How to find and interview potential customers

1. How to find and
interview potential
customers
GetAhead - competitive intelligence

2. Interview potential customers
1. Before starting
● review business model canvas
● identify own competitors
● consult with mentor
2. Prepare
● identify potential customers for the
interview
● prepare low fidelity prototype
● prepare for interview
● prepare for initial calls
3. Execute
● contact potential customers
● schedule meetings
● interview
● take notes / record
4. Analyse
● how you did it
● summarize interview feedback
● update business model canvas
● update prototype
● identify metrics to track

3. Before starting
Review business model canvas
● brainstorm every aspect of the model
● note every assumption
● identify initial metrics to measure
Identify own competitors
● Who are they and which aspects of our model are the threatening?
● What and how can we do better?
● Who are they clients?
Consult with mentor
● Ask a mentor to review our business model canvas
● Ask for a feedback on our prototype
● Ask for advice on customer feedback gathering

4. Prapare
Identify potential customers for
the interview
● Create a list of all potential customers you
can find
● Narrow down to the ones we can actually
reach
● Assign each team member as a account
manager for a potential customer to
prepare initial call and arrange a meeting
Prepare low fidelity prototype
● brainstorm (offline), extract best ideas
● prepare mockups, iterate as a team
● build low fidelity prototype
● create an “advertisement” video
Prepare for the initial calls
● decide on the best approach as a team
● prepare product “cheat-sheet”
● work out potential answers and how to
reply on negative ones successfully
● use team collaboration tools (notes,
calendar...)
Prepare for the interview
● identify relevant questions which will drive
business model canvas adjustments,
confirm or invalidate our assumptions and
find out what is currently missing in our
and competitor’s offers.
● identify team members which will do the
presentation (or prepare a video)

5. Execute
contact potential customers
● each team member has assigned a list of
customers to call and a due date
● note and learn from each call even if it
doesn't end with a meeting acceptance.
schedule meetings
● use online collaboration tools for team
logistics
● arrange face-to-face or video call sessions
interview
● present your self and the product
● share your vision
● ask for the feedback based on the
questions prepared upfront
● get to understand customer needs
take notes / record
● record a meeting
● take notes
● learn from the experience and improve

6. Analyse
how we did it?
● did we perform well
● can we do better
● what should we keep and what to improve
summarize interview feedback
● analyse the feedback with the whole team
● extract the conclusions
● structure responses and visualize the
results
update business model canvas
● review business model canvas
● document reasons and findings
identify metrics to track
● do we have relevant metrics to base our
decisions on them
● what are the metrics we are currently
missing
update prototype
● based on the interview outcome make
prototype changes
● integrate metrics and start measuring