Shortcut to successful customer interviews for innovation

Customer interviews, target audience interviews, and expert interviews can uncover innovation potential—if done right. But customer interviews are not sales calls. The sales department doesn’t let the innovation team approach customers, and there’s a high risk of damaging relationships and damaging the company’s reputation. One false move, and that direct line to the customer is cut off for a long time! The innovation consulting firm TOM SPIKE provides shortcuts to successful customer interviews for innovation in its latest checklist.

Simply asking customers for good ideas for innovation is a common misconception. Even Henry Ford knew: “If I had asked customers, they would have said ‘faster horses.’” But of course, bad questions lead to bad answers. NOT asking customers is just as big a mistake.
Free checklist as a shortcut to conducting effective target audience and expert interviews

A single good customer interview is more valuable than 100 completed questionnaires. And yet, there is a great deal of reluctance to engage in open conversations with future target audiences. Too many things can go wrong. Too many aspects just don’t feel right. Even experienced sales teams tend to shy away from customer conversations where they can’t offer a ready-made solution.

Insights gained from hundreds of interviews, cold calls, and trained interviewers form the foundation for the following checklist for truly successful customer interviews.
A customer and expert being interviewed on the cover of the TOM SPIKE Checklist—A Shortcut to Successful Customer Interviews

Do you want to know what your customer interviews’ actual chances of success are? And where you need to do more preparation? Then use the checklist from the innovation experts at TOM SPIKE.

Your advantages

• Perfectly prepared customer interviews
• All the pitfalls on a piece of paper
• Directly for the practice