These are the “must ask” questions you should be asking in your customer interviews

If you caught last week’s post, you learned about shifting the types of questions you ask customers from product-centered ➡️ psychology-centered.

The below are some of my absolute favorite questions to ask that will enables us to extract further strategic insight. These questions are designed to feel a little less tactical and more intuitive (which — trust me — you want).

1. When you first discovered [ solution ], what were you hoping it would help you accomplish?

This question unpacks the desires that the customer had when they first encountered the product. We call these “desired outcomes” internally at DemandMaven, and understanding what attracted them to the product tells you a lot about what their expectations were.

In marketing, if you can match the target audience’s desires with fulfillment of that promise when using the product, then you’ve got a match made in heaven (and an easier acquisition cycle).

2. What was the last solution you implemented and how did you find it?

By asking this question, you’ll get some ideas on what other kinds of software buys they’ve made and channel opportunities you might not have considered if you only asked about your product.

It’s perfect for companies where the primary acquisition channel is actually through outbound sales or where the customer is hard to reach digitally.

3. What was the moment you knew [solution] was the right choice for you?

This question gives you the “Aha!” moment when the customer made the connection between your product and their desired outcome.

Understanding this “Aha” moment also gives you incredible perspective as to what the product onboarding and activation experience needs to help people accomplish.

It also highlights huge gaps in getting prospects to the moment where they’re convinced they must become a customer.

4. What would have to be true in order for you to [become a customer // use the product regularly]?

This one’s a two-parter and can be applied to understanding either usage or conversion into becoming a paying customer. Either way, this gets at the requirements the customer is looking for before they ever consider becoming a customer. We call these “consideration sets” internally at DemandMaven, and they represent the requirements or must-haves for the customer to achieve success.

Sometimes you’ll get features or attributes, and sometimes you’ll get less tangible information that speaks more to their psychographics.

For example, you may hear from one person that they need to be able to access the product on their phone (a feature request) and you may also hear that they need to be convinced that it’s going to be reliable and never accidentally drop an integration (a desire for reliability and proof).

What other game-changing questions would you ask?

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