Stop Guessing: Let Your Customers Shape Your Next Big Move

 In today’s hyper-competitive landscape, product decisions can’t be left to guesswork. Yet too many companies still roll out features, offerings, or even full product lines based on assumptions rather than customer validation. The result? Wasted resources, missed opportunities, and sometimes, painful missteps that could have been avoided.

At MAT Services, we believe the most powerful compass for your business isn’t gut instinct, it’s your customer. And the fastest way to align your direction with their needs is through custom, targeted surveys designed to reveal exactly what drives their behavior, their choices, and their loyalty.

Why Surveys Matter More Than Ever

The voice of the customer isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s the lifeblood of strategic decision-making. CEOs and founders we speak with often share the same pain points:

• Product teams building in the dark. Development cycles based on assumptions instead of validated needs.
• Missed market signals. Competitors moving faster because they’ve tapped into emerging trends first.
• Customer churn. Teams struggling to understand why customers leave, when the answers are right there, if only someone asked the right questions.

A well-crafted survey flips the script. It gives leaders real-time insight into what their market values, what frustrates their customers, and what will make them stay.

The MAT Services Difference

We don’t believe in cookie-cutter surveys. Our team works with you to design instruments that surface the 3–5 actionable insights you can take straight into boardroom discussions and product roadmaps.

Whether it’s:

• Validating your next product concept
• Understanding why adoption rates lag
• Gauging how market trends will impact your strategy

…our surveys deliver clarity where there was once uncertainty.

And because we’ve seen too many businesses waste money on surveys that don’t deliver, we back our work with a simple promise:

If you don’t walk away with actionable insights, you don’t pay.

De-Risk Your Next Decision

Before you commit budget, headcount, or reputation to your next big move, ask yourself: Do I really know what my customers want?

If the answer isn’t a confident “yes,” then the smartest investment you can make is to find out—before the market tells you the hard way.

At MAT Services, we help CEOs and founders turn the voice of the customer into a competitive advantage. Ready to see how a single survey can change your next decision?

👉 Contact us today to get started.

Why Voice of Customer (VoC) Surveys Are Your Secret Competitive Advantage

 

In today’s fast-moving markets, listening to your customers isn’t optional, it’s essential. A strong Voice of Customer (VoC) program not only improves relationships but also drives growth, differentiation, and long-term success.

Drawing on insights from CustomerGauge’s article on Voice of Customer benefits, here’s how VoC + trend surveys can give your organization the edge, and how MAT Services can help you execute them with excellence.

The Power of Knowing What Customers Really Want

CustomerGauge highlights several crucial benefits of a VoC program:

• Deeper Relationships and Retention
  Closing the loop on customer feedback strengthens trust, loyalty, and referrals.
• Growth & Revenue Opportunities
  VoC surfaces unmet needs, opening upsell, cross-sell, and product innovation pathways.
• Sharper Products & Processes
  Feedback reveals friction points you didn’t see, letting you refine features and streamline operations.
• Clarity Across the Organization
  Customer data highlights where service excels and where improvements are most urgent.
• Efficiency Gains
  Over time, VoC lowers acquisition costs, reduces churn, and improves margins.

 

How Trend Surveys Amplify VoC as a Competitive Advantage

Trend surveys are a specific form of VoC effort focused on broader shifts in the marketplace. They don’t just measure today’s sentiment, they uncover what’s coming tomorrow.

With a trend survey, you can:

• Identify emerging demands before competitors.
• Tailor your roadmap and messaging to what customers will need next.
• Differentiate your brand as a thought leader.
• Use outputs as content and lead-generation tools.

What to look for in a Partner

You don’t just want a dataset; you want a partner that can turn the survey insights into business outcomes.

• 🎯 Tailored Design: Questions crafted around your strategy and personas.
• 📊 Actionable Insights: Clear recommendations, not raw numbers.
• 🖋 Thought Leadership Packaging: Whitepapers, reports, and content that position you at the forefront.
• 💰 Lead Generation Built-In: Surveys that double as pipeline drivers.
• 🤝 Trusted Partnership: Long-term, transparent collaboration focused on your success.

Real-World Impact

A Marketing Director from a large public safety organization shared:

“We partnered with MAT Services to identify trends around AI in our primary customer market. We leveraged the data to help drive our product decisions, in multiple thought leadership presentations, in our Investor newsletter, and as a lead generation tool. In the 6 months since we published the report as a lead generation asset, the report has influenced $70 million in pipeline and $9 million in closed bookings.”

Ready to Leverage Your Customers’ Voice?

Voice of Customer and trend surveys aren’t just tools, they are competitive weapons. They help you:

• Innovate faster by spotting emerging needs.
• Win more share by aligning with customer priorities.
• Elevate your brand with thought leadership.
• Empower your leadership with metrics investors and executives value.

At MAT Services, we’ll help you design, run, and leverage surveys that turn customer feedback into a strategic advantage.

📩 Contact MAT Services today to unlock the insights your organization needs to lead your market.

Why Your Customers Need to be Heard – a Cracker Barrel miss?

 

Cracker Barrel’s recent rebranding and store modernization storyline reads like a cautionary tale in corporate strategy and a missed opportunity before the-fact validation.

A Costly Modernization Reversal

In 2024, Cracker Barrel embarked on a $700 million modernization initiative designed to refresh its image and attract younger diners. The makeover included brighter interiors with cleaner décor, updated menus, new conveniences like curbside pickup, and a minimalist redesign of their iconic logo replacing “Uncle Herschel” with a wordmark-centric look.

But for a brand built on nostalgia, these changes hit a nerve. Loyal customers saw the updates as dismissive of the brand’s heritage and charm. The company’s stock dropped 7–11%, equivalent to a market value loss of $94–$143 million in a matter of days. Fueled by a cultural backlash that escalated into a political flashpoint Cracker Barrel quickly reversed course, reinstating the original logo and promising to retain beloved elements like rocking chairs and peg games.

Could a Professional Survey Service Have Prevented This?

Absolutely. A proactive, professionally executed survey or research program focused on core brand elements could have tipped off leadership to customer sentiment before investing such a large sum. A strong survey approach might have included:

• Segmentation Analysis: Differentiating customer attitudes by demographic, geography, and frequency of visits.
• Emotional Attachment Assessments: Measuring the emotional and cultural significance of key brand symbols.
• Message Testing of Concepts: Evaluating reaction to modernized interiors and logo design via focus groups or quant surveys.

The Price of Neglecting the Voice of the Customer

Cracker Barrel executives later acknowledged a failure in communication and planning, stating they “could have done a better job” sharing who they are and what they’ll always be. The swift reversal, while necessary, does not erase the market value lost or the brand trust shaken.

Had a professional survey service been engaged early, Cracker Barrel could have co-created modernization paths with its most loyal customers. Not only might this have saved hundreds of millions, but it could have strengthened product-market fit and avoided a cultural PR crisis.

The heart of this episode is not about resisting change, it’s about listening first. A disciplined, customer-informed approach could have allowed Cracker Barrel to update its look while preserving the soul of the brand that customers love.

Don’t want to fall victim to your market, reach out to Marketing Awareness Technology (https://matsvcs.com/) to see how we can help your organization gain new valuable insights.