How to Run Customer Interviews Without Asking "Would You Buy This?"
Ask about past behavior, write it down, and look for patterns
Many founders ask customers "Would you buy this product?" but such questions rarely yield meaningful answers. Ask about past behavior and specific experiences, and find insights from actions rather than words.
Action Steps
1
Clearly define hypotheses you want to validate beforehand
2
Prepare open-ended questions (avoid leading questions)
3
Ask about past experiences and specific behaviors
4
Record interviews immediately and analyze patterns
Pros
- ✓ Discovers deep insights hard to obtain from surveys
- ✓ Almost no cost involved
Cons
- ✗ May be overly influenced by minority opinions
- ✗ Recruiting interviewees can be challenging
Use Cases
Validating target customer needs before MVP launch
Collecting qualitative data for pivot decisions