I’m a massive fan of client interviews. And they’re such an underused tool, even doing a handful gives you a completely unfair competitive advantage.
People think I spend my life writing. I’m a professional writer, so it’s not an unreasonable assumption. But I probably spend as much time interviewing people as I do mashing the keyboard.
I’ll interview people for:
Content for articles.
Stories for case studies.
Client language for website copy.
Insights for content strategies.
LinkedIn ghostwriting.
Understand your clients
You can discover:
Why clients came to you and why they chose you.
What they like about working with you.
Where you add most value.
How you can do a better job.
Those insights help you craft a better value proposition, better marketing material, better offers, and a better client experience. You also may get ideas for new services or products.
Client interviews also capture the voice of your client. And knowing how your clients talk about their needs and frustrations is invaluable when it comes to creating your marketing.
Use client interviews to capture content for:
Case studies.
Testimonials.
Your website copy.
Resources and articles for your content marketing.
And finally, client interviews help build a stronger relationship based on honesty and mutual appreciation. People like being asked for their opinion. Investing in a case study about a client project shows how much you value your client and the work you do together. And having the courage to ask for constructive feedback shows respect.
So, if you haven’t done any client interviews this year, I urge you to get some scheduled soon. They’re hands down one of the best investments you’ll make in your business growth.
When to do client interviews
Make a client interview part of the wrap-up of any major project. Capture the learnings from that project while they’re fresh in your minds. And capture testimonials while your client is still feeling pumped from the success of the project.
If a project has been rocky, I recommend employing someone to do an interview for you. Your client is more likely to be honest with a neutral third-party than they are with you. But don’t shy away from interviewing challenging clients. Constructive feedback can be tough but it can also be more valuable than positive validation. Plus, an interview can be the intervention that saves a client relationship, if you front up, own the feedback, and fix the problems.
How to interview people
Meet in person or use a video platform like Zoom. Being able to see the person you’re interviewing gives you additional insights. Always record your conversation. The exact phrasing your interviewee uses is gold, and you want to be sure you capture it exactly.
There are four stages in a client interview.
1.Take control and set expectations
Introduce yourself and remind them why they’re speaking with you.
Thank them for meeting you / being on the call.
Remind them why you’re talking.
Tell them how long it’s going to take.
Ask “Do you have a hard stop?” If they do, make sure you respect their time, so they don’t feel they have to clock watch and rush the interview.
Mention that the conversation will be recorded, and check if that’s OK with them.
2.Make them feel comfortable
Ask a few simple questions to get started. This helps establish an easy rapport with the person you’re interviewing. You can use questions like this.
So, what’s your story?
Tell me a bit about what you do.
What’s a day in your life like?
3.Ask your questions
When you interview someone, your goal is to get beyond the surface of a situation and uncover the reasons why someone made certain choices or took certain actions, what they learned, and how they feel about it all.
You also have a finite time to get people to share their stories and insights. So, a big part of interview success is knowing what questions to ask to get the gold fast. I use question frameworks when I develop content strategies, write website content, or interview people for case studies. I share my question frameworks for case studies below. Grab them as a download to up your interview game.
Couple of tips for asking questions.
Mostly avoid why questions because they can sound accusatory. Stick to what and how questions. “How come,” “What made you decide to do that?”
Dig deeper. If they touch on a pain point, say things like: “That sounds frustrating” or “That sounds like it might have cost you money (or time or sales)” or “And how did you resolve that situation?”
4.Wrap up
When you’ve finished your interview:
Thank your client for their time.
Tell them what will happen next. Maybe you’re writing a case study, so you can say, I’ll have the case study to you to review next week.
Send a thank you note or card. If it feels appropriate, include a small gift.
Case study / client interview questions
If you’re writing a case study, ask both sets of questions, then weave the answers together into a narrative that covers problem, solution, outcomes, learnings, and results.
If you’re simply interviewing your clients for client language and insights then analyse your interview results, and break them into handy categories. More on that below.
Six rules for client interviews
1.Stick to the time you requested.
If your client is keen to keep talking, let them. But check in five minutes before the interview is due to end and say something like: “Now I said I’d only take up 20 minutes of your time, but if you’re happy to keep talking, so am I because this is a great conversation.”
2.ask your question, shut up and listen.
Never cut people off mid flow. Even if they say something you’re desperate to clarify, let them complete their thought before you circle back and ask for more info.
3. Be careful expressing your own opinions.
You don’t want to influence what people say. You’re asking them questions, but you must be a neutral observer.
4.Don’t agree with people.
Instead build rapport through curiosity. Instead say “That sounds interesting. Let’s talk more about that”. Or “Can you explain what you mean when you say X?”
5. Dig deeper to get to people’s feelings.
Ask things like: “So what happens then?” or “And how did that feel?” or “I really want to understand what that was like for you.”
6.Check you’ve heard people correctly.
Say something like, “So, what I’m hearing you say is X, Y, and Z. Did I get that right?”
What to do with your client insights
Get your interview transcribed. I use the automated service from Rev.com which is very affordable. Then categorise your insights. Look for themes and save all the insights relating to each theme in one place. If you asked all your interviewees the same questions, this is easy. Themes you might find helpful include:
How people heard about you.
Why people decided to reach out to you.
Your clients’ pain points and frustrations.
Your clients’ aspirations and desires.
Questions people want answered before they work with you.
What people like about working with you.
What people value most about working with you.
What effect working with you has had on their business.
What you can do better.
Organise your research. File your client quotes so you can find them easily when you’re working on business strategy or writing marketing material. Once you’ve organised your research, use your insights. Apart from your skills and experience, this information is your most valuable business asset.
Use the pain insights to inform your products and services.
Use aspirations and desires to ensure client satisfaction.
Use positve feedback and testimonials to establish expertise and sell your services.
Use your understanding of your clients to show empathy.
You can also use this research to develop client avatars, detailed profiles of your ideal clients that you use to guide your marketing efforts.
Need help with your client interviews?
So many businesses don’t bother talking to their clients. If you do this, it will give you a massive competitive advantage. Not only that but it will improve your services, your products, your relationship with your clients, and likely your revenue and profitability too. Because happy clients = more work = more referrals.
So, client interviews really are one of the best investments you can make. But if you don’t have time to do this yourself, you can hire me to do this for you. I will interview your clients and prospects, analyse the transcripts and present the results to you, along with recommendations for next steps. Email me hello@lizziedavidson.co.nz to get an estimate.
And if you do follow the advice in this article and interview your clients, I’d love to hear from you how it went. Happy interviewing.