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- My calendar looks like a game of Tetris made entirely of customer calls.
My calendar looks like a game of Tetris made entirely of customer calls.
Why these conversations are the best energy boost before launch.
Stefanie Brown
August 22, 2025
👋 Hey friend,
We’re three weeks out from INBOUND, and my calendar looks like a game of Tetris made entirely of customer calls.
Some PMs dread this part. I actually love it.
Last week, I had one of those goosebump moments: while testing a new feature, a customer recited my exact vision for the dashboards experience back to me. Word for word. Unprompted.
It reminded me why these calls are worth the effort. Even when the feedback is tough, I leave more energized, not less.
Table of Contents
👱♀️🐻 The Goldilocks Rule for Customer Calls
Too few calls and you over index on a couple of loud voices.
Too many calls after patterns are clear and you drown in noise.
The skill is knowing when you are still learning, and when it is time to act.
That balance turns calls into momentum, not meetings.
💡 Quick Tip: If the last three calls surface the same theme with the same examples, you have a pattern. Shift from collecting to synthesizing
📞 My Pre-Launch Customer Call Toolkit
Prep a handful of questions, but don’t over-script
I keep a short list (no more than 10). But the best calls often go off script — that’s usually where the real insights live.
📌 Try this today: Prep your “core” questions, but let curiosity drive the conversation when things go sideways.
Frame the call as safe space
I always start with: “There are no wrong answers.” If a customer gets stuck, that means there’s room for improvement. Instead of showing them how, I’ll ask: “What would you expect to happen here?”
📌 Try this today: Add that framing to your opening line. It shifts the tone from test → collaboration
Capture and synthesize (Granola + Dovetail)
I use Granola to record and summarize (lifesaver for quotes and talk tracks) and Dovetail to tag themes and create highlight reels. Our UX partner turns that into a doc that leadership can scan in minutes.
📌 Try this today: Share one customer clip in Slack with a one-line takeaway. Seeing and hearing users directly hits harder than notes alone.
Bring engineers in, but be intentional
General feedback calls are useful, but the highest ROI is when an engineer hears customers react to the feature they built. That direct connection builds instant alignment.
📌 Try this today: In your team slack channel, post all your customer calls for the week and what they’re for. Invite one engineer to a call tied to their recent work, and ask them to share one takeaway in standup.
Centralize and share the feedback
We keep a single “[Project] Customer Feedback slack channel. If it’s not in there, it doesn’t exist. Then, we make it public: post highlights in our Friday wins thread, drop clips into team Slack, and make sure managers see the trends. Visibility creates momentum.
📌 Try this today: Share one positive quote and one pain point in your next team update. Watch how fast it drives buy-in.
📚️ Quick Reads for Better Conversations
The Mom Test – Rob Fitzpatrick’s guide to asking questions customers can’t fake
Continuous Discovery Habits – Teresa Torres on building weekly touchpoints with users
Talking to Humans – Giff Constable’s short, practical playbook for user interviews
🌟 Challenge: Turn One Call Into Momentum
Book 3 feedback calls this week.
Ask, “What is one way this changed how you work?”
Capture a verbatim quote and a 90 second clip.
Share both with your team and choose one change to prioritize in an upcoming sprint.
See you next Friday,
– Stef
💬 What is your best customer call moment? Reply and tell me. I am collecting stories.
📬 Forward this to a PM who needs a reminder that customer calls are rocket fuel.
P.S. If you want help sharpening your call routine, I’m doing free mentoring sessions on ADPList.
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