What Your Best Customers Would Tell You...If You Just Asked

Friends, let’s run a quick thought experiment.

Imagine you could sit down, confidentially, with your 10 best customers. They're the ones that are loyal. They are referral partners. They just "get it."

Now imagine they felt completely safe being honest about how you're doing serving them. They won't say just what you want to hear to be polite. They'll tell you, in their own words, why you're doing such a great job serving them and also the blindspots you may not see yourself.

What would they tell you?

After a substantial amount of one-on-one Voice of Customer conversations across industries, I can tell you this: It’s almost never what leaders expect. One of those phrases we hear the most is, "I had no idea."

Here are five things your best customers would likely say...if you just asked.

1. "We want more from you, not less, and we're willing to pay for it. "

This one usually shocks leaders, and with good reason, because they assume customers want to reduce spend. But in reality, your strongest customers are often saying something along these lines:

“If they offered more strategic support, we’d absolutely invest in it.”

“We’d love deeper involvement.”

There is frequently untapped expansion nestled quietly inside your stellar customer accounts, but they won't always ask you directly.

Why?

• They don’t know if you offer it. (And they may be scared to ask. You'd be surprised how many customers respond along the lines of "I didn't want to ask and look dumb.")

• They don’t want to seem demanding. (Also, if your customer isn't willing to reach out because they think you're too busy and they feel that strain, that's another issue to tackle.)

• They assume you’ll pitch them if it exists. (Part of your job is to give your customers insight into what you think will best serve them. They can always opt-out.)

On the flip side, companies are worried about being too pushy or salesy.

But here's the truth: Your best customers often wish you were more proactive and when you're not, you're leaving money on the table.

2. "We don't actually know everything you're capable of."

This one comes up a lot.

When asked, “What do you think they’re best at?” customers will describe what you already do for for them. But more often than not, they don't know about adjacent services, deeper capabilities, and expertise that you're waiting to share. Often, they'll say, “Wait, they do that too?”

You assume your website explains it or onboarding covered it or they heard about it when they were first pitched. But from the client’s perspective, they experience only what touches them directly, and that becomes their entire perception of you. We've had customers tell us: "I pay someone else to do that and I could have been paying them!"

Under-communication of capability is one of the most common hidden growth blockers.

3. "Communication could be better."

Your communication isn't terrible, and it certainly isn't broken, but it could be tightened up. This doesn't always surface in surveys because it feels like something that isn't that important, when in fact, it's vital. Silence creates ambiguity and ambiguity can create doubt.

When in doubt, over-communicate.

4. "Some of what you say is jargon that I don't actually understand, and I'm too afraid to ask."

If your industry is heavy in acronyms, technical terminology, or perhaps you just have trademarked processes of your own, don't assume that your customers always know what you're talking about.

"I just nod along," one customer told me. Yikes.

Clarity is kindness.

5. "We don't use your services the way we actually should."

Listen up when your customers say this because it's subtle but important. If you've invested into technology or systems to help your customers maximize working with you, only to find out they aren't using them to their full capacity (or at all!), it's time to lean in and understand why.

Even your best customers will audit everyone they work with. You want to make sure they fully understand how to leverage working with you fully for maximum value.

Let's end where we started: If your customers could speak candidly about working with you and what they truly value, what would they say?

What might be waiting for you in those answers?