Resource Template
Customer Interview Guide
A structured prompt set for problem interviews before you commit to roadmap or messaging decisions.
Customer interviews are for learning, not persuading. This guide keeps the focus on observable behavior so you can separate polite encouragement from real buying signals.
When to use it
- You are validating a new problem or market segment.
- You need stronger evidence before changing roadmap or positioning.
- Your interviews drift into feature brainstorming too fast.
Problem interview guide
Opening
I am trying to understand how teams handle [workflow] today. I am not pitching anything.
Core questions
Tell me about the last time this came up.
What triggered it?
What did you do next?
What was frustrating about that process?
How often does this happen?
What happens if it is not solved?
Have you paid to solve this before?
Close
Who else feels this pain?
Is there anything important I did not ask?
How to customize it
- Ask for recent examples and timelines.
- Leave silence after pain statements so they continue.
- Document exact phrases for later messaging work.
Common mistakes
- Asking hypotheticals too early.
- Leading the witness with solution language.
- Failing to capture current workaround behavior.
Next steps
- Run five interviews using this script.
- Tag each finding by pain intensity and urgency.
- Convert repeated pain into explicit hypotheses.
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