Techniques for Validating Client Concerns

“The customer is always right.” Right? Well… yes. But not in the way you might think. In Customer Success, we hear this phrase all the time. And while I do believe the customer is always right, it’s not because we should say yes to every request or scramble to build every feature they mention. It’s because they’re right about the pain. They’re right about the friction, the gaps, the confusion. But they might not be right about the solution 😬 That’s where we come in. The magic happens when you go beyond the request and uncover the real problem. Because here’s the truth: Most feature requests are symptoms. Our job as CSMs is to diagnose the cause. Let’s say a customer says: “We need a new page on our dashboard” Now here’s the classic trap: CSM: “Sure! Let me request this for you. I’ll add it to the roadmap!” WRONG APPROACH! 🙅♀️ Here’s why: jumping straight to a solution without understanding the why behind the request leads to misaligned expectations and, most likely, frustration down the road. Instead, here’s a better approach - a simple 3-step process I use often: 1️⃣ Step 1: Validate the request... but don’t commit yet + hypothesize the underlying need The customer is raising something important. Acknowledge it, but leave room for discovery… after all, you suspect what they want isn’t a new page - they want easier access to a specific piece of data. So you need test that theory. CSM: “Thanks for surfacing this - if I sent you that data weekly, or gave you a shortcut to it, would that help for now? This serves three purposes: 1. Keeps the conversation open and shows you’re here to understand, not just execute 2. It gives them an immediate sense of support and momentum 3. Helps you figure out whether this is about UI structure or data accessibility 2️⃣ Step 2: Dig into the “why” Now that you’ve tested a quick fix, it’s time to zoom out. CSM: “What’s driving the need for that data? What decision or action depends on it?” This is where you uncover gold 🌟 The real issue might not be visibility - it could be workflow-related, team reporting pressure, or something else entirely. And that’s what you really need to solve. 3️⃣ Step 3: Collaborate on the right path forward Once you understand the root of the request, you’re in a much stronger position to propose a better solution or bring a well-informed case to your product team, if needed. —— Our job as CSMs is not just to collect feedback. It’s to interpret it. To ask follow-up questions. To uncover the why behind the what. One of my favorite lines from a recent post by Sagan Schultz, MD, MBA at Linear says it perfectly (link in comments): “The most valuable skill in product development lies in understanding what remains unsaid, beyond the explicit feedback.” The same applies to CS. Great relationships are built not by reacting to what’s said - but by listening closely enough to hear what isn’t.

Assumptions can lead to costly mistakes. My first SaaS company didn't go anywhere. I thought I was so smart, but going after the wrong people + building for wrong people cost me everything. Lots of hours put in, very little output. Most marketers think they know who their ideal customer is, and they think they know them. But until you validate your assumptions, you’re operating on guesswork—and guesswork is expensive. When I launched the first version of Wynter, I targeted copywriters... after all, who cares more about copy than them? Turns out most of them did not want any messaging validation work ("I don't like people judging my work" lol) + they didn't have any money. There was no pain they felt on their end regarding messaging validation. The pain was all in-house, felt by people hiring the copywriters: will this work? What does my ICP really care about? How can we make this copy stronger? My ICP research work had been lackluster, and I paid the stupid tax (six months of wasted efforts). A strong ICP (ideal customer profile) is built on real insights—validated, actionable, and directly tied to your audience’s needs. Avoid my mistakes and continuously refine your ICP: 1. Interview your customers: Talk to recent buyers or lost deals. Learn why they chose—or didn’t choose—your solution. Focus on the specific triggers that drove their decision and the language they use to describe their needs. 2. Survey your target market: Use target market surveys to dig into pain points, priorities, and decision-making processes. If you're in B2B, Wynter will deliver responses in 48 hrs. 3. Analyze sales conversations: Dive into sales call transcripts using tools like Gong or Chorus. Spot patterns in objections, common themes, and recurring questions your prospects raise. 4. Test your messaging: Use tools like Wynter to test key website pages with a vetted audience that matches your ICP. 5. Study competitor positioning: Analyze competitors’ messaging to uncover what they emphasize and where you can stand out. For example, if their messaging focuses on efficiency, can you carve a niche around customer experience and support? 6. Audit internal data: Review internal resources—support tickets, chat logs, and retention data. Who uses you the most, who gets the most value out of you? 7. Create iterative feedback loops: Insights aren’t static. Use tools like Wynter and Gong regularly get a pulse on your ICPs changing needs and perceptions. Building a strong ICP isn’t about guessing; it’s about listening—through tools, conversations, and data. The payoff? Better targeting, clearer messaging, and avoid paying the stupid tax.

💬 A couple of years ago, I was helping a SaaS startup to make sense of their low retention rates. The real problem? The C-suite hesitated to allow direct conversations with users. Their reasoning was rooted in their desire to maintain strictly "white-glove-level relationships" with their high-paying clients and avoid bothering them with "unnecessary" queries. Not going deeper into the validity of their rationale, but here are some things I did instead to avoid guesswork or giving assumptive recommendations: 1️⃣ Worked with internal teams: Obvious, right? But when each team works in their silo, lots of things fall through the cracks. So I got customer success, support and sales teams in the room together. We had several group discussions and identified critical common pain points they had heard from clients. 2️⃣  Analytics deep-dive: Being a SaaS platform, the startup had extensive analytics built into their product. So we spent days analyzing usage patterns, funnels, and behavior flow charts. The data spoke louder than words in revealing where users spent most of their time and where drop-offs were most common. 3️⃣ Social media as primary feedback channels: We have also started monitoring public forums, review sites, and tracked social media mentions. We collected a lot of useful insights through this unfiltered lens into users' many frustrations and occasional delights. 4️⃣ Support tickets: This part was very tedious, but the support tickets were a goldmine of information. By classifying and analyzing the nature of user concerns, we were able to identify features that users found challenging or non-intuitive. 5️⃣  Competitive analysis: And of course, we looked at the competitors. What were users saying about them? What features or offerings were making them switch or consider alternatives? 6️⃣ Internal usability tests: While I couldn't talk to users directly, I organized usability tests internally.  By simulating user scenarios and tasks, we identified main friction points in the critical user journeys. Ideal? No. But definitely eye-opening for the entire team building the platform. 7️⃣  Listening in on sales demos: Last but not least, by attending sales demos as silent observers, we got to understand the questions potential customers asked, their concerns, and their initial reactions to the software. Nothing can replace solid, well-organized user research. But through these alternative methods, we managed to paint a more holistic picture of the end-to-end product experience without ever directly reaching out to users. And these methods not only helped in pinpointing the issues leading to low retention, but also offered actionable recommendations for improvement. → And the result? A more refined, user-centric product that saw an uptick in retention, all without ruffling a single white glove 😉 #ux #uxr #startupchallenges #userretention   

Forget fancy ICP slides…I uncovered surprising customer pain points with a simple Nextdoor post… Most marketers think we know what our target customers want by creating fancy ICP slides… But the hard truth is market insights don’t always come from data reports, surveys, or those fancy ICP slides. Sometimes, they come from talking directly to the people who will actually use your product. 🤝 Yet so few marketers actually practice the art of talking to real customers. Sure, we all claim we do but how often do we really dive deep with our audience? Recently, I tested a new approach by posting a geo-targeted inquiry on Nextdoor, seeking recommendations from local institutions about a SaaS platform. The response was incredible - get this Over 13.3K views, 70+ comments, and a ton of engagement! 🎉 From those comments, I followed up with around 35 potential "customers" and managed to schedule follow-up calls with 15 of them. After speaking with these 15 interested organizations, I gained some valuable insights that every product company can leverage: 1. Refine Product-Market Fit through Direct Conversations Instead of relying solely on data trends, engage directly with potential customers. One-on-one discussions reveal pain points, preferences, and specific needs you might miss in broader research. This approach helped me understand which features and ease-of-use factors would truly resonate. 2. Validate Pricing Models with Real Pain Points Many SaaS companies base pricing on competitor analysis, but why not test pricing structures directly with your target audience? My calls helped uncover the price points and value propositions that align with actual budget constraints. This hands-on feedback is gold for creating a pricing model that meets customer expectations. 3. Tailor Marketing Channels Based on Customer Preferences Don’t assume where your customers spend their time; ask them! These conversations highlighted that while social media presence matters, the importance varies by industry and demographic. SaaS companies can adapt their content strategy to align with where their audience is most active, amplifying each channel’s impact. From this simple Nextdoor post, I was even able to create a 7-Step Competitive Analysis Chart based on real customer feedback. Lesson learned: If you want real insights, skip the assumptions and go talk to your audience. Sometimes, your best product market fit (or expansion) is just one conversation away! #hustle #marketing #marketinginsights #saas