Awkward Reality #2
All great VOC interviews are alike; every unhappy interview is unhappy in its own way.
With apologies to Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina… all great voice-of-customer interviews are alike in the same way: The customer is talking during most of the interview. And they are talking about those outcomes (desired end results) they want to talk about. Anything else is clutter, much of which leads to unhappiness.
More in article, The Missing Objective in B2B VOC (Originally published in B2B Organic Growth Newsletter)
Interesting thought. I can see where many suppliers bore customers by talking about things the customer isn’t interested in. But what if I’m interviewing a customer and they want to talk about something that I as the supplier will never be able to help them with?
Good point! I like to set the “scope” of our interview discussions with the customer prior to the meeting… and then let them take me ANYWHERE they want to go within it. If they do stray outside this “boundary,” it’s best to pull them back gently and respectfully. And I need to make sure I understand the “stray” point they wanted to make… there might be a great nugget here for later!