We can all agree that the customer is our "North Star," so why don't we invest more time and effort understanding our target audience's real perspective? Here are some listening tips and disruptive questions that have helped dozens of companies get fresh, actionable insights.

1. STOP BRAINSTORMING, GET OUT
OF THE BUILDING & ASK YOUR
CUSTOMERS 5 QUESTIONS
Bob London @chief_listener
IF WE ALL PEEK OUTSIDE OUR SILOS…
THE
CUSTOMER
WE’LL SEE THE SAME THING.

2. @chief_listener
THE CUSTOMER: THE ULTIMATE SILO-SPLITTER,
ARGUMENT-ENDER & UNIFIER

3. STRATEGIC
MARKETING GUY
1999 - 2010
CORPORATE
MARKETING GUY
1990 - 1999

4. LISTENING GUY
2011 - Present
15x

5. Companies Talk Past Their
Customers
“Themes brands
consider important
have minimal influence
on buyer perceptions.”
The Disconnect Between
Marketers & Buyers
“Tech marketers invest
in areas that IT buyers
don’t consider important
in the decision process.”
“Just 50% felt they
understood customers
well & 35% understood
their prospects.”
CMOs Admit They Don’t
Understand Their Target

6. 6
“So what? Can you solve my
problem better than anyone else?”
“We can solve all
your problems!”

7. DISCOVERING THE CUSTOMER’S TRUE PERSPECTIVE*
REQUIRES A NEW APPROACH.
* ELEVATOR RANT

8. “I wish we had more ____”
“We can’t keep doing it
this way ____”
“I’m so tired of bumping
up against ____”
INTERNAL
ELEVATOR RANTS: Real, unfiltered issues customers
talk about on the elevator, when you’re not around.
EXTERNAL
“Why can’t vendors just ____”
“Stop trying to be ____”
“Their software would be great if
they just ____”
“I hate writing that check every
month for ____”

9. The Big Pivot: From $0 in sales to 100
enterprise customers
Our software delivers visibility &
control over your public, private &
hybrid cloud environments…reduce
costs & better governance.
We don’t even know all our cloud
requirements yet. So there’s no
compelling reason for us to buy now.
One feature is like a programmable
light switch that turns off your
cloud when you’re not using it. We
call it “parking.” This reduces your
monthly costs by 20 – 60%.
Now that’s cool. Can I just buy
that & not the whole platform?
ELEVATOR RANTS
Um…no…
You’re trying to solve too many
problems. Is there one it solves
well? OUTSIGHT
OK, well that’s just dumb.

10. Minimal
marketing
No dedicated
sales resource
@chief_listener
RAISED $1.7M
PIVOTED TO

11. @chief_listener
A series of H2H conversations
solely to learn the other
person’s perspective…what’s
important to them…
 One on one phone
calls
 20 – 30 min. each
 10 – 15 customers
& non-customers
without bringing it back to
your point of view.
The Secret: Agenda-less Listening
DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR SOLUTION.
FALL IN LOVE WITH THEIR PROBLEM & DESIRED OUTCOME.

12. 1“What are your company’s top
2 priorities for the next 12 – 24
months—at the board level?”
@chief_listener
2“What’s getting in the
way…what do you and your
team need to get better at?”
3“Does our industry have a
reputation—good or bad?”
4
“What are we great at? What do
we do better than anyone else?”
THOUGHT-PROVOKING QUESTIONS YOUR
COMPETITORS AREN’T ASKING

13. 5
“What would
make you a
customer for life?”
@chief_listener
(The killer question)
“Hmmm…good question.
“No one’s ever
asked me that!”

14. Relax. It’s a conversation not an
interview. You want their perspective.
It’s about them (not you or the
software!). Let the dialogue go
where they want to go.
Drop ego, biases & defensiveness.
Breath, smile.
Be agile and iterative.
LISTENING TIPS &
GROUND RULES
NO SELLING—EVER!

15. What insights will you get?
• Product/service
innovation &
delivery
• Value prop
• Brand identity
• Positioning/Differe
ntiation
• Sales & marketing
messaging
• Buyer journey
• CX/UX
• Personas
• Content ideas
• Real customer
language (vs.
marketing-speak)
• New use cases
• Goodwill
• Case studies
• Identify problems

16. Customer Re-Discovery E-Book
www.chieflisteningofficers.com/free
Listen more. Market better.