#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
(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
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