DiscoverThe Dave Gerhardt Show6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program with Shoshana Kordova
6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program with Shoshana Kordova

6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program with Shoshana Kordova

Update: 2025-05-29
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#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

  • (00:00 ) - – Intro

  • (03:12 ) - – Meet Shoshana: From Journalism to Product Marketing

  • (04:22 ) - – What Is “Customer-Infused Messaging”?

  • (06:07 ) - – Why Customer Insights Beat Surface-Level Deliverables

  • (08:07 ) - – How to Work with CS and Sales Without Stepping on Toes

  • (11:07 ) - – Navigating Competing Priorities Across Teams

  • (13:27 ) - – Selling the Value of Customer Interviews Internally

  • (17:27 ) - – The 6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program

  • (19:22 ) - – Step 1: Aligning Goals with Stakeholders

  • (21:02 ) - – Step 2: Building a Customer Interview Pipeline

  • (23:07 ) - – Step 3: Keeping Stakeholders in the Loop (Hint: Use Slack)

  • (29:08 ) - – Step 4: How to Run a Great Customer Interview

  • (34:38 ) - – Focus on Problems, Not Just the Product

  • (37:13 ) - – Uncovering Real ROI with Better Follow-Ups

  • (38:23 ) - – Step 5: Documenting What Actually Matters

  • (40:43 ) - – How to Organize Insights into a Shared Database

  • (43:33 ) - – Step 6: Putting Insights to Work (Case Studies, Messaging, ICPs)

  • (45:53 ) - – Should You Hire an External Interviewer?

  • (48:08 ) - – What’s a Realistic Interview Cadence?

  • (49:38 ) - – Other Places to Find Customer Insights (When Interviews Aren’t Possible)

  • (51:13 ) - – Final Tips: Mining G2 Reviews, Webinars, and Internal Teams

  • (52:27 ) - – Wrap-Up and Where to Find Shoshana



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***

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***

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6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program with Shoshana Kordova

6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program with Shoshana Kordova

Dave Gerhardt