Customer insights every business should realize

Listen to what customers say

Interviews and support conversations tell you how people describe their problem in their own words. Those words are worth copying straight into your website and your sales calls.

Watch what customers do

What people say and what they do often differ. Look at where they hesitate in the signup flow, which features they return to, and when they stop using the product altogether.

• Where do new users drop off in the first week?
• Which features do your longest-standing customers use most?
• What happens just before someone cancels?

Notice what nobody mentions

Some of the most useful insights are the questions customers never ask, because they gave up before asking. A quiet support inbox can mean a product is easy to use, or that people did not think it was worth the trouble.

The customer who leaves without complaining is the one you learn the least from, unless you go and ask.

Turn insight into a decision

An insight is only useful once it changes something. End every round of research with one decision: a change to the product, the pricing or the message, and a date to check whether it worked.