When was the last time you held customer interviews?
It’s okay, this is a safe space—you can admit that it has probably been a while. It’s not like anything else has been going on in our world, right? Everything has been “business as usual” (*cricket chirps*).
As we start to adjust to a new way of doing things, it’s a great time to check in with your customers to learn how and why people use your product and where it may be falling short. Customer interviews are an excellent avenue for feedback, growth opportunities, and your customer’s buying behaviors.
During this trying time, it’s also a great way to check in on your customers and see what (if anything) your company can provide to make your customer’s lives easier.
That being said, it can be difficult to know what questions you should be asking. After all, these interviews will be taking up a lot of your time—for best results, plan ahead and plan well.
We love this blog post on Customer Interviews—give it a read for more info on the process!
To help out with your planning, we’ve assembled a list of 9 customer interview questions you should be asking to make the maximum use of your efforts and time.
1. “As it stands, what do you think of our product?”
It’s great to start the interview with an open-ended question. Doing so will establish a casual flow and tone for the interview, inviting your customer to open up and be transparent about their thoughts and feelings.
This question is also a great “temperature gauge” for the interview, as a whole. Is this a happy customer? A disgruntled customer? It’s best for the both of you to understand where they’re coming from right off the bat.
No matter how they answer, be sure to remain open-minded and refrain from any sort of defensive retorts.
2. “If this were your product, what would you change?”
As a whole, people love voicing their opinion, so when possible, ask your customer to offer what they would do if they were in your shoes. This is a great way to gather alternative viewpoints and showcase any blind spots you might have as a company.
Who knows—your customers might have some excellent recommendations that you and your team never thought of!
3. “What have you been able to accomplish with this product that you weren’t able to before?”
Pretty straightforward, but this question will highlight the ultimate benefit(s) of your product. Most companies are well aware of their product’s benefits, but once again, customers are key to understanding how your product is being used and what it’s best used for.
The answers to this question can help craft future marketing campaigns, strategies, and differentiators for your company/product, so listen carefully!
4. “How can we improve our product?”
You don’t know unless you ask! Chances are you already hear feedback from discontented customers, but you probably aren’t hearing from those who “suffer in silence.”
This is a key opportunity to find out what isn’t working, and who knows? There could be something hiding in the shadows of your product that’s driving your customer crazy!
Identifying areas of improvement will allow you to right your product’s wrongs ASAP and enhance customer retention.
Mic drop.
5. “Who would you recommend this product to?”
This is a great validating question: are you marketing to the right audience? Your current customers might just change (or solidify) your mind…
6. “If this product no longer existed, what would you do?”
Be sure to emphasize the rhetorical nature of this question! You don’t want your customers to start looking elsewhere in fear of your product’s demise 😂
We recommend this question for two reasons:
- It helps you understand your customer’s way of thinking, especially when it comes to your product’s competitors. Should your product not exist, would your customers jump to a competitor? Which one? Why?
- It stretches their imagination and helps them (hopefully) recall the many benefits of your product. What would their job, life, day, etc. look like without this product? How would it change? What benefits would they lose?
7. “What do you wish this product could do that it can’t do today?”
In other words, what capabilities should we look into? As a customer, what would increase the value of our product?
The Daily Egg offers an excellent resource for conducting customer interviews. Don’t know where to start with the interview process? Click here.
8. “Why did you initially seek out our product?”
This question brings it home for the customer and the interviewer. What problem was supposed to be solved by the product? If not answered already, does this product accomplish the initial problem it was supposed to solve?
9. “How are you using our product right now?”
What features do they depend on most? Are there some they never touch? If so, why or why not? Are they aware of all the product’s capabilities? With this particular question, be sure to listen for ways in which your product may be used for a solution other than your original intention.
Who knows? Your customers could help you identify another problem your product solves. Jackpot!
As the world of product (and product marketing) continues to evolve, it’s important to stay in touch with your customers. If you have the time to conduct customer interviews, we highly recommend it; however, if you’re short on bandwidth or time, why not start with customer surveys?
Don’t forget: Net-Results offers plenty of resources and information on topics other than marketing automation (we’re big fans of digital marketing, as a whole)! Check out our Resources tab and take a look at past blog posts and free downloadable resources.
Happy interviewing!
Lexie Robbins
Digital Marketing Specialist
