Val Geisler - you're sitting on a gold mine

When I spoke at MicroConf in 2018 I had multiple conversations that went something like this:

Me: So, do you interview your customers? Founder: Well, yeah. Kinda. I mean, we talk to our customers every day. They talk to us about the product, about features, and about problems they're having using the product.
Me: Cool cool. But do you actually talk to them? Ask them about their goals for the business, what keeps them up at night, why they do what they do?
Founder: ...

This was a common conversation. To the point that when Claire Suellentrop finally took the stage at the end of the second day and talked alllll about customer interviews I was like PRAISEBABYJESUSYESPREACHSISTERFRIEND!

And I totally get why you aren't interviewing your customers.

It takes time, which you don't have.

It takes attention, which you can't give.

It means talking to people, which scares your inner introvert to even think about.

So you go heads down into your product and focus on features and bugs (there's plenty of those) and you build what you think everyone wants.

Right?

Now before you stop reading this I wanna let you know I'm not here to push an agenda around carving out weeks of your time for customer interviews (not yet anyways). I believe in the power of those interviews, yes, and I certainly include them with every single project I work on. But it's not exactly what I want to talk about today.

Today I want to tell you about two places you can go to fake those customer interviews. To get insights on how your customers think, what they need, and what you can build for them.

In minutes.

And you don't have to talk to a single person.

Ready?

These two websites are GOLD freakin’ MINES.

So what are they already?

YouTube and Amazon.

Wait, what?!!?!?

Lemme explain a bit here:

YouTube:

Bloggers have blog comments, YouTubers have YouTube comments. And if you think blog readers have a lot to say in their commenting, they have nothing on YouTube Subscribers.

Just like blogs, YouTube comments up the SEO rankings of a YouTube channel so if a channel owner wants more eyes on their stuff, they better be maximizing those comments. This is where the gold mine comes in:

YouTube commenters are saying exactly what they wish the video had (or even what they loooooooved about it). Comments like “This went by too fast!” or “The first 4 minutes were great but I don’t have time for a long 20 minute video about InDesign” tell you how long to make your content if you’re producing courses or programs. Whereas comments such as “I'd love your opinion on if the likes/dislike buttons being made private or public makes a difference in views” and “What sources do you recommend for finding good music?” give you your next blog, webinar, or email course topic.

Find the accounts of businesses who share your ideal client and dig through those comments. Grab screenshots, start a Google Doc, or drop ‘em in your Dropbox files. Save these gems to build the content - and products! - your potential customers are craving.

Amazon:

So this one requires a bit more digging but it's possible.

In Amazon you’ll want to head to those books that your ideal customers rave about. You’ve probably seen them in Facebook Groups or on Instagram or maybe you’ve even talked to a few of your customers and they’ve mentioned a favorite book here or there. So go to those books and hit the button for the 3 star reviews.

Why 3-star? Because 5-star reviews are either a) paid for or b) totally biased and not incredibly useful in this case. 4-star are nice if there aren’t any 3-star. But let’s aim for 3.

In those 3 star reviews, you’re looking for those same gems as you found on YouTube. The “This book was missing an entire chapter about ______.” or “It was good to read but pretty basic, I want something with more evidence based research behind it.” << those are your magic bits. Take them and fill in the gaps.

See the goal here? You’re looking for what isn’t already out there. If all you do is repeat what everyone else is saying, you can’t stand out from the ever-growing crowd.

Knowing your customers is more than just responding to support tickets.

Taking the time to get to know what they want - and need - is what will help you build a product your customers want and keep you miles ahead of your competition.

As Whitney Hess puts it:

“If we don’t take the time to learn about the people we serve, we’ll never end up creating a solution that really makes their problems go away. We’ll just be creating a band-aid that will eventually stop working.”

So, please, eventually do the interviews (or hire me to do them for you). But today? Right now? Open a new tab, get over to YouTube and Amazon, and get to work.

Less band-aids, more solutions.

-Val