After years of working with customers on the front lines, I’ve noticed a few quirks.

Things that many founders don’t understand because these are not obvious or intuitive.

(Customer success is different than sales!)

Here are 4 unexpected truths about customers!

And if you want more, check out the Ultimate Customer Success Guide. You know I love Customer Success! 😁

1. Customers want you to tell them what to do.

Most All customers are busy. Your product is one of 100 responsibilities. They don’t have time to think deeply and strategically about how they’re using it or how to improve.

They want you to tell them!

This doesn’t mean boss them around. This means guide them on the journey with proactive, helpful, confident recommendations.

Francis Cordon had a guest post about the Customer Journey Map and exactly how to guide your customers!

SAY THIS:

• “Most customers like you do xyz.”

• “Most customers like you find the most value focusing on X.”

• “Our other customers at your stage start implementing <this feature>.”

2. Customers want you to ask them.

Frame it like a question.

Even if you know the answer is yes!

You are asking permission and keeping the customer in charge.

It’s so important I did several slides on it in my Customer Success 101 Training!

This may seem like a direct contradiction to “tell them what to do” but it’s not.

Even when you guide customers, you’re still doing it with a light touch. No “shoulding!” (e.g. You should do this.) Literally, no one appreciates that wording.

When you ask a question, you keep the customer in control AND you make it easy for the customer to share feedback.

If you state something and a customer wants something else, now they have to disagree.

Sometimes that’s too much of a hassle, your customers may be too nice, or they may be secretly annoyed.

Don’t make them work hard or argue with you! Phrase it like a question.

SAY THIS:

• “Is it okay if I check with the engineers and get back to you tomorrow?”

• “Does that work for you?”

• “Here are step-by-step instructions. Is this what you were looking for?”

3. Customers want you to listen.

Customers are like your bff. They need an occasional vent sesh.

And once they unleash all their complaints on you, they will feel so much better!

You may not 😂 But that’s okay because customers are happy now!

Use Scale of 1-10 to get things back in perspective and remember that angry customers are a good sign!

Here’s the crazy part:

YOU DON’T EVEN NEED TO IMPLEMENT THEIR FEEDBACK 🤯🤯🤯

I mean, hopefully you do.

Hopefully they had some good ideas and hopefully you regularly implement customer feedback.

But for the customer, having someone really listen and appreciate their feedback can be enough.

If you’ve ever complained to your friend/spouse/parent about your day, you understand! It’s very satisfying and cathartic.

Now, if you talk to this customer frequently, tell them they have great ideas, smile and nod agreeably, and do nothing, that’s called grin-f*%king (or gaslighting? did I use that correctly? Gen Z, lmk!). Don’t do that.

But genuinely listening, even if you can’t fix it or take action right away, still has tons of value!

SAY THIS:

• “Thanks for sharing.”

• “What else has been on your mind?”

• “Appreciate you letting me know.”

4. Customers want you to agree.

The quickest way to calm down an upset customer?

Agree with them!

The human nature default is to defend yourself or your team.

RESIST THIS URGE.

It escalates the situation. They argue more and get more mad!

When you agree, you’re now on their side and you can both move into problem solving mode.

It’s also very disarming because it so rarely happens.

And let’s be real. If a customer is upset, there’s usually a nugget of truth it.

Or a massive boulder-sized amount of truth. Nothing is perfect, especially at a fast moving startup!

Here’s the nuance — can you thread the needle of agreement without throwing your team under the bus?

You are agreeing that their experience wasn’t good and there’s a problem to solve and their pain is real. Without agreeing that your team or product is terrible. 😜

SAY THIS:

• “I’m so sorry that happened. We absolutely need to do better.”

• “I agree that this is unacceptable. Can you tell me more so I can figure out the best next steps?”

• “You are right. I’m so glad you called.”

What is the quirky thing about customers that surprised you the most? What was your biggest lesson learned working with customers?

Share this with founders who need a customer primer or customer success folks on the front lines! I’d love to hear what you agree with or think that I’ve missed!