6 reasons product leaders don’t talk to customers
And why it shouldn’t stop you
NOTE: For simplicity, I use the term “customer” throughout this article to collectively refer to users or buyers. Whether they are an actual customer or just could be a customer is not important. You should be talking to both of them!
When should you talk to your customers? The answer is, of course, always! There is no substitute for hearing directly from those who use or might use your product or service.
As product leaders, we all know we should do it, but somehow we don’t always do it. And even when we do, sometimes the experience and value falls short of what it should or could be.
“There is only one boss — the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” — Sam Walton
Think about a time when you’ve cancelled a product/service or unsubscribed from a distribution list (all 500 of them!). Were you immediately asked to answer a single question indicating why you were leaving?
Was your reason even listed among the choices? If so, did you feel like that captured the full story? It’s not always practical to interview every customer, especially those who unsubscribe from a distribution list like in the above example. But If they had taken the time to interview you, they may have learned a lot more about the deeper, sometimes emotional reasons for cancelling.
So why don’t we talk to customers more?
I’ve personally heard or experienced some of the following reasons product leaders don’t talk to customers (none of which should stop you in your tracks).
Talking to customers isn’t quantitative enough
If I talk to my customers instead of having them fill out a questionnaire, I won’t have clean, quantitative data! My data will be mostly qualitative! Surveys, questionnaires, NPS and polls can help you learn about what a customer thinks, but they are less effective at helping you truly understand your customer because they often lack context. Believe it or not, the best way to get insightful answers is often by having a direct conversation.
Qualitative data can sometimes be more powerful than quantitative data. We like to think we are rational decision makers, but emotions drive our decisions and our behavior. This has implications for ratings scores, like NPS. For example, emotionally, what is the difference between scoring a firm 8 or a soft 9? Talking to your customers enables an emotional connection that quantitative data alone can’t convey. You need a healthy mix of both.
Worried about how you will make sense of all that unstructured (glorious) qualitative data? David Cancel has a great framework for doing just that.
Sales/Corporate won’t allow it
Sometimes we don’t talk to customers because the sales rep wants to control all access (Don’t mess up my deal!). Or maybe because marketing is supposed to be the only interface with the customer. There may even be a corporate policy restricting direct customer access because of worries about inappropriate statements or commitments. Some of this may sound crazy, but it’s true. And that’s a problem. How will you know if you are creating something that customers will love or that will even solve their problems if you can’t access them?
Make sure you push through these barriers to have a direct conversation, unmediated by sales, marketing, customer success, or any other group. Distinguish what you are doing (talking to customers between contract signing and when they are up for renewal) and a sales call (the time during which sales is trying to close the deal). Explain to them that what you are looking to learn is different than what they learn (and dutifully enter into the CRM, of course) during the sales process.
We already know what our customers want
You are NOT your customer. Even if you own or use your product/service, you are still not necessarily the target audience. You can’t be — you are too close to the product to avoid the inevitable bias. And because of your role, you are at risk of suffering the curse of knowledge. The only way for product leaders to avoid speaking in the abstract when defining and describing their products is to infuse themselves with a dose of reality by talking to customers. By hearing customers describe their problems (and your product) in their words, only then will you avoid this dreaded curse.
We have no time to talk to our customers
Then make time! As product leaders, we all fall prey to the usual distractions — roadmap and prioritization discussions, bug triage, account escalation, sales calls, retrospectives, writing user stories. Take a look at what occupies your daily ToDo list and is keeping you from talking to customers. I can almost guarantee you most of it isn’t as important or impactful as talking to your customers. Writing user stories without direct customer insight is likely a waste of time anyway.
When all else fails, remember the NIHITO principle — Nothing Important Happens In The Office. Understanding your customer’s problems generally doesn’t happen when you’re staring into the screen at your desk.
Customers don’t want to talk to you
Wrong! I’m not saying you are going to get a 100% or even a 80% hit rate. But your customers will agree to talk to you. In fact, many of them actually want to talk to you. You just need to give them the opportunity. If nothing else, it shows them that you care about their needs and want to deliver value. This is what one of our customers recently told me in an interview:
“It’s awesome that you do this [interview your customers]. It’s a great way to stay connected. I think about this too as the head of product, and I love that you do this.”
On the flip side, if the issue is that you don’t want or like to talk to customers, then perhaps you will find this article helpful. Seriously, you may be in the wrong role.
Nobody wants to hear they are wrong
Who wants to hear that they were wrong? Nobody really. We can blame our nasty amygdala for that. But just keep telling yourself that your customers are giving you a gift. They’re giving you insights into how you can improve your product - listen to them! In doing so, you’ll end up learning more about their problems rather than just hearing how much your product sucks.
Occasionally your discussions will be all positive. If this happens, don’t believe them! Keep probing for areas to improve. Don’t badger them, or worse give them a reason to be unhappy with you, but it’s unlikely that they don’t have some ideas for how to improve your product’s experience.
The opposite is also true. If the discussion is exceedingly negative, risk the temptation to defend, explain, or justify anything. This is their time to give you feedback. You asked for it, you are there to listen, and your goal is to LEARN.
No matter what product or service you offer, there’s a human sitting on the other side. Talking to your (human) customers is one of the most important things you can do as a product leader. You can’t know what their pain points are let alone figure out how to solve them if you don’t talk to them first. Don’t guess, debate internally, or overcomplicate things with polls and questionnaires. Don’t wait until your annual customer conference or bi-annual Customer Advisory Board meeting. Do it regularly — weekly if possible.
