes

• If it’s price: anchor value clearly, break up costs, offer guarantees

• If it’s time: use onboarding support, timelines, quick wins

• If it’s loyalty to another provider: highlight key differences, demonstrate ease of switch

Your next job isn’t to convince - it’s to clear the path.

Let’s call this the Friction First Framework and it starts with one core idea: all buying decisions involve a calculation of effort, trust and risk. Your job is to minimise it for your audience.

The Friction First Framework

Name the fear: what’s the real barrier to entry for your customer?

• Could be emotional - “Will this make me look bad if it flops?"

• Could be logistical - “This sounds like a faff to implement"

• Could be habitual - "We already use someone else - why rock the boat?"

Surface it in your content

Acknowledge the concern out loud. Customers trust brands that show they understand their hesitations.

Neutralise it with proof or empathy

Use short-form case studies, before/after snapshots or social proof like testimonials that speaks to that specific fear.

Show rather than tell e.g. "Here’s how this worked for someone like you."

Simplify the next step

One clear CTA that reduces cognitive load e.g. "Book a 15-minute call" is less scary than "Schedule a consultation"

Offer something they can do with low or no risk - a guide, a 1:1 demo, a trial or a video perhaps.

Don't just add more - remove what’s in the way

If your campaigns feel like they’re stumbling, ask this: What’s one thing you could remove to make it easier to say yes?

Maybe it's an unclear process, maybe it's invisible risks, maybe it's just a case of showing what happens next. When you build your marketing around removing friction, something changes: your messaging sharpens and your clients feel more confident.

So the next time you’re planning a campaign, don’t just ask how to get more attention. Ask how you can make the journey easier.

Clear the path. Make saying yes easier.