Step-by-Step Instructions

Please go to www.CustomerDevLabs.com/script/ to create your own custom interview script for B2B or B2C.

In this exercise you're going to learn the questions to ask during your interviews.

There are two variations of questions, depending on the nature of who you're interviewing: Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C).

You will notice that the two scripts are very similar, with some slightly different wording and a little more set-up on the B2B side. At the end of the day though, your one and only goal is the same no matter who you're interviewing...

Interviewing Objective: Understand the problems your customer is actively trying to solve.

Before you move on, go to the Interview Script Generator to create your custom interview script. Follow the instructions there:

• You will be prompted to choose whether you're conducting a B2B or B2C interview.
• In the Customer Role section, fill in the Early Adopter segment you are targeting. In my case this would be "Lean Startup Founder".
• Next enter the in the Hypothesized Problem that you imagine your customers have.
• Finally, enter the Specific Problem Situation, or the scenario where this problem would present itself.

That last one is a little tricky, so let me explain. The key to understanding the problem "context" is focusing on when your customer segment feels the hypothesized problem acutely. In what situation would the customer "Role" be most likely to cite the hypothesized problem?

This little exercise can help:

I think my customers, ___customer role___, will feel ___hypothesized problem___, most acutely when ___problem context___.

In my case, that sentence is:

I think Lean Startup Founders will feel "I'm not sure how to do Lean Startup" most acutely when deciding what experiment to run next.

That's all you need! Now, enter your email address and the generator will create a Google Doc for you to use as the basis for your interview script.

Remember: the script is an editable document (go to File->Make a copy) so feel free to tweak it as you see fit, share it with your co-founders, and take interview notes within it.

Interview Script

Warm Up

For B2B and B2C: No matter who you are interviewing, start out with a few warm-up, rapport-building questions. These are questions that make you and your interviewee feel comfortable so that you can get into a flow of conversation before diving into problems or difficulties.

Here are some examples:

• Ask about the weather - you might even do a quick web search to find out what it's been like where they are: "How've you been faring with all that rain up your way?"
• Comment on sports - again, a web search is helpful: "Seahawks are the team no one wants to play again this year."
• Simply ask how their week has been.

Understand Their Role

B2B Script: Ultimately you want to know the challenges your customer is facing, but in a B2B context, that's an awkward question to start with. In a business context, people aren't used to a stranger asking where their company is having problems.

Instead, you'll focus the conversation on this person's role: how they define it, what success looks like for them, and, ultimately, the challenges they face in achieving that success.

By focusing on their role, as opposed to the entire company, you'll have a much more sincere and open conversation.

With that in mind, your first question here is:

How would you describe your role as a __________?

This is a nice, easy first question to get the person starting to talk about the ins and outs of her job. Let the interviewee describe to you in her own words what it's like to have her job.

This question helps you to understand how this person's role is different from another individual's role at a different company. For example, an HR manager's role at one company might be different from an HR manager's role at a different company.

It is really important that you understand how this person views her roles and responsibilities. You will be referring to her words over and over during the rest of the conversation. This will also help you to create a mental framework of what their job is like.

A person's role at one company may be slightly different from the same role at a different company. It is critical that you understand how this person views their role and responsibilities.

As the interviewee responds, be sure to write down the words and jargon they use.

If it's the first time you've heard the word or something described in a specific way, ask about it. Don't be shy! This is your chance to hear the definition of a term directly from your customer - it's also a chance for your customer to demonstrate their expertise (a good thing).

Going forward, the best way to build rapport is to...

Use their words to talk about their job and problems.

Using their words and phrasings will help you build trust as you get into the more vulnerable part of the conversation around problems and difficulties.

Define Success

B2B Script: Once you understand your interviewee's job description, you want to find out how they define success.

What does success look like for you?

This question is meant to be aspirational. What are they looking to achieve? How does their performance get measured? What expectations does this person's boss have of them? What expectations do their customers have? What expectations do they have of themselves?

The answer to this question will help guide your conversation. At the end of the day, you will be helping them solve their problems so, ultimately, they can achieve the success that they have just named for you!

Their success is your success.

You will be successful when you help your customer be successful - this question will help you figure out how to do that.

In fact, when I do customer interviews I often circle here, saying something like, "If I understand you correctly, if we were to solve this problem, we can help you achieve [your success]."

Reflecting back their success will also help build rapport. It's a way to remind them that you are here to help them solve a problem and achieve their goals.

The Hardest Part

This line of questioning dives directly into the problems your interviewee is facing.

For B2B, by asking about your customer's role and goals, you've now created a sufficiently safe context to ask about their challenges:

What is the hardest part about achieving that success?

For B2C, this is your starting point. Your customer doesn't have a job description or larger company vision, so you can start with the personal challenges. After your initial warm up questions, ask:

What is the biggest challenge you are facing as a [customer role]?

Both: In this question, you are listening for the challenges that are preventing them from achieving their success or living their life as they would like.

Again, listen for the words they use to describe their difficulties. Ask a lot of questions to clarify and fully understand what they are telling you.

The answer to this question will get to the heart of what your customer is looking for.

Below this question you will notice there are 3 columns. That's because parts of this script are designed to be repeated so you can discover all of the problems your customer is trying to solve. More on that below.

Empathize, empathize, empathize.

At this point in the script is a reminder that you should be empathizing with your interviewee throughout the conversation. You don't need to go into your own stories, but do acknowledge if you've experienced a similar difficulty or if you can understand where they are coming from.

Phrases such as the following can be helpful in letting someone know you're on their team.

• I've been there.
• That makes complete sense.
• I can see how that would be frustrating.

When you're empathizing, be genuine. If you can't put yourself in their shoes, ask for more information. You want to understand your customer as thoroughly as possible.

Many of us are used to putting forth a front of having "it all figured out".

If someone is sharing their problems with you, they are taking a risk to be vulnerable.

This is especially true for B2B, where you are asking someone to admit that they are having difficulties in their role with the company. Validating their experience will help them feel safe and comfortable so they will continue to open up to you.

The Last Time

B2B

B2C

Now you want to know whether your customer is actively "paying" to solve the problem they just mentioned. To do that, ask:

When was the last time you tried to solve this problem?

This question is key.

The answer will tell you if they are an Early Adopter or an Early Majority. Remember from the Who are your Early Adopters? exercise, we are looking for Early Adopters - customers who are already "paying" to solve the problem.

For B2B, listen for evidence they've "paid" to solve the problem within the last 12 months - the typical business budget cycle.

For B2C, listen for evidence they've "paid" to solve this problem within the last 6 months.

The answer is easy to interpret:

If they've "paid" to solve this problem recently, with a currency that will lead to your victory, they're an Early Adopter for a solution. If they haven't, they're not.

If they're an Early Adopter, continue with the questions below. If they are not, start again from the previous question:

"What else is hard about achieving your success?" for B2B

or

"What else is challenging about [customer role]?" for B2C.

This is why there are multiple columns for notes under this question. Most of the time you will have to go through the series of questions a few times before striking gold. Use the second and third columns of the script to dive into alternative problems.

Specific Problem Scenario

Once you know you have an Early Adopter, you can start to gather information specifically about their attempts at solutions. Ask:

Can you tell me about the last time that problem occurred?

Here, you are looking for a more detailed description of the actual problem. You are hoping to get beyond generalizations or broad descriptions of their struggles, and dial down into a specific instance where they had this problem and tried to find a solution.

This strategy is important for both B2B and B2C.

Why is this important? In this response, you are listening for more specific words, jargon and emotions that help to understand the problem. This will help you understand how they describe the heart of the issue.

Again, ask a lot of questions. There are no stupid questions - the more information you can get, the better.

Take special note of the words they use, the jargon the use, and the emotions they describe. This will form the foundation of your marketing strategy.

The scenario they describe can also serve as a case study later on. If they give you a very concrete example, you can use it to help develop a solution when you're back inside the building, brainstorming.

Problem Description = Marketing Copy

This question will answer all of your marketing copy questions for both B2B and B2C. Ask:

Why is it a problem for you?

Warning: this question may feel awkward to ask - but you must ask it.

It will probably feel obvious why it is a problem and you will be tempted to skip this question. However, the way they describe why it's a problem is likely to be different than how you'd describe it.

You're not psychic, so don't pretend to be. Let your customers speak for themselves.

Above all else, you want to know the words they use to describe their experience, and the emotions they feel when encountering this problem.

In your marketing copy, when you can use a customer's exact phrasings and identify the exact emotions they are feeling when faced with a problem, you will resonate with them on a profound level.

The better you understand your customer, without making any assumptions of your own, the better you will be able to serve them, and the better - and more successful - your solution will be.

If you don't hear any emotions mentioned the first time you ask this question, keep trying. Say something like, "Interesting. And why is that a problem?"

Keep going, asking why up to five time, until you get to the emotional core of their experience of the problem.

Current Solutions

Now let's figure out where you should do your marketing. To do that, ask:

How did you find your current solution?

The answer to this question is key because it will help you figure out how to find more people like your interviewee, with similar problems. This is just as true for B2B as B2C.

Eventually, the answers you collect to this question will drive your marketing channel definitions. If one customer has gone there to find a solution, it's likely others have gone there as well.

What Sucks about their Solution?

Presumably, the current solution for this customer isn't working - that's why they mentioned it as a problem earlier in your interview. At this point, you're in a perfect position to ask:

What's not ideal about this solution?

Here, you will discover how you're going to differentiate your solution from your competition.

Your solution will be superior, because your understanding of the problem is superior.

The information you gather from this question will feed into your solution ideation process - ensuring you solve the problem better than your competitors.

Rinse and Repeat

Even if you've hit on something good the first time around, there may be more value available in this interview. At this point, you should go back to the Hardest Part question to find out what other problems are at the top of their list.

Remember: use the additional columns of the script to take notes for your additional question iterations.

After that, validate they are an Early Adopter for the new problem they mention by asking when was the last time they tried to solve it. If they are, continue with the rest of the interview questions, including a possible third iteration.

Alternate Questions

If you make it through the second round of questions and there's still no mention of the problem you've hypothesized, here is another question you can ask to both businesses and consumers:

What is the biggest challenge you're facing as a [customer's role] with respect to [problem scenario]?

In this question, you're going to spoon feed the customer a situation where they are likely to experience the problem that you hypothesized. This will help you get them focused in on the specific area of their job or life context that aligns with your own interests.

From there, circle back to the "when was the last time you tried to solve this problem?" question and continue the exercise as before. In this scenario, you need to pay extra close attention to their answer.

Important: If you spoon feed your customers a scenario where you are confident they will feel the problem you hypothesize and either they don't cite the problem you hypothesized or they aren't actively looking for a solution - they aren't your Early Adopters!

If this happens, it's clear something has to change:

• If this happens just a few times, no big deal. Not everyone in your interview channels is going to be an Early Adopter.
• If this is happening frequently, but you're discovering a different problem the customers are Early Adopters for, no big deal - you can pivot to solve the new problem they're reporting.
• If it's happening frequently, and you're not discovering problems customers are Early Adopters for, no big deal - you can pivot your interviewing channels or your entire target customer segment (refer to your 5 Interview Timeline, Interview Channel Costing and SCALE exercises for alternative segments to interview.)

Wrap It Up

When you wrap up your interview, you want to be sure you are leaving the door open for future conversations, even if this person is not an Early Adopter. To do that, say:

I'm actively exploring a solution to [their problem]. Can I contact you if I find a viable solution?

Regardless of your own hypothesized problem, use their words to describe their problem in this closing...even if it's not the problem you're currently focused on solving!

Use their words to describe a problem you hope to solve.

It is true you may not pursue a solution to their problem now, but if enough other customers present the same difficulties, you've discovered a viable place to pivot. In fact, their interview may end up being one of the data points that convinces you to pivot!

By asking them if you can contact them if you discover a solution to their problem, you've left the door open for further communication should they fall into your Early Adopter category now, or ever.

For B2B, you will also want to ask:

If we wanted to put a solution to this problem into place, who else would we need buy-in from?

In a B2B situation, there are often multiple stakeholders in the adoption of a new solution. This question will prime your interviewee to give you permission, and an intro, or just let you know who else you would need to contact to get buy-in for a solution.

For myself, I've used this question with great results. In one scenario, I was able to talk to 6 different people at 5 different levels, all the way up to Senior VP of a large enterprise. By the time I was done, I had a thorough understanding of similar problems at all levels of the company.

Ask for other Interviewees

So you can quickly talk to other similar customers, I love asking my interviewees if they know other people trying to solve this problem. I usually say something like:

I'm trying to understand this problem from a wide range of perspectives. Do you know one or two other people within your organization who are struggling with [the problem they are actively trying to solve in their words]?

This will help you knock out your interviews even faster, and from a group of highly related customers!

Say Thank You

Finally, no matter who you are interviewing, thank them for their generosity and their time. Tell them that the interview has been helpful - because, I guarantee, it will have been. You may also share that you will bring their information back to your team to help inform the development of your solution.

People enjoy being helpful. Make sure you let them know they have been!

Congratulations, you now know exactly what to ask during your customer interviews - and what to listen for!

Remember you can alter this script as you see fit.

What's Next

Next, we'll look at the art of interviewing efficiently - techniques the pros use to get the most out of their interviews. After that, you'll be getting out of the building and talking to customers!