JTBD: B2B specifics

Before an interview

  • in a customer interview studying the reality not their imagination.
  • you should have a goal before an interview so:
    • come prepared
    • have a hypothesis
    • know your customer segment unless you are looking for one
  • preparation steps:
    • research the topic if you are not familiar with it - it will help you to earn the interviewee’s trust and so get more insights out of the interview
      • know the domain specific language
      • talk to experts if needed
    • decide what the duration of the interview should be. It is usually between 30-90 minutes. 30 minutes maybe too short since you may need to earn some trust first or you may want to go deeper into the details. 90 minutes may be mentally and physically hard.
    • prepare an interview script but remember that it is a blueprint and you can adjust it as you go
  • recording and notes
    • video recording is nice to have if you want to review but it is better to use notes so you don’t need to spend another hour which you can use for an interview to view the recording
    • ask for permission to record a video even if you asked it before the interview
    • inform that you will be taking notes
    • avoid any distraction it is important for establishing the contact and trust
    • video is preferred since 55% of information is non-verbal
    • prepare a notes template to fill in
    • you need to feel comfortable during the interview: meditate, find a place from which you will be comfortable to interview

During an interview interview

Contact

  • smile
  • open posture
  • look into the camera or keep eye contact
  • use active listening - it help to reduce the stress through affirmation

Set boundaries

  • introduction. try to switch to less formal language (for languages with different formality modalities)
  • explain the interview process
    • in B2C hide product details till the last moment or do not expose them at all (also you may not have a product yet)
    • explain the timing
  • tell that you will be taking notes
  • tell that you may ask about their feelings and emotions
  • let them know that they don’t have to answer questions they don’t want to answer
  • ask if they are ok with video recording

Interview

  • don’t reveal the goal of your interview to avoid lies and hallucinations in an attempt to please you.
  • start with simple and qualification questions to give a sense of safe space and to know better qualification factors our like their interests or life priorities etc. Those factors can be very insightful.
  • avoid domain specific terms and slang - use general language
  • don’t ask about the future or imaginary situations - people will lie and hallucinate
  • ask about past experience and to tell a story
    • if a respondent drifts towards imaginary situations carefully redirect them to the main topic - the past experience
  • ask open questions
  • ask problems and associated emotions and their scale
    • be careful with wording not to shut them down by rejection or misbelieve
  • one question at a time
  • avoid interrupting, carefully correct the topic of discussion
  • talk less, don’t fear the awkward pauses. The pauses can nudge the respondent to start talking about things they wouldn’t tell otherwise. People don’t like silence and will try to fill it with their thoughts.
  • ask follow up questions like “why?”, “so what?” etc
  • if a team want to join
    • limit the number of participants
    • come up with a protocol for asking questions by the team members
    • introduce the team
    • you may want to put team of camera if they are not actively talking

After the interview

Analyze the interview as soon as possible while you have all the context fresh.

JTBD-interview guides