effective customer interviewing: how to use interviews to discover business value

Adrian Howard (@adrianh) Effective Customer Interviewing

#agileotb

Hello!

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http://slideshare.net/adrianh

Ask questions!

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Swear jar is running…

Chatham House Rule

“When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed”

Who are you?

Stand up!(no — not that kind of standup)

A–B–C

A = SpeakerB = InterviewerC = Observer

Speakers:Shut your eyes…

Interviewers:Talk with the speaker about their best restaurant experience.

Interviewers:Do not take notes

Observers:Watch what happens. Write observations down.

🕑2 minutes

Reflection

Tip:Drink

B = SpeakerC = InterviewerA = Observer

Speakers:Shut your eyes…

Interviewers:Talk with the speaker about their best vacation experience.

Interviewers:… and one more thing …

Interviewers:After the first question – you cannot speak again. Shhhhh!

Interviewers:Do not take notes

Observers:Watch what happens. Write observations down.

🕑2 minutes

Reflection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Christopher_Macsurak_Fran_Lebowitz.jpg

– Fran Lebowitz

“The opposite of talking isn't listening

The opposite of talking is waiting”

Tip:Use silence

Tip:Pay attention to body language

C = SpeakerA = InterviewerB = Observer

Speakers:Shut your eyes…

Interviewers:Talk with the speaker about how they decorate & furnish their home.

Interviewers:… and one more thing …

Interviewers:After the 1st question you only ask “Can you tell me more about X?”

Interviewers:(where X is something the speaker

has previously mentioned)

Interviewers:Do not take notes

Observers:Watch what happens. Write observations down.

🕑4 minutes

Reflection

– Arthur Bloch

“Every clarification breeds new questions”

Tip:Reflect back what the speaker said

… and relax …

Why do we interview?

“If I had asked my customers what they wanted they would have said a faster horse”

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_ford_1919.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_ford_1919.jpg

“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own”

What is an interview?

An interview is not a… quiz survey negotiation pitch date conversation

Rapport & Empathy

Learn from your customer

(in)validate our assumptions

Who do you interview?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/artfulone/14206229674/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joncandy/5561310462

Tip:Bribes

Tip:Look for bored people

Go where your customers are

Tip:Don’t look scary

Tip:Go with somebody

Use your organisation

Tip:Sales, Marketing & Support

Use social media

Intercept recruiting

Recruiters

How many?

–Bill Vaughan

“We learn something every day, and lots of times it's that what we learned the day before was wrong.”

Don’t just use interviews for validation

buildlearn

measure

productdata

ideas

buildlearn

measure

productdata

ideas

buildlearn

measure

productdata

ideas

More interviewing tips…

Tip:Be polite

Tip:Ask open questions

Tip:Avoid leading questions

Tip:Avoid fortuneteller questions

Exercise time!

Today you found a startup!

Startup AExploring exciting ways to create a great experience eating out

Startup BHelping people have the vacation of their dreams

Startup CDemocratising professional interior decoration

What do you want to find out?

🕑Individually write down topics.

One topic per post-it.

🕑Group them as a team.

Then label groups.

Reflection

A = SpeakerB = InterviewerC = Observer

InterviewersGather info on your startup.Think about the list of topics.

Interviewers & ObserversTry and note down the things the speaker tells you

🕑5 minutes

Tip:• Silence & body language • Reflect back • Ask open questions • Do not ask leading & fortuneteller questions

Reflection

Tip:Observations vs Insights

Tip:Interview in pairs

Tip:Consider recording

B = SpeakerC = InterviewerA = Observer

Tip:• Silence & body language • Reflect back • Ask open questions • Do not ask leading & fortuneteller questions• Observations vs Insights

C = SpeakerA = InterviewerB = Observer

Tip:• Silence & body language • Reflect back • Ask open questions • Do not ask leading & fortuneteller questions• Observations vs Insights

Analysis & Synthesis

http://memegenerator.net/instance/54379154

You should interview your customers regularly

You should interview your customers regularly

You should interview your customers regularly

You should interview your customers regularly

You should interview your customers regularly

You should interview your customers regularly

STALKbefore you

TALKbefore you

SELL before you

BUILD

Practice, practice, practice

Do retrospectives

DO LESSTOGETHERMORE OFTEN

to do

MOREAdrian Howard (@adrianh)

quietstars.com

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