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When it comes to B2B customer interviews, here’s a simple strategy that can make a huge difference: Ask one question at a time. It's a natural tendency to combine questions. Here's an example, "What made our solution stand out, and what were you using before?" ^Those are two questions. Here's why it matters 1. Creates Clarity: When you ask a single question, people can focus on one idea. Multiple Qs at once, get interviewees unsure of which question to answer first, leading to incomplete or less detailed responses. 2. Unlocks Deeper Insights: By asking one question at a time, you encourage people to explore thoughts and experiences in more detail. 3. Prevents Overwhelm: If questions cover different topics, or require people to recall different pieces of info, they often provide surface-level answers to each question, rather than thoroughly addressing any of them. 4. Enhances Follow-up Opportunities: By focusing on one question, you can better gauge their response and ask meaningful follow-up questions that lead to richer discussions. It takes discipline to master this approach, but once you do, your customer interviews will deliver more actionable insights. #B2BMarketing #CustomerInsights #MarketResearch #CustomerFeedback #InterviewTips #BusinessGrowth #MarketingStrategy #SalesandMarketing #B2BSales #ClientEngagement #BusinessDevelopment #MarketingExcellence #CustomerExperience #CustomerJourney Repost ♻️ to help others Follow Haroon Mushtaq, tap the 🔔

🎙️ 𝗣𝗦𝗔 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲: If you’re sticking to a script in customer interviews, you’re leaving gold on the table. 💰 Here’s the deal: If your customer interviews are more about sticking to a script than truly understanding the person in front of you, you're doing it wrong. Scripts are comfortable. They’re predictable. But they also put blinders on your ability to uncover the real insights that drive product success. The best interviews aren’t about asking the right questions—they’re about listening to the right answers. 👉 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱: 1️⃣ 𝗗𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁: Start with a few key questions, but let the conversation flow naturally. Be curious, not rigid. 2️⃣ 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀: Pay attention to what’s not being said. Customers might not always articulate their pain points directly, but their tone, hesitations, and body language can reveal a lot. 3️⃣ 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗯𝘀: If something a customer says piques your interest, dive deeper. Ask follow-up questions that explore the "why" behind their answers. 4️⃣ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁: It’s easy to think about the next question while someone is talking. Resist that urge. Give your full attention to the conversation, and you’ll uncover insights you never expected. Your customers are telling you what they want—if you’re 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯. So forget the script and start focusing on the conversation. That’s where the magic happens. ✨ 👊 If you’ve experienced the power of informal customer interviews, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! #ProductManagement #CustomerResearch #GrowthHacking

You know what makes customer interviews so powerful? It’s not just about the words your customers use—it’s about the emotions, the nuances, and the context behind them. As I reflect on the process of conducting customer interviews, I’m reminded of just how invaluable they are. It’s one of those things that seems obvious but often gets pushed aside in the rush of daily work. Yet, it’s one of the most insightful tools we have. There’s so much you can uncover: ✨ The subtle shifts in tone that reveal hesitation or excitement. ✨ The moments when their eyes light up about something they truly care about. ✨ The frustration in their voice when describing pain points. These details don’t just inform your next campaign—they help you connect with your audience on a deeper level. Customer interviews are more than just a research tactic. They’re a way to build empathy, uncover real insights, and shape marketing that resonates. What’s been your most impactful takeaway from a customer interview? #marketingstrategy #marketing #growthmarketing

As customer marketers, we know that asking the right interview questions is critical to producing an impactful case study. And for the first time ever, we’re sharing the powerful interview questions we use when conducting customer interviews in a brand new cheat sheet. Here’s what you’ll find inside: ✨ 26 questions you need to start asking in your case study interviews ✨ Favorite questions and tips from customer marketers in our industry ✨ 19 bonus questions for specific types of customer stories Grab the link to the cheat sheet in the comments 👇 #CustomerMarketing #CaseStudy #LeadMagnet #ContentMarketing #MarketingTips

Customer interviews help you understand buying decisions, refine messaging, and create relevant content. One of my go-to questions is "How would you solve this problem if you weren't working with us?" Would love to hear your favorite questions to ask customers. Please join the discussion about amplifying your customers' voices Monday at https://lnkd.in/eBPRu7Jv with Erika Heald

Starts February 5th - don't miss out! Learn how to conduct Customer JTBD Interviews leveraging The Wheel of Progress® and the associated 62 customer JTBD interview cards. 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/gW7VjEjs For starters, you'll learn how to use one or more of these general/storytelling cards to make sure you avoid the following scenarios: 1️⃣ Lack of Depth: Without prompts like "Filming a Documentary," interviewees may give brief or surface-level answers, missing key motivations or moments that shaped their decision-making. 2️⃣ Limited Comfort: Without "Sharing your Story," interviewees might not feel fully comfortable sharing personal details, leading them to withhold crucial context. 3️⃣ Missed Context: Skipping "Life Events" may overlook broader factors like life events, emotions, or environmental influences that impact decisions. 4️⃣ Inaccurate Stories: Without the "Story Playbook," you risk not verifying the details of the interview, which could result in misinterpreting motivations or decision triggers. 5️⃣ Overlooked Details: Without asking to "Retell in more Detail," subtle but important aspects may remain unexplored, leading to incomplete insights. 6️⃣ Timeline Gaps: Skipping "Buying the Product" might cause you to miss key chronological details that reveal causal events or significant decision points. and much more! Cohort participants apply these JTBD interviewing methods across 3 to 4 real-life interviews after selecting a Case Study of their choice. P.S. If you liked this post, please give it a share, or a simple comment. Insightful 💡or Love ❤️ it! Customer Centric Solutions LLC #customerprogress #wheelofprogress #storytelling #jtbd #customerinterviews #customerexperience #customersuccess

🛑 Don't ask customers what they want! 🛑 This Wednesday we're running a Strategyzer webinar on "How to talk to customers: a practical guide to customer interviews"... Conducting a customer interview sounds easy, but there are actually quite a few things you can get wrong. The biggest "customer interview crime" is to ask customers what they want. The late Harvard Professor Clayton Christensen famously illustrated this in a lecture on "What jobs customers hire a milkshake for". In the lecture he explains how a fast food company got no results from asking customers how to improve their milkshake. When they unearthed what customers were actually trying to get done when they bought a milkshake they got much better results. Customers know exactly what they're trying to get done (jobs-to-be-done), what annoys them (pains) and what results they're looking for. That's what you need to unearth first in your customer interviews. It's then your task to design value propositions that address those jobs, pains, and gains. You're the expert of the solutions. Once have an idea of a strong solution, you can test that value proposition prototype in interviews as well. We typically use a technique called value scenes or storyboards to do so, but you could also use mockups etc. In the webinar we'll have a look at some customer interview best practices and different interview techniques such as value scenes or card sort. We'll also show you how we're starting to automate parts of the interview process with the Strategyzer platform. Typically we also do that in our 3-day Lightning Sprint that is now available as a public enrolment training. #innovation #interviewprocess #customerinterview #leanstartup #customerdevelopment

This is classic. Well said here: Dig deeper to understand customer pains, needs, gains. Customers know the Jobs To Be Done.

“You need to talk to customers!” I’ve written these exact words countless times because it’s true! But for new business owners saying it and doing it are drastically different things. And it always bugged me that we never really covered how to conduct customer interviews. So, I spoke with someone who does this all the time to fix that problem. I chatted with Chris Bennett for maybe 30 minutes. And came away thinking about one word - balance. Balancing listening and driving the conversation. Balancing getting specific answers and letting the customer share their thoughts. Balancing documentation and just being in the moment. This was one of the more fun pieces I’ve put together in a while, and think it’s worth the read! You won’t come away with a template for how to conduct an interview. But you will learn how to embrace having a conversation to get deeper insights from customers.

Customer interviews actually work. After ~50 user interviews in the past 3 months, I experimented with different frameworks. The one that gets honest, actionable insights every time is about understanding where your customer stands. Asking the same easy-to-answer questions like: "Where are you now?" - This gets them talking about their current reality. No judgment, just listen. "Where do you want to be?" - Let them paint the picture of their ideal solution. You'll be amazed how specific they get when you stay quiet. "What's blocking your path?" - This is gold. You'll hear the real reasons why previous solutions failed them. "What options are you exploring?" - Understanding their alternatives tells you exactly how to position your solution. For pricing research, ask these three questions: What's a fair price for this? At what price would you question the quality? What price makes this completely unaffordable? The magic isn't in the questions - it's in letting them tell their story without interruption. Stop reacting immediately. Shut up, and listen. What's your go-to interview question? Share it below. #CustomerResearch #ProductDevelopment #StartupStrategy #UserExperience