Build rapport and establish trust as quickly as possible
You may be experienced in conducting interviews, but your customers are certainly not used to being interviewed by a (potential) supplier.
Countless books have been written on how to correctly conduct interviews with customers, but the reality is that for most of us it’s still a daunting thing to do. Starting a conversation with a customer in the context of customer research is often something which feels unnatural. That is why we are happy to provide you with some pointers which you can use when you start your challenge.
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You may be experienced in conducting interviews, but your customers are certainly not used to being interviewed by a (potential) supplier.
Think about what questions you will be asking before you start the conversation. Invite the customer to elaborate on topics if it is of interest to you.
It is easier said than done: give your customer time to think about their answers. It allows your customer to think about the topic, structure his or her ideas and go beyond the obvious.
Define as accurately as possible what you want to understand and determine your questions based on the type of research you want to conduct.
Define how many customers and prospects you want to interview and determine the selection criteria based on what you want to research.
Decide how the conversations will be started, where they will take place and what the setting will be like, how you will thank your customer for his or her time and how long the interviews will take.
Ask the questions you prepared and do not hesitate to pursue something interesting.
Write your summary immediately after the interview so that it is still fresh in your memory.
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