You already have research
Every company sits on piles of customer feedback nobody reads systematically: reviews, support tickets, chat logs, sales call notes, returns reasons, cancellation surveys. It’s free, it’s in the customer’s words, and it’s unprompted, so it isn’t shaped by your questions. In WXM’s Wonder phase it’s often the fastest place to start (Wavesy).
Like interviews, it’s self-reported: it tells you what people think and say, so pair it with behavioural data (Nielsen Norman Group).
Where to look
| Source | Best for |
|---|---|
| Your reviews (all ratings) | Motivations, outcomes, language; problems in 2 to 3 star reviews |
| Competitors’ reviews | What the market loves and hates; gaps you can fill |
| Pre-purchase chat and emails | Objections and missing information |
| Support tickets | Post-purchase problems that cause returns and churn |
| Sales call notes | B2B objections, alternatives considered |
| Returns and cancellation reasons | Expectations your pages set wrong |
A simple coding method
Put feedback in a spreadsheet, one item per row, and tag each with one or more of:
- Problem / trigger: why they were looking
- Desired outcome: what success looks like to them
- Objection / anxiety: what worried them
- Deciding factor: why they chose
- Experience issue: what went wrong
Add a column for exact phrases worth reusing. After 100 to 200 items, count tags and read the top themes.
From themes to action
- Top objection not answered on the page? That’s a hypothesis: answer it where the doubt arises.
- Expectation mismatch in returns or support? Your product page may be promising the wrong thing.
- Phrases that repeat? Use them in headlines and bullets. See conversion copywriting.
Recap
Collect feedback you already have, code it into five categories, count themes, keep exact phrases, and turn top objections into hypotheses. Next lesson: jobs to be done and customer language.
Practical exercise
Export your last 100 reviews (yours or a competitor's) into a spreadsheet. Code them with the five categories in this lesson. Which objection appears most? Is it answered on your product page?