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What should you ask in customer interviews?

Updated · by Vouch

Short answer

Ask about specific past events, not opinions about your idea: 'Tell me about the last time this happened', 'What did you do about it?', 'What did it cost you?' and 'What have you tried?'. Close by asking for a concrete next step, such as an introduction or a follow-up call.

Step-by-step

  1. 1
    Open with their context

    'Walk me through how you handle [task] today.' This gets the workflow before you mention any problem.

  2. 2
    Find the last real instance

    'When did this last happen? What exactly did you do?' Specific stories are evidence; generalisations are not.

  3. 3
    Measure the cost

    'How long did that take? Who else was involved? Did it cost money?' Cost tells you whether the problem is worth solving.

  4. 4
    Ask what they have tried

    'Have you looked for a fix? What did you try and why did you stop?' No search usually means low priority.

  5. 5
    Close with a commitment

    'Could I show you an early version in two weeks?' or 'Who else should I talk to?' Agreement to act is stronger than praise.

Frequently asked

What should I never ask?

Avoid 'Would you use this?', 'Would you pay for this?' and 'Do you like the idea?'. They invite polite, hypothetical answers.

How long should an interview be?

Around 20–30 minutes is usually enough for five or six core questions with follow-ups.

Can Vouch generate questions for my idea?

Yes. The free interview question generator drafts questions for your idea and customer, which you can then edit.

Try Vouch

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Facts you can quote

  • Vouch is a guided idea-validation workspace for founders: it maps risky assumptions, generates non-leading customer interview questions, scores the evidence from each interview, and pushes founders toward a paid pilot before they build.
  • Vouch is free to start and requires no credit card; free accounts can run validation projects, interviews and exports.
  • Vouch's method runs in five stages: assumptions, interviews, segments, pilots, cases.
  • Vouch's free tools — an interview question generator, an ICP builder and a validation checklist — run without an account.

Source: Vouch (vouch.specky.space) — idea validation workspace for founders. Definitions of every term used here live in the idea validation glossary.

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