The Joy of the Customer Call
Why I'd rather listen to buyers than build another campaign
While everyone else is debating which channels to test or obsessing over the latest campaign tactics, I'm over here getting genuinely excited about asking someone who just rejected us to tell me exactly why.
I just finished 10 win/loss interviews for a client, and honestly? This is my favorite part of any engagement. Give me a customer call over a campaign brainstorm any day.
Everything starts with understanding your buyer.
Here's the thing: most marketing is built on assumptions. "We think customers care about X." "Our target market probably wants Y." "Best practices say we should do Z."
Customer interviews cut through all the assumptions and guesswork. You hear, in their actual words, why someone bought from you. Or didn't. What specific moment made them reach for the budget. What their boss actually measures. What happens if they don't solve this problem.
No guessing. No generic frameworks. Just real insight about real buyers.
The question that changes everything
My favorite question in any interview: "What was the straw that broke the camel's back?"
Not "what problem were you trying to solve"—that gets you generic answers. But what specific moment made someone say "okay, we have to fix this NOW."
These aren't fluffy "we needed better efficiency" responses. These are breaking points. The kind of moments that make someone finally say "enough" and start looking for a solution.
And they're gold for positioning that actually resonates.
You learn what they actually care about (vs. what you think they care about)
Companies always tell me they know why customers buy. "Our integration capabilities." "Our pricing model." "Our superior features."
Then I talk to actual customers and find out:
The decision came down to which sales rep called back first
Price wasn't the factor—trust was
That "must-have" feature you spent six months building? Nobody mentioned it
Your mascot that marketing thinks is unprofessional? Customers love it
The tradeshow booth you weren't sure was worth the investment? That's where they first heard about you
A peer recommendation carried more weight than all your case studies combined
I had one client convinced they were losing deals because of a technical limitation. After 10 loss interviews, the real issue was onboarding confusion. Not a product problem—a "we have no idea how to get started" problem.
Completely different solution needed.
You get their actual words (not marketing speak)
Want better messaging? Stop writing like a marketer and start using customer language.
You'll hear the same phrases over and over. Pain points in their words. How they actually talk about solutions. Metaphors that make sense to them.
Spoiler alert: they rarely say "streamline," "optimize," or "seamless integration."
When customers kept saying "I just wanted to see it work" in interview after interview, guess what became the new messaging framework? Their words, not ours.
You find the stuff nobody sees
Customers will casually mention friction points that are completely invisible from inside your company. A confusing signup flow. A sales process that felt pushy. A competitor doing something better that you didn't even know about.
These aren't huge strategy shifts—they're often quick fixes that make everything work better.
You become the buyer expert
When you make talking to customers second nature—doing this regularly, not just once—you start to see patterns that others miss. How they actually find vendors. Who's really involved in decisions. What drives urgency vs. what's just nice to have.
That insight changes everything—product roadmaps, sales process, messaging, positioning. Because it's based on real buyer behavior, not assumptions.
Why this matters
Great marketing isn't about clever campaigns or the latest growth hack. It's about deeply understanding your buyers and building everything from there.
I've seen companies completely transform their win rates by changing messaging based on one customer insight. I've watched teams discover new market opportunities by listening to how people actually use their product.
But most companies skip this step. They'd rather guess and test than ask and know.
Just ask
Look, I know customer calls take time. Not everyone gets as excited about them as I do. But if you want marketing that actually connects with real people instead of personas you made up in a conference room—there's no substitute.
Book the call. Ask the real questions. Listen to the answers.
Everything else is just marketing fluff.
Want to understand your buyers better? I can help you dig into the customer research that drives real positioning and messaging. Let's talk.