Ask about the last time, not the next time

Many customer interviews contain questions like, would you use this, or, would you pay for it. They are easy to ask and easy to answer. They are also close to useless.

People are poor at predicting their own behavior. They want to be helpful and they imagine a calmer, more organized version of themselves. The answer you hear describes that imagined person, not the real one.

People remember better than they predict

Ask about something that already happened and the answers change. A person can tell you what they did the last time the problem came up, who they asked and how it ended. They do not have to guess. They only have to remember.

This is the idea behind asking about the last time, not the next time. A past event has details, and details are hard to make up on the spot.

Questions that work better

Try questions like these instead of asking about a future purchase:

1. When did this problem last happen?
2. What did you do next?
3. Who did you ask for help?
4. What had you tried before that?
5. What did it cost you in time or effort?

Each one points to a real event. Follow up with simple prompts such as, what happened then, and, what did you do after that.

Listen for details, not adjectives

A strong answer has details in it. The person names the tool they opened, the message they sent or the colleague they asked. They mention the workaround they put up with and the part that annoyed them.

A weak answer has adjectives. The problem is frustrating, the process is painful, the current tool is terrible. These words show feeling but give you nothing to build on or test.

When you hear an adjective, ask for the story behind it. What happened that made it frustrating?

When nobody can remember the last time

Sometimes a person cannot recall the last time the problem happened. That is also useful. It may mean the problem is rare, small or easy to forget, and that may change how much a solution is worth to them.

Do not push them to invent an example. Note the answer and move on. If several people react this way, question how urgent the problem really is before you build anything.

Practice the questions first

Try the questions on a friend before you rely on them. Notice where you slip into leading questions, such as, don't you think this would help. Rewrite those as open questions about what happened.

During the real conversation, take notes in the person's own words where you can. Those words are often more useful than your summary, because they show how the person describes the problem to themselves and to others.

Keep your idea out of the room

It is tempting to describe your idea early, because you are excited about it. Resist that for most of the conversation. Once you describe a solution, people begin to react to the solution, and their stories about the past fade.

Talk about their world first. If it is useful, show your idea at the end and ask what they would have done with it the last time the problem came up.

What the answers cannot tell you

Stories about the past show what happened. They do not prove that a new product will win. People may have lived with a problem for years and never wanted to change. Treat each story as evidence about the problem, not a promise about the future.

What past event will you ask about in your next conversation?