If you’re not talking to your customers, someone else will

by: Grant Gooding

Read Time: 4 minutes

The vast majority of businesses don’t proactively talk to their customers. Those who admit it to me usually say something like, “We interviewed some customers a few years ago when we did a rebrand,” or, “We think we have a good feel for what they want.” But here’s what actually happens: customers rarely complain—they just quietly leave. 

In fact, in a study by CB Insights in 2023, 65% of companies that fail blame it directly on misunderstanding their customers. If you’re not intentionally talking to your customers, you’re missing critical insights—and you won’t realize it until customers leave, your revenue drops and it’s too late to do anything about it.

This has been studied extensively, and the results consistently prove one thing: proactively leveraging customer insights is transformative for business performance. Here are just a few powerful examples if you are a numbers person like me:

• Organizations leveraging customer insights outperform their peers by 85% in sales growth and more than 25% in gross margin. (McKinsey & Co.)
• 68% of customers leave because they feel the business doesn’t care enough about them. (HubSpot)
• 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better experience, but most companies have no idea what “better” means to their customers. (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
• Companies that actively collect customer feedback see customer retention improve by up to 25%. (Bain & Co.)

Without structured, proactive customer insights, your business is essentially guessing—and guessing is risky. But here’s the real danger: while many businesses remain complacent, some of your competitors are quietly capitalizing on this opportunity. And it doesn’t take much to outperform a company that’s guessing.

The Good News: You’re Not Alone (but it’s also bad news)

You might feel reassured knowing most businesses neglect proactive customer research—but here’s the kicker: because it’s so common, those few competitors who do bother asking the right questions will easily outperform the rest.

Right now, businesses that commit to regularly understanding their customers are experiencing 306% higher customer lifetime value (CLV) than those that don’t (Motista). The math is simple: better insights lead directly to increased revenue and stronger customer loyalty.

Your competitor doesn’t even need a superior product or service to beat you. They just need the curiosity to ask meaningful questions and the willingness to act on the insights. Or, perhaps, a trusted partner to handle the heavy lifting and translate customer data into actionable strategies—something that could easily become your competitive advantage.

Make Customer Conversations Your Competitive Advantage

If your customer research is limited to occasional chats, casual assumptions, or outdated information, you’re leaving your business vulnerable. It’s time to take control—before your competitors do.

This is exactly why companies partner with us: we proactively uncover the real reasons your customers buy, the hidden factors driving them away, and exactly what it takes to turn passive buyers into loyal advocates.

You don’t have to wonder why your revenue is stalling or why customers quietly disappear. You can find out right now—before someone else does.

Let’s start the conversation. Because if you don’t talk to your customers, someone else will.