​​Primer on Customer Calls
​​Note - This document is a work in progress. Feel free to add comments. 
​​
​​Still to do:
​​- Expand the question examples
​​- Add more references
​​- Add common pitfalls to avoid
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​​Preamble

  1. ​​Remember that customers do not exist to give us feedback. They are giving us their time and you should be respectful of it. 
  1. ​​Your goal is not to have customers validate how you see the world. You want to validate your own understanding of how customers see our product.
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​​Before the Call

  1. ​​Do your homework!
  1. ​​You should have a clear reason for each customer you want to talk to AND you should tell them why they are important to you early on. It gives them power in the conversation and reduces their fears about having“wrong answers.”
  1. ​​Do not ask customers questions that you can answer with log data UNLESS they are anchors for further conversation. 
  1. ​​Do not ask customers questions that are cognitively taxing (“How many messages did you send in Slack last week?”)
  1. ​​Have a plan! 
  1. ​​Create a loose flow for the conversation, including how much time you want to spend. A good rule of thumb is 5-10 minutes for intro(hello’s, rapport building, and warm up), and 5 minutes at the end to give space for anything else they want to say. Now that you’ve cut 10-15 minutes out, the rest of the time is yours. 
  1. ​​Make 1A explicit, as in “Hi my name is [NAME] and I’m excited to talk to you today because [REASON]…”
  1. ​​Be ready for chatty and quiet customers. Sometimes you need to ask about the same thing in different ways. Other times you need to be prepared to shift the focus. Account for that in your discussion guide. You can see some examples below.
  1. ​​ Practice! 
  1. ​​Have this conversation with at least one person internally before you talk to a customer and get feedback. 
  1. ​​Know what the most important questions are and make sure to prioritize them. 
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​​During the Call

  1. ​​Set expectations up front.
  1. ​​Confirm that the time and amount of time still works. 
  1. ​​Let them know that there are no right or wrong answers, you simply want to hear their opinions. 
  1. ​​Tell them what you are doing with the feedback. 
  1. ​​Be patient and gracious.
  1. ​​Customers are giving you their time. Say “thank you!” and acknowledge their feedback. 
  1. ​​Acknowledge when you need to switch gears, with visual cues like“Thank you for that. Now I want to talk about [NEW TOPIC]”. 
  1. ​​Be okay with silence. 
  1. ​​Not everyone will answer right away. That’s okay. Some answers will be short. 
  1. ​​When you want more detail, empower your customer by asking for more (i.e. “Can you tell me more about that…?” or “I’d love to hear more about what you mean when you say….”). 
  1. ​​Always be respectful.
  1. ​​Don’t ask inappropriate questions. 
  1. ​​Don’t ask about company information you wouldn’t share about your own company.
  1. ​​Don’t press when a customer says they don’t want to talk about something. 
  1. ​​Give them space to share open feedback at the end.
  1. ​​As you’re wrapping up, ask if there is any other feedback they’d like to share about the product/company.
  1. ​​Thank them for their time at the end. 
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​​Other Notes

  • ​​Do not interrupt. 
  • ​​Start with questions that are easy to answer and move towards questions that are harder to answers. 
  • ​​Focus on questions that are open-ended and non-leading. 
  • ​​If you have a prototype or stimulus, make sure that it both works and that your customer can access it. This means that you should set expectations ahead of time if they need to have a device and/or specific software ready.
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