Customer interviews: what to ask before committing resources?

1. Do not begin with “Would you buy this?”

Imagine starting a coffee delivery service for offices. You present an attractive package and ask whether people like it. Many agree because it sounds reasonable or they want to be polite. This says little about recurring demand, purchasing authority or willingness to switch suppliers.

The first interview aims to understand the buying situation, not close a sale. Start with: When did you last order drinks for the whole team? From that event, explore who suggested it, who paid, where they ordered and which step was most frustrating.

2. Six questions that uncover actual behavior

Ask: What triggered the need? What solution did you use? Why that option? What was time-consuming or frustrating? What have you tried to change? Who decides and who bears the cost? Follow concrete examples rather than rigidly working through a script.

Avoid leading questions such as “Late delivery is the biggest problem, right?” Instead ask what happened between ordering and receiving. If someone cannot recall the last occasion, record the information gap instead of turning a vague preference into an urgent problem.

3. Separate evidence from your interpretation

Use four note columns: context, observed behavior, obstacle and hypothesis to test. In a hypothetical example, an office administrator consolidates orders from multiple messages. This suggests testing a shared order form; it does not prove demand for a monthly coffee subscription.

Record conflicting views and people who do not experience the problem. Interviewing only friends or retaining only supportive comments can distort the picture. Ask before recording, keep only necessary information and omit identifying details from widely shared documents.

4. Turn findings into a bounded test

After the conversations, choose one recurring problem within a defined group and design a small test. For the office example, trial consolidated ordering with one team over an agreed period. Explain scope, pricing and changes before accepting orders.

Track whether customers complete orders, where they need help and whether they continue without reminders. Set decision criteria beforehand based on your capacity and costs. No universal interview count or approval rate guarantees success.

5. A one-page exercise for your next conversation

Write down the customer group, usage context, unknowns and one open question for each gap. After the interview, ask what behavior you learned, what evidence changed your mind and what the smallest next step is. A useful conversation may remove a feature rather than create more work.

Once you understand the problem, clarify the offer: who it serves, what outcome it delivers and its boundaries. Continue to the service-packaging article in this series to turn interview findings into a testable proposal.

Suggested actions