6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program with Shoshana Kordova

The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)

#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
• (02:53) - – Meet Shoshana: From Journalism to Product Marketing
• (04:03) - – What Is “Customer-Infused Messaging”?
• (05:48) - – Why Customer Insights Beat Surface-Level Deliverables
• (07:48) - – How to Work with CS and Sales Without Stepping on Toes
• (10:48) - – Navigating Competing Priorities Across Teams
• (13:08) - – Selling the Value of Customer Interviews Internally
• (17:08) - – The 6 Steps to Building a Customer Insights Program
• (19:03) - – Step 1: Aligning Goals with Stakeholders
• (20:43) - – Step 2: Building a Customer Interview Pipeline
• (22:48) - – Step 3: Keeping Stakeholders in the Loop (Hint: Use Slack)
• (28:38) - – Step 4: How to Run a Great Customer Interview
• (34:08) - – Focus on Problems, Not Just the Product
• (36:43) - – Uncovering Real ROI with Better Follow-Ups
• (37:53) - – Step 5: Documenting What Actually Matters
• (40:13) - – How to Organize Insights into a Shared Database
• (43:03) - – Step 6: Putting Insights to Work (Case Studies, Messaging, ICPs)
• (45:23) - – Should You Hire an External Interviewer?
• (47:38) - – What’s a Realistic Interview Cadence?
• (49:08) - – Other Places to Find Customer Insights (When Interviews Aren’t Possible)
• (50:43) - – Final Tips: Mining G2 Reviews, Webinars, and Internal Teams
• (51:57) - – Wrap-Up and Where to Find Shoshana

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