One Creative Moment is a daily email for founders, owners, and creators. You'll get insights, irreverence, and inspiration to help you build a better business & live a more creative life.
The most useful customer interview question I know
Last week’s Tactical Tuesday piece was about gathering customer feedback. Someone thought each of the techniques listed (interviews, surveys, and polls) could be its own post.
So I decided to go for it, starting with the first (and the one I most recommend).
I’m always a fan of deep and personal over wide and superficial, quality over quantity. Done right, customer interviews will give you that in spades.
The first thing to get right is making sure you (and they) have set aside at least 40 minutes to chat. Taking the time to hunker down and really get into their experience is crucial.
Next is having a set of questions to ask and not just asking them one after the other. (This is harder than it looks.)
It has to feel like (and be) a ‘normal’ conversation, which you guide and steer gently, as required. This is how you get the answers you’re looking for (in the language your customers actually use).
Of all the questions in that list, the most useful is this: “What was going on in your life/business at that time?”
If you ask, “why did you buy our thing?” you’ll get the answer that seems the most palatable and logical. But that won’t be the whole truth.
If you ask them what was going on in their life at that time - and leave space for the answer - you’ll help them find their story. You’ll uncover, together, how they came to need, want, and ultimately buy your thing.
And that’s the gold you’re looking for.
All that glitters,
James
P.S. If you want SNAP Copy's full Voice of Customer Research Kit (which is where the linked interview questions come from), you can get it here.
One Creative Moment
One Creative Moment is a daily email for founders, owners, and creators. You'll get insights, irreverence, and inspiration to help you build a better business & live a more creative life.
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