Customer Conversations

Bob is the President and CEO of the Rewired Group, a pioneer of Jobs to Be Done, the author of the Jobs to be Done Handbook and his latest work Demand Side Sales. On this week's episode of Customer Conversations, Stuart and Bob cover Defining and applying the demand side Where to start with identifying the “struggling moment” The limitations of correlation in assessing customer behavior An atomistic approach to the customers buying timeline Trading off money, time and knowledge What causes the transition from passive to active looking Resources: Demand Side Sales, by Bob Moesta - https://www.amazon.com/Demand-Side-Sales-101-Customers-Progress-ebook/dp/B08FRRF68Q The Jobs-To-Be-Done Handbook, by Bob Moesta - https://www.amazon.com/Jobs-be-Done-Handbook-techniques-application/dp/1499339232 Shape Up, by Ryan Singer - https://basecamp.com/shapeup Jobs-To-Be-Done Radio - http://jobstobedone.org/topics/radio/ The Disruptive Voice Podcast - https://www.hbs.edu/forum-for-growth-and-innovation/podcasts/disruptive-voice/Pages/default.aspx Connecting with Bob: Connect with Bob on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/bmoesta/videos Connect with Bob on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobmoesta/

Michael Callahan is Vice President of eCommerce and Transformation for Maytex and Zenith Home Corp. Michael started his career in large CPG companies and has worked on national brands like Mr. Coffee, CrockPot and T-fall. Over the past 15 years, Michael has been transforming organizations to think Consumer and Digital First. He believes that the key to running any successful eCommerce business is full organizational integration… The words he lives by are “Work Hard, Stay Humble”. On this weeks Customer Conversations, Sean and Michael cover  What it means to build a digital strategy  Managing necessary organizational change  Interchange from digital to brick and mortar  Ensuring complementary online and offline strategies What can be done to reduce "friction" for the consumer  Determining whether or not to offer DTC Resources:  Digital Commerce 360 - https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/product/b2b-ecommerce-market-report/?utm_source=GA&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=2020B2BECMarket&gclid=CjwKCAjw4rf6BRAvEiwAn2Q76jrjpcDb0pI8rREID_ok2doy1vfIW0gsHZ_2Z4FyeFFShhaoxCs3eBoCC-gQAvD_BwE Digital Shelf Institute - https://www.salsify.com/digitalshelfinstitute The Digital Transformation Playbook - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27797899-digital-transformation-playbook The Retail Ecommerce Playbook - https://www.forrester.com/playbook/The+Retail+eCommerce+Playbook+For+2020/-/E-PLA440 Connecting with Michael  Connect with Michael On LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-g-callahan-b3331516/ Connect with Michael Over Email at michaelc@maytex.com

Jeff Ignacio is the Head of Revenue and Growth Operations at UpKeep, managing the Go To Market Systems and Enablement teams. Prior to working at UpKeep Jeff spanned a variety of roles at both large tech firms such as Accenture, Intel, Google, and high growth ventures such as Vizier (viz-ier) and PatientPop. In this episode of the Customer Conversations podcast, Sean and Jeff cover The difference between product fit vs. go to market fit Expanding from early adopters and engaging the early majority Monitoring a customers risk profile Defining and managing a post-sales cycle Resources: Product Lifecycle - https://www.amazon.com/Diffusion-Innovations-5th-Everett-Rogers/dp/0743222091 Crossing The Chasm - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61329.Crossing_the_Chasm Sales Enablement Podcast - https://www.ringdna.com/sales-enablement-podcast-with-andy-paul Connecting with Jeff: Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbethechange/

Ryan currently leads product at Basecamp, is the author of Shape Up and the host of the Synthetic a Priori podcast. Here are a few of the topics we’ll talk about on this episode of Customer Conversations: The role and goals of customer research in the shaping process The workflow breakdown of the ‘jobs to be done’ framework Using research in your pitch The main goal of prototyping your product Connect with Ryan Follow Ryan on Twitter

Lucas currently leads product marketing and strategic partnerships at Gorgias and has previously founded successful companies including Venngage and Treats Happen. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Customer Conversations: Actionable steps towards improving your customer support Generating profit from customer support Reducing friction to purchase Why you should always have an offer or promo for customers Connect with Lucas Gorgias.com Text him at 416.388.4470

Ben is the CEO and co-founder of Tuple (the best pair programming app for remote teams). He is also the host of one of my favorite podcasts the Art of Product, a former Thoughtbotter and the creator of several educational products for Rails developers. Here are only a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Customer Conversations. An update on progress at Tuple Keeping your finger on the pulse of your customers needs Building a product for developers and the importance of understanding your audience Soliciting feedback from customers from different channels Connecting with Ben Tuple’s website Follow Ben on Twitter The Art of Product Podcast

Nikki Elbaz is a persuasive copywriter and email specialist at CopyHackers who’s written revenue generating content for brands including Shopify Plus, Doodle and Resident Home.  She’s an expert in using research to understand why customers buy (and writing emails that make them do just that) and has shared her research knowledge for Product Led Institute, Bossitude Academy and CXL.  Here are just a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Customer Conversations. How to be a persuasive copywriter What it means to be data driven in copy How to get Voice of the Customer (VoC) data Getting emotional data from customers How to know if you VoC data is representative of your customer base Different strategies to leverage to get customers to speak with you Resources Paper form Google sheets Connecting with Nikki NikkiElbaz.com

Lorin is the Founder of the Customer Intelligence Institute.  She has worked with dozens of high-growth companies including best-in-class startups, emerging market leaders, and unicorn companies to contribute to successful exits and record quarters.  Here are only a few of the topics we’ll discuss in this episode of Customer Conversations with Lorin. Early warning signs for companies that may have a positioning problem The first step towards repositioning around your customer Finding the customers, getting the conversation started and what to ask them Making sure you’re actually getting valuable data from your customer conversations Resources Customer Intelligence Institute Connecting with Lorin Connect with Lorin on LinkedIn

Lomit is the VP of Growth at IMVU.  He is also the best selling author of the Lean Startup series book, Lean AI as well as a public speaker and startup advisor.  Lomit has a ton of experience getting companies to and through the rocketship growth phase.  Here are just a few of the topics we discussed in this episode: Monetization strategies for your high growth startup Extracting value out of customer data to help you grow the business Identifying the right users to grow LTV (lifetime value) How to properly use automation to grow faster Thinking about product growth in terms of use cases The inspiration behind his hit book, Lean AI Resources Lean AI by Lomit Patel Marketing automation tech - Nectar9 Lomit’s website & blog Connecting with Lomit Connect with Lomit on LinkedIn

Jessica is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wonderment.  Wonderment helps e-commerce merchants grow and scale their businesses.  She has tremendous experience in marketing and startups.  Her career expertise has included working at HubSpot, InVision and Techstars.  Here are just a few of the topics we discussed in this episode: How Wonderment came to be User journey, pain points and why coding can wait Mastering customer research for product Avoiding bias in your research Operationalizing your product research Understanding the why behind what your building Resources The Right It Reaching out to Jessica Wonderment Follow Jessica on Twitter Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn

Chip is the Manager of Strategy and Planning at Uber Eats.  He has tremendous experience in pricing and partnership strategy.  Here are just a few of the topics we discussed in this episode: Being data driven with your team When do you know when you have enough data and are ready to make a decision Using search data to augment your inventory of customer selection How to make the business case once you have the data How to get started with data driven decision making Resources Chip’s website Subscribe to Chip's Newsletter Getting in touch with Chip Connect with Chip on LinkedIn

Claire is the Co-Founder of Elevate & Forget the Funnel.  She has tremendous experience in SaaS marketing and growth.  Here are just a few of the topics we discussed in this episode: What customer-led growth means and how to nail it The difference between customer-led and product-led The importance of creating the experience the customer needs How to get started leveraging customer insights How to think about the volume of customer insights you need Getting started with better understanding your customers Connecting with Claire Elevate Forget The Funnel Follow Claire on Twitter

Caleb Elston is the Co-Founder and CEO of Delighted.  Charles Studt is Head of Marketing at Delighted.  Together they make a rockstar team of experts passionate about making your product better through customer feedback.  Here are just a few of the topics we’ll discuss in this episode: The awesome story of how Delighted started Why you should dog food your own product (dogfooding) How to build a B2B product with a B2C mindset (and the pros & cons of this strategy) Why you need more than NPS data The importance of qualitative data to drive your product forward How to increase the mindshare of your team by getting to the customer Why Delighted funnels customer data back into their Slack account Resources Back to business from Delighted (Free resources, thanks Delighted!) Reaching out to the Delighted team Email the team at hello@delighted.com Bonus Tip - “A ton of value lies with your customer success team” - Caleb Elston

Rob Fitzpatrick is a serial entrepreneur and author of the classic customer research book, The Mom Test.  Rob talks to us about the importance of customer research as it applies to your business through the various stages of growth.  Here are just a few of the topics we’ll discuss in this episode: The incredibly cool story of how The Mom Test came to be Conducting customer research through different stages of growth Overcoming objections to customer research How to make customer research a routine Why sales is all about having learning goals The importance of forming organizational habits Resources The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss This is Marketing by Seth Godin The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick Reaching out to Rob Follow Rob on Twitter Connect with Rob on LinkedIn Send Rob and email at rob@robfitz.com

Jenko Kent is the founder and creative director at VideGro and has spent almost a decade directing and creating engaging video content that drives serious ROI for DTC brands. In this episode, Jenko shares: Why rapid iteration beats perfect planning for creating content. The process VideGrow uses go drive outsized returns for brands. The types of video content best suited for each stage of your customers journey. Resources VideGro Website Reaching out to Jenko Email Jenko at Jenko@videgro.co On Twitter @JenkoKent

David Greenberg is the SVP of Marketing at Act-On Software.  David shares more about his background and how he wound up helping companies like Act-On grow successfully through marketing.  Here are some of the highlights of what you can expect in this episode: What marketing can do to optimize your sales funnel Why you need qualitative data from your customer to make improvements in sales, marketing and product How to manage a co-hort of users to get regular feedback about your product What you need to do to build a marketing machine that works for your company How customers want to make purchasing decisions today Resources Act-On Content Library Act-On Blog Reaching out to David Connect with David on LinkedIn

In this episode we’re joined by Adrienne Barnes. Adrienne is a B2B SaaS Content Marketer and strategist who’s advised and written for top B2B SaaS companies including Stripe, Drift, and Demio. She is also the founder of Best Buyer Personas. We discussed: Why it’s important to know the relationship your customers have with your company? How to apply what you know about customers to your content? How to get started with customer research? Resources How SaaS Marketers Can Get Buy-In on Qualitative Research Projects Connecting with Adrienne Reach out on Twitter‍ Adrienne’s personal website

In this episode we’re joined by Louis Nicholls. Louis is the founder of Sales for Founders, SparkLoop and several successfully exited companies. He’s also the author of the Social Proof Handbook. We discussed: - The importance of understanding your customers goals - Creating shared success plans for customers - Why sales calls are the fastest way to learn about your early customers Resources - Sales for Founders - Sales Survival Guide Reaching out to Louis ‍- Follow Louis on Twitter - Check out SparkLoop - Email louis@salesforfounders.com

Show Highlights Personalization is all about who you are targeting Everything starts with identifying and solving the customer pain points “Once you can target, the world changes for you” Nailing down an effective process to enable you to move into new segments Learn more about the future of personalization Resources Send with Scout Blog Reaching out to Jordan Sendwithscout.com Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn Email Jordan at Jordan@sendwithscout.com  

Hiten is a prolific SaaS founder of companies including Kissmetrics and Crazy Egg and is now working on FYI. He also runs Product Habits to help other founders develop the habits they need for success. In this episode, Hiten shares: His framework for identifying product ideas worth pursuing, How to identify what your customer really want. What Hiten has learned from David Cancel about different go to market strategies. Why continuous testing drives increased product value. Resources Product Habits Building an MVP for FYI in 5 days Reaching out to Hiten Reach out on Twitter or sign up for FYI