How to conduct customer interviews effectively
How to get the maximum return out of customer interviews
Customer interviews are an integral part of any PM’s life. They provide an excellent opportunity for the PMs to explore and validate hypotheses, discover customer needs and satisfaction, or solve specific usability problems. Since a product manager’s ultimate goal is to help the customer be awesome, spending time with customers is critical to any PM’s role.
Though it may seem like a lot to get started with customer interviews, you can use it repeatedly once you’ve got a formula. And over time, you can nail the customer interviews.
In this article, we will discuss some of the steps that can bring optimum results out of a customer interview.
Before the Interview
Start with a goal. A typical customer interview can be divided into 4 categories depending on the type and goal of the interview -
Exploratory interview - The main goal is to explore customer pain points, find opportunities, and look for new ideas.
Validation interview - Most common one. Used for hypotheses validation.
Satisfaction Interview - To understand what’s working and what’s not? How satisfied your customers are.
Efficiency Interview - To understand who uses your product? How do they use it? And how will you improve it?
The interview could be a mix and match of all the different types discussed above, depending on the context. For example, A PM may want to understand customers’ satisfaction and validate some of the opportunity hypotheses in the same interview.
List down what you know factually and what are your assumptions about the customer.
Figure out who your ideal customer is. Not everyone is your customer and you don’t want to spend time with someone who is not your target customer. A screener question for potential interviewees can help. Here is a sample template - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E96r55rFIXcpMWhcVADL2aX11Q5MaS8IifvFIE1pLGs/template/preview?usp=drive_web&ouid=%7BuserId%7D
Be prepared with your hypotheses that you would like to validate. Here is a Template that may help -
I believe that <personas/segments> experience <the pain> when doing <the task> because of <limitation> and alleviating that pain would let the customer <achieve this gain>, although she'd have to <accept these limitation>
Prepare for Logistics
Finalize the date
Figure out the Medium - F2F or phone
How much time will each interview take - 30 mins or 45 mins?
Should you pay the interviewee?
Finding people to talk with
Look for your connections
Social network - Linkedin, Quora, Subject-related forums, Twitter
Craiglist
Market research firm
Conducting the interview
Start with smile
Make them feel comfortable.
Start with simple questions.
Move to meatier questions after some time.
Recap key points
Be quiet and listen
If she criticizes your product, don't get defensive. Remain neutral
Smile and empathize
Thank them for their time
Record the conversation
Do’s and Don’t during interviews.
Ask people what they currently do related to the problem that you want to solve?
Don't ask ideal self-question like “Would you like to lose weight?”🙅♂️ The answer is yes, most of the time.
Instead, ask -
“How often do you go to the Gym?”
“What diets in the past six months?”
Don't ask what someone will pay. 🙅♂️You won't get the correct answer.
Instead, ask -
“How much did they pay for an alternative product.”
Don't ask if they like your product? - You will almost always get a “Yes” because people usually don’t want to offend someone.🙅♂️
Instead, ask - how they deal with the fundamental problem you’re trying to solve.
You’ll likely want to ignore specific feature requests. Instead, it’s your job to figure out people’s underlying pains and see if your idea will address them.
It’s also useful to ask about tradeoffs. “If <new feature/product> were to happen but it meant that <tradeoff>, how would you feel?”
If you have an existing product and a fairly detailed opportunity hypothesis, you can also use a hypothetical situation. Have part of the interview where you say something like, “I want to tell you a story about how we imagine someone like you using the next version of our product based on what we’ve heard from other customers. Please interrupt me if you have questions, if you disagree with anything I’m saying, or if I’m just plain wrong!” This approach can help you find out about any limitations customers have, if your product has unused features, and if your customers are using your product how you imagine they’re using it.
How to interpret some of the customer responses -
“<This> would help me achieve <this goal>” is meaningful, whereas “<This> would be interesting to have” and “I think I could figure out how to use it” mean this person won’t use the product.
If they say, “I wouldn’t use it, but others would,” no one will use it.
Similarly, “Maybe it’s just me” means lots of people feel that way.
Generally, avoid showing any existing products or prototypes, focusing on what you have rather than on what the customer needs.
Avoid loaded/leading questions, such as - “Mr. Smith, Do you still beat your wife?” (This is a loaded question as this is loaded with guilt). You could get beaten up as well. 😝
Or “Do you use PC?” (This is a leading question because it already assumes users are using a PC).
Ask open-ended questions. Don't ask, Yes/No question.
Avoid specific feature requests. Try to understand the underlying pain.
Try the magic wand question -
“If you could wave a magic wand and be able to do anything you can't do today, what would that be?”
Talk about trade-offs when analyzing a feature request.
If new feature were to happen but it meant that <tradeoffs>, how would you feel?
In the end, always ask - “Is there anything else about <this topic> that I should’ve asked about?”
Drawing conclusions from the interview
Take some time immediately after each interview to pull out 5 to 10 of the most interesting points.
Review the interview together with the team.
Pull out the actionable insights from the discussion.
Limit the no of interviews - Typically after 15-20 interviews. You tend to get diminishing returns.
Plan to take action.
That’s about it. It may seem overwhelming at first glance. But, like any other subject, some dedication and practice can help any PM nail this topic. So, go forth and make smart product decisions rooted in feedback straight from your customers. Happy interviewing!
Thanks,
Arkapravo
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