Customer Interviews for Insights: Why Do Customers Buy From You?

Your vision is that you know all of the problems your customers need to be solved and your product is perfectly marketed as such.

You have a great product, a genius idea, but do you know the exact problem that it solves or job to be done for your target customer? Do you know the places they will find you, how they may respond to your brand message or communication style? Whether or not you feel confident in this, have you thought about what insights you could gain if you take the time to interview your customers or potential customers? How do you think it would change if you had this information directly from them?

What do you know, think you know, and what don't you know about your customers?

Take some time one day and divide a Google Doc, Word Doc, or piece of paper into three columns. In the first heading note "What I Know", the second heading should say "What I Think I Know" and the third should say "What I Don't Know." Fill in the spaces under each column. Sounds easy enough, right? If you are like most, you will catch yourself putting things in the "What I Know" column and then questioning yourself because you do not actually have confirmed data here, but rather, it is very easy to add biased information here. It is really important to gather the information that is verified and direct from your customers, through primary research.

By performing customer interviews, you will gain insights you never even thought of about your product, about how they find you, the way they use your product, their thoughts on how you communicate with them, the list could be endless. The questions you design should be focused on what you think you know and what you don't know so that you can fill in the gaps.

Top tips to consider for interviewing customers or leads

1. A time frame of 30 minutes to one-hour maximum needs to be communicated in the request and then you must stick to that time frame.

2. You may want to offer a gift card, discount on services, or donation to their favorite charity in exchange for their time.

3. Ensure the questions you ask will lead to answers you cannot find elsewhere doing your own research. Do all of your research upfront through social forums, general customer interactions, internet research, and in some cases academic research so that the time spent in this interview is optimized.

4. Test the interview questions by reading them aloud and then with a friend to ensure flow. Once complete, take that test information and determine whether you could use it to make changes to your business. If nothing stands out, then your questions need revisions.

5. Lay the questions out in a way that flows like a conversation.

6. Try to avoid yes/no type of answers, the idea is to get the customer to talk and provide detail. At the end of the questions ask yourself, "So what, who cares?" If the question doesn't provide you with something insightful, remove it.

7. Consider how you introduce the interview and get the interviewee comfortable. Someone who feels comfortable right away is going to offer you a lot more information and detail than someone who feels it's an uptight awkward experience.

8. Ask ahead to record the interview so that you can go back later and listen to ensure you gather all of the insights.

9. Always thank the interviewee.

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