Customer research
Pieces tagged customer research across all sectors and formats.
Snapshot / SaaS / 9 June 2026
Reference compensation patterns in UK SaaS in 2026
Three patterns: no formal compensation, access-based benefits, honorarium per call. Tradeoffs of each. The pattern that scales cleanest at 100-500 person scale is access-based benefits with optional charity donation as an alternative.
The right level is recognition strong enough to sustain engagement, formal enough to be administered consistently, and modest enough not to be perceived as compensation.
Explained / SaaS / 8 June 2026
When references close deals and when they don't
References work in specific buyer conditions and are noise outside them. Five conditions where references close deals and four where they don't.
AEs over-request references at stages 1-2 when they have low confidence; under-request at stages 3-5 when references actually convert. The asymmetry is the lever to fix.
Explained / SaaS / 7 June 2026
Designing a customer reference programme
Customer references are the highest-leverage closing artefact in UK B2B SaaS. A programme design guide: the reference pool, the request process, the governance layer, compensation patterns, the closing-artefact effect, and what goes wrong without governance.
References are a closing artefact (MEDDPICC stage 3-5), not a discovery one. Cap usage at two reference calls per customer per quarter. Access-based benefits scale better than direct compensation.
Snapshot / SaaS / 6 June 2026
Internal vs external win/loss interviewing - the tradeoffs
Internal interviewers cost less and bring product context but produce systematically more polite loss interviews. External agencies cost £400-1,200 per interview and produce materially more honest loss interviews. The hybrid model dominates UK SaaS in 2026.
Most UK SaaS teams over-index on volume. The teams getting the most insight from win/loss are running fewer, more honest interviews.
Explained / SaaS / 5 June 2026
Three questions every closed-lost interview should ask
Three questions that triangulate the structural reason a deal was lost: timeline reconstruction, criteria evolution, counter-factual. Why these three; what each surfaces; common UK SaaS answers.
Together the three questions surface the buyer's narrative, the buyer's evolving criteria, and the buyer's counter-factual. The intersection is the structural reason the deal was lost.
Explained / SaaS / 4 June 2026
How to run a win/loss interview programme in UK SaaS
A win/loss interview programme is the most reliable signal on positioning, sales execution, and product fit available to UK SaaS GTM teams. A programme design guide: who interviews, what to ask, volume and cadence, what to do with the output, and what it costs.
Independence matters most. External agency for the bulk of interviews; executive interviews for highest-value lost deals. 10-15 interviews per quarter at 100-150 person scale.