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Lemmings19/customer_discovery_interview_tips.mkd

Last active October 16, 2019 19:13
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Customer Discovery Interview Tips
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customer_discovery_interview_tips.mkd

Pre

  1. Do your homework on the industry, the company, and the individual.
  2. Mindset - inquisitive/ask questions, listen, don't pitch, don't "sell", don't answer for them.
  3. Remember to invalidate your ideas; not just confirm them.

Intro

  1. Play the startup card, the student card, the indie card, etc.
  2. Appeal to the interviewee's ego/expertise.
  3. Ask for 20 minutes.
  4. Provide a 1 sentence description of who you are.

High Priority Questions (adjust these how you see fit, skip ones that don't make sense, add new ones, etc.)

  1. What's changing in your industry? (identify opportunities that you can take advantage of)
  2. What's changing in your business?
  3. What's keeping you up at night? (What are the biggest challenges you’re facing?) (You can learn a lot from this question)
  4. What are the top 3 priorities for your company this year? (You may think something they’ve said is a priority; but is it really a priority for them?)
  5. What are the challenges associated with achieving these 3 priorities?
  6. How important is it to address these challenges? (Again, you may think it’s important to solve these problems, but they might not. This is good to know.)
  7. Who in your company is responsible for them? (Find out who you really need to talk to in order to take action or move forward)
  8. What are your current plans to address these challenges? (maybe they already have a solution in mind)

Low Priority Questions

  1. What are other options?
  2. Have you considered ? Why or why not? (only if you have competitors in mind and want to know what they think of them or if they know about them)
  3. What would be important for you to consider in ?
  4. What specific products have you evaluated in ? What were your conclusions?
  5. Rank the following aspects in terms of importance... (price, convenience, reliability, innovation, etc.)

Networking & Advertising

  1. How do you stay up to date on trends in your industry? Events? Sites? Media? Analysts? (Very useful for finding out where to advertise or where to find other customers similar to them)

Wrap-up

  1. Thank them for their time and generous insights.
  2. Ask if you can keep in touch as you progress.
  3. Ask who else they know that you can speak to. (great for finding new people to interview)
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