Your customer’s truth is on Capterra

Ok, here's something ridiculous about customer research.

(The good kind of ridiculous.)

You know all those insights you're breaking your brain trying to find? They're literally just... sitting there. Already collected. Already organized. Just waiting for you to grab them.

I'm serious.

Here's what I mean:

Go to G2 or Capterra right now. Like, right this second. Pull up any software review. I’ll make it easier, look up Basecamp.

See those perfectly structured answers about pain points, buying decisions, and alternatives?

That's your research gold. Right there.

And here's the really fun part – you can snoop on your competitors too. (Legally. Ethically. All that good stuff.)

Want to know exactly how to mine this gold? Here's my 15-minute routine:

First 5 mins: The Review Sprint

• Hit G2 or Capterra
• Pull up your product's reviews
• Grab your top 2 competitors
• Start scanning

(Pro tip: The negative reviews of competitors? Pure gold for understanding market gaps and positioning. Just saying.)

Next 5 mins: Pattern Party

Look for:

• Why people bought
• What almost stopped them
• What they actually use daily
• What drives them nuts

You'll start seeing patterns faster than you can say "voice of customer."

Last 5 mins: The Magic Trick

Here's where it gets good:

• Dump those reviews into ChatGPT
• Ask for sentiment analysis
• Watch the patterns pop
• Capture exact phrases (Because why reinvent the customer's EXACT language?)

Listen.

You could spend weeks crafting customer surveys. You could beg for customer interviews. You could guess what matters to buyers.

Or...

You could just use what's already out there.

Because here's the thing:

Great research isn't about confirming what we think. It’s about discovering what customers actually do.

And nothing's more relatable than actual paying customers telling you exactly why they bought and how they went through the purchasing journey.

Think about it.

Every hesitation they had? That's your market insight.

Every alternative they considered? That's your competitive analysis.

Every feature they love? That's your product direction.

Want to try this yourself?

Here's your homework:

1. Pick a product on G2
2. Set a 15-min timer
3. Follow this routine
4. Watch your insights get sharper

Because once you see how much customer truth is just sitting there?

You'll never research the hard way again.

Feel free to check out my detailed step-by-step post on finding these insights with examples:

ChatGPT: A Guide To Understanding Your Market Without Customer Contact

Learn where to find valuable customer data, what to extract, and how to quickly analyze it using review websites and Chat GPT. Don’t waste time; get the insights you need to confidently start building and marketing your startup today.

Shavin PeiriesShavin Peiries