What if customers don’t want to be interviewed?

It can be a challenge to recruit customers for VOC. The reasons for customer reluctance to interviews are murky. Perhaps heavier workloads, interview fatigue, tighter corporate policies or skepticism created by research requests that become sales calls. Regardless of the cause, these four strategies can help:

1. Reduce the Number of Customers to Recruit for VOC
2. Enlist the right “askers”
3. Tailor your “ask” to the market types
4. Seek alternative insights

Let’s take a look at each strategy…

1. Reduce the Number of Customers to Recruit for VOC

The main reason you conduct Discovery interviews is to adequately diverge to avoid “errors of omission.” That is, you don’t want to overlook an important customer outcome when it’s time to converge on customers’ most desired outcomes via Preference interviews.

So you can stop when your Discovery interviews render mostly “echoes” of past interviews. There are two exceptions: 1) You want to engage more key customers in the process, or 2) you want your teammates to have more interviewing practice.

If you conduct interviews with AI first, you’ll likely conduct about half as many Discovery interviews. See  Using AI to Prep for Discovery. Also, you’ll find that Blueprinting Rapid Research tools help you gather excellent industry background, which can also reduce the number of Discovery interviews needed. (Blueprinter® subscribers can access Rapid Research at www.BlueprintingCenter.com.)

Interview AI first, then reduce the sample needed to recruit customers for VOC.

2. Enlist the Right “Askers” to Help Recruit Customers for VOC

The likelihood a customer will agree to a Discovery interview goes WAY up when the “asker” and customer contact already have a strong relationship. It’s simply hard to say “no” to someone you often work with. In many B2B companies, this “asker” is your salesperson calling on the customer.

But some salespeople are resistant, for several reasons:

• They’re being rewarded for hitting sales quotas this year, not developing new products.
• They don’t understand Discovery interviews well enough to explain the benefits to the customer.
• They see this as a distraction. If they’re going to ask for something… it’s the sale!

Here are some approaches you can take to mitigate these issues:

• Ensure your sales leaders are sending strong signals that Discovery interviews are important. 
• Reward salespeople for Discovery interviews in their sales incentive plan. This helps turn your “sales force” into a “learning force” as well. 
• Ask sales colleagues to learn more at www.BlueprintingForSales.com. To increase the likelihood they take time to read this, schedule a call to “see if they have any questions.” 
• Conduct VOB (Voice of the Business) Discovery interviews with salespeople before VOC. When salespeople play the role of the “customer” they see why customers appreciate these interviews. 
• Arm your salespeople with the right tools. See more at Tools for Setting Up Interviews. 

 

3. Tailor Your “Ask” to the Market Type

As you recruit customers for VOC, how do you make your request for a Discovery interview as appealing as possible? That depends on the type of B2B market you serve. See which of these four B2B market types best describes yours. Then check out the strategies below, with special attention to those matching your market type. 

Interview AI first, then conduct fewer customer Discovery interviews.

Do you use Open Innovation? (for Type A or B): Many large companies pride themselves on “open innovation”… their ability to seek innovation from outside. Let them know you’re a great source of open innovation… but first you need to understand their needs. 

Your Discovery interview can be the first step to open innovation for customers.

Share your “industry research” (for Type A or B): Let prospects know you’ll share the results of your industry research with those you interview. For more on how much to share, watch the 2-minute video, Persuade Customers to be Interviewed. After Discovery interviews—when its time for Preference interviews—tell them you’ll share your preliminary industry research. (See Scheduling Preference Interviews.) 

Some customers are enticed by the prospect of receiving industry research.

Share past successes (for Type A or B): Share brief examples of how your company has brought innovative offerings to other markets… and that you’d like to do the same for this customer’s industry. If you don’t have such examples, explain that you’ve launched failed products because you didn’t understand customer needs… and that you’d like their help in correcting this. (They’re quite likely to appreciate your humility and may even identify with this problem.) 

• Offer incentives (for Type C or D): Most large companies have policies preventing employees from accepting incentives. But this approach works well with tradespeople, craftsmen, nurses, etc. You can often invite customers from different businesses (hospitals, plumbing services, etc.) who are not in fierce competition for Discovery interviews together at a local hotel. Bring in great food, offer door prizes, gifts or gift cards. 

Monetary incentives can work for some—but not all—customers.

• Trade shows (for Type C or D, sometimes A & B): Secure a hospitality suite or set up a conference room in your booth… and invite those tired aisle-walkers to join you for a Discovery interview. Lavish them with great food and gifts. For more, see Use Trade shows for interviews. 
• Use Preference surveys (for Type C or D): When its time to get Preference ratings, those with many customers can employ Preference surveys. It’s often wise to start with some Preference interviews so you can ask follow-up questions and revise any outcome statements that were unclear. You’ll likely need to offer an incentive to get a decent response rate. For more, see Conduct Preference surveys.

4. Seek Alternative Insights to Supplement Recruiting Customers for VOC

Even with the above strategies to recruit customers for VOC, you may struggle to get enough Discovery interviews. This is particularly true if you have weak customer relations or are exploring a market where customers don’t know you. Consider these approaches. 

• Use an industry expert network. This is the most popular alternative. If you already subscribe to GLG, AlphaSights, Guidepoint or similar, use their services to schedule Dicovery interviews. The AIM Institute has partnered with Maven Research to make their one-million-plus experts available via BluePros at attractive costs. 
• Ask AI for consultant “connectors.” Ask AI to find consultants that are already well-placed in the target industry… so they can introduce you to their contacts and/or schedule Discovery interviews.

Try the following AI prompt: 

I need to recruit customer customers for VOC. These will be interview participants from the [target industry]. Rather than identifying potential interviewees, identify specific people and organizations that have extensive professional networks and could introduce me to knowledgeable customers. Prioritize independent consultants, consulting firms, retired executives who now consult, industry association leaders, conference organizers, technical trainers, and editors of industry publications. Favor individuals who actively work with multiple companies across the industry over experts whose careers have been spent primarily within a single organization. For each recommendation, provide the person’s name, organization, current role, why they are likely to have a strong industry network, the types of people they probably know, a website or LinkedIn profile, and a 1–5 Connector Strength rating indicating their likely ability to recruit or introduce customer interview participants.   

• Advisory Council: For existing markets, consider establishing an “Advisory Council.” This council will include some of your most important customers that meet with you on a regular basis (perhaps quarterly). As part of your advisory council, they’ll likely be willing to be interviewed either as a group or separately (if they compete vigorously with each other). 
• Ask MAC: Blueprinter® subscribers can go to their Blueprinting Center, to find MAC—the Market Application Consultant—in the Rapid Research section. Enter your target application in the “Application First” mode, and MAC will deliver a list of customer problems, score them for you, and allow you to “dive deeper” on any of them. This isn’t a good substitute for Discovery interviews and Preference interviews on major projects, but for small, incremental product development, it’s quite effective.

Next Steps

Time to recruit customers for VOC? If you found these tips useful, please pass them along to colleagues who might benefit. And if you’d like to discuss your situation, please contact us. We’re here to help!