This explains what a customer interview is and how do it a customer interview.

Having a 1:1 conversation with a customer (or non-customer) to ask questions in a way that will give you clear and useful answers, providing you with the insights you need for your business. It can be done in person, over the phone, or online — through text, video, or whatever format provides an ongoing, continuous flow of conversation in the most accessible and comfortable way for the customer you want to engage.

Why do a customer interview

Customer interviews provide the time and space for a dedicated conversation and line of questioning to gather data on customer experience. This allows you to record their answers, compare what they say with what other customers say, and turn their responses into evidence-based insights. These insights can uncover themes that guide your business strategy, decisions, branding, and serve as a way of collecting customer stories.

Create a discussion guide

A discussion guide helps you stay focused during the interview and ensures you ask the right questions to gather meaningful insights. Before you start, ask yourself three key questions: What are your goals for the interview? What are you trying to learn? What questions can you ask to uncover the insights you need? Having a clear goal will help you shape the flow of the conversation and make sure you’re not wasting time on irrelevant details.

When creating a discussion guide, keep it structured but flexible. Start with broad questions and narrow down as the conversation progresses. Group your questions by theme so the conversation flows naturally. Avoid leading questions — instead of asking "Do you like….?" try "How would you describe your experience with ….?".

When using your discussion guide keep room and time for when you will let the conversation flow naturally, and learning from natural enquiry. This is when you don’t stick to the script, and you follow conversations natural direction. This approach does help get hidden insights and uncover deeper insights that structured interviewing might miss. It also allows to uncover the “why” behind their feelings and actions.

Your discussion guide will have a timeline, questions— not forgetting time for introductions at the start and reflections at the end. And always leaving room for the conversation just to naturally flow to get those deeper more human insights.

Preparing for the interview

After recruiting participants (you can read more about recruiting customers for interviews in our other blog), invite the customer to the interview. Provide all the details upfront and gather consent beforehand. Be clear about what the data will be used for and who will have access to it. Maintaining data integrity is essential — decide if you need the data to be identified or de-identified. Most of the time at listen + do we collect de-identified data, only noting basic details like sex, age, location, and customer type.

Decide how you will record the data before the interview. Recording the data with integrity means capturing it exactly as it was said, without adding your own interpretation or bias. This ensures the data remains true to the customer’s experience and helps you generate accurate, unbiased insights. Recording data properly allows you to organise and synthesise it more easily later, making it easier to spot trends and draw meaningful conclusions. You can also read our other blog that talks about collecting and storing data with integrity.