How to Identify Customer Top Priorities

You should definitely make customer research the cornerstone of your B2B go-to-market strategy. The trick is leveraging insights to drive actionable sales and marketing decisions, not just product tweaks. Here are three ways: 1. Conduct regular customer interviews Set up weekly or monthly calls with a diverse set of customers to uncover evolving needs and decision-making processes. A professional services firm I worked with reshaped its entire sales pitch to talk less about itself and more about its ICP's job to be done. The result was a higher close rate. Sometimes, what you think is a strength might be holding you back. 2. Mine your sales calls regularly Implement a system to analyze and categorize key moments from your team's sales conversations that inform your GTM strategy. One of our B2B tech clients discovered that many prospects were using a manual competitive alternative that wasn't even on their radar. You can use these insights to refine your messaging and objection handling. 3. Deploy simple website visitor surveys Place short, targeted surveys on key pages to understand more about visitors, their challenges, and friction points in your conversion funnel. I know of a company that increased demo requests by 40% after learning that potential customers were confused about which product tier was right for them. Customer research isn't just about product development—it's about aligning every touchpoint of your go-to-market motion with what truly matters to your buyers. Pick one of these tactics and implement it this week. Your pipeline (and your bottom line) will thank you.

Most customers don’t actually know their goals. We spend so much time trying to “uncover” customer goals, but what if there’s nothing to uncover? Not because customers don’t care. Not because they’re not strategic. But because they’ve never been asked to think that way. Most customers are thinking: “𝘐 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮.” Not: “𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.” Also, the initiative with your tool is new and something they don't do very often so they don't have same level of experience you and your company has. That’s where you come in. You’ve seen hundreds of accounts. You know what success should look like. You know the goals that actually drive results and the benchmarks that show if they’re on track. So here’s how to shift the conversation: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:  • Save time  • Save money  • Drive leads  • Boost productivity 𝟮. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀:  • Open rate  • Cost per lead  • Leads per month  • Resolution time 𝟯. 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀: Poor → Good → Best (ex: <5 Leads/mo, 6-15 Leads/mo, 16+ Leads/mo) 𝟰. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲. If they’re generating 1 lead a month, don’t aim for 25. Example: “𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘦 10 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴/𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘘1, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 2 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 20 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴/𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩.”) The opportunity isn’t to 𝘢𝘴𝘬 for customer goals. It’s to help them 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 the right ones together and guide the path forward. Because the CSM isn’t just a partner. You’re the strategic coach they didn’t even know they needed. How do you guide goal setting with your customers? #customersuccess

If you don’t know your customers’ goals by the end of January, that’s a you problem. When I was a CSM, January was my golden ticket for getting aligned with my customers. Everyone’s in “fresh start” mode, and there’s no better time to talk priorities, goals, and how to crush them together. But let me ask you something: If I opened your customer notes right now, would I see documented goals for every single customer? Would I see exactly how they define value? If not, don’t panic—yet. But it’s time to step up. For those of you managing a massive book of business (aka “How am I supposed to talk to everyone?!”), here’s your cheat code. This strategy is easy, scalable, and effective: 1️⃣ Record a video (Yes, even if you hate being on camera). Grab Loom (or your phone—no fancy tools required). Wish your customers a Happy New Year and let them know you’re here to help them with their business goals in 2025. No meeting request needed (because nobody wants another meeting). Instead, end with a CTA: “Take 2 minutes to share your 2025 goals using this quick form!” 2️⃣ Create a form (keep it simple). Build a survey with dropdowns, picklists, or examples relevant to your product's value. Help your customers think, “Oh yeah, THAT’S what we need to focus on.” 3️⃣ Distribute in bulk. Send the video + form link to your key contacts. Use your CSP, CRM, or even old-school email—it doesn’t matter how you send it, just send it. 4️⃣ Track it. Follow up. Repeat. Spreadsheet? CRM? Sticky notes on your desk? Whatever works for you, track responses and follow up with the stragglers. 5️⃣ Turn insights into action. Take those submitted goals and bake them into your next call. Ask deeper questions. Validate their objectives. Show them how your product becomes their superpower. If your book is smaller: Just make goal alignment a top agenda item for your next call. No excuses. Here’s the deal: January is prime time to do this. If you don’t have your customers’ goals locked in by February, that’s a you problem. Don’t leave this opportunity on the table. Lean in. Get it done. Your customers (and your metrics) will thank you.