The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)

6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program with Shoshana Kordova


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#250 Customer Insights | Matt sits down with Shoshana Kordova, a 3x founding product marketer and former journalist who now helps B2B tech startups craft customer-infused messaging through her consultancy, Peel Product Marketing. Shoshana recently launched a customer insights playbook for the PMM Jetpack, equipping marketers with tools and templates to run more effective customer interviews.


Matt and Shoshana cover:

  • Why a customer insights program is more than “just talking to customers” and how to turn interviews into a repeatable system that drives messaging, positioning, and case studies
  • How to collaborate across teams (especially with CS and product) to get buy-in and avoid stepping on toes
  • The most common mistakes B2B marketers make with interviews and how to get the kind of insights you can actually use

Whether you're a product marketer, content strategist, or leading a GTM team, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways to build messaging that resonates.

Timestamps

  • (00:00) - – Intro
  • (02:39) - – Meet Shoshana: From Journalism to Product Marketing
  • (03:49) - – What Is “Customer-Infused Messaging”?
  • (05:34) - – Why Customer Insights Beat Surface-Level Deliverables
  • (07:34) - – How to Work with CS and Sales Without Stepping on Toes
  • (10:34) - – Navigating Competing Priorities Across Teams
  • (12:54) - – Selling the Value of Customer Interviews Internally
  • (16:54) - – The 6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program
  • (18:49) - – Step 1: Aligning Goals with Stakeholders
  • (20:29) - – Step 2: Building a Customer Interview Pipeline
  • (22:34) - – Step 3: Keeping Stakeholders in the Loop (Hint: Use Slack)
  • (29:05) - – Step 4: How to Run a Great Customer Interview
  • (34:35) - – Focus on Problems, Not Just the Product
  • (37:10) - – Uncovering Real ROI with Better Follow-Ups
  • (38:20) - – Step 5: Documenting What Actually Matters
  • (40:40) - – How to Organize Insights into a Shared Database
  • (43:30) - – Step 6: Putting Insights to Work (Case Studies, Messaging, ICPs)
  • (45:50) - – Should You Hire an External Interviewer?
  • (48:05) - – What’s a Realistic Interview Cadence?
  • (49:35) - – Other Places to Find Customer Insights (When Interviews Aren’t Possible)
  • (51:10) - – Final Tips: Mining G2 Reviews, Webinars, and Internal Teams
  • (52:24) - – Wrap-Up and Where to Find Shoshana

  • Send guest pitches and ideas to [email protected]
    Join the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
    Check out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/
    Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership

    ***

    Today’s episode is brought to you by Zuddl.

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    Head over to zuddl.com/exitfive to learn more. 


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    The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)By Dave Gerhardt

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