How to run customer discovery interviews.

Customer discovery interviews are the cheapest way to avoid building something nobody wants. The goal is to learn about the customer’s problem and current behaviour, not to pitch your idea.

Who to talk to

• People who match your ideal customer profile, ideally ones you do not know.
• Aim for at least 20 interviews per customer segment, and keep going until you stop hearing anything new.
• In B2B, talk to the person with the problem and the person who pays, if they differ.

Questions that work

• “Tell me about the last time this happened.”
• “What did you do about it? What did that cost you in time or money?”
• “What have you tried already? Why did or didn’t it work?”
• “Who else is involved when you deal with this?”
• “If you could wave a magic wand, what would change?”

Questions to avoid

• “Would you use…?” and “Would you pay for…?” Opinions about the future are unreliable; past behaviour is evidence.
• Leading questions that contain your answer.
• Pitching. If you are talking more than a third of the time, stop.

Making sense of it

• Write up each interview the same day, with direct quotes.
• Tag the problems mentioned, how often, and how much they cost.
• Look for commitment signals: time, data, introductions, pilots or money.