What is Founder Calls?

Founder Calls are essentially feedback-seeking discussions wherein the founder or co-founder of a company interacts directly with customers.

It's a powerful growth strategy that builds relationships, drives customer engagement, and improves product or service based on real-world input. The actual term itself might be relatively new to the marketing sphere, but the underlying principle of soliciting feedback and establishing direct relationships with customers dates back to the earliest forms of commerce and trade.

This tactic falls under the "Retention" category in marketing, which aims to keep current customers satisfied and engaged with the product or service. Founder Calls are immensely effective for retention because they show customers that the company cares for their opinion. They aren't just a random number in the database waiting to be sold to, they are valued participants in the brand's journey. When customers feel valued and heard, they are more likely to stick around and remain loyal to the brand.

Examples of Founder Calls

1. B2B Software Startup: A software startup catering to other businesses might conduct Founder Calls to check how their product is serving the customers. They might discuss problems that the customers are facing and possible improvements in the software.

2. Fashion Ecommerce Store: The founder of a fashion ecommerce store could use Founder Calls to understand customer preferences around seasonal styles, delivery experiences and any grievances they might have.

3. Online Health Consultation Service: The cofounder of an online health consultation service could call their customers for input on the consultation experience or even broaden the conversation to understand their health goals and steer their program accordingly.

4. Subscription Box Company: Founders could call subscribers specifically inquiring about the freshness of the produce they received, or the variety of products. This can provide deep insights into the company's strengths and weaknesses.

5. EdTech Platform: An educational tech platform could implement founder calls to collect testimonials from satisfied users or understand how to tailor their learning tools to suit different learning styles and needs.

Marketing Tactics Similar to Founder Calls

• Customer Surveys: These are sets of questions asked from customers to gather feedback. They are less personal but can reach more customers at once.
• User Interviews: This is a one-on-one interaction with users to draw qualitative feedback, similar to founder calls but doesn't necessarily involve the founder.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): This is a tool to measure customer's loyalty and satisfaction.
• Customer Reviews: Encouraging customers to express their experiences on a public forum that can be beneficial for potential customers.
• User Testing : This involves observing how consumers use a product or service and getting their feedback on the usability and functionality.

Link to this page

If you share this content in your blog post or email newsletter, you can use the tool below to quickly copy and paste the link.