Your Customers Are Lying. And Your Mom, too.

We’ve all heard the Henry Ford quote

“Had I asked people what they wanted, they would have said: faster horses”.

So he didn’t ask. Instead of faster horses, he developed the slow and stinking automobile. And see what became of it!

Same for Steve Jobs and the iPhone. Many people made fun of the idea of a “mobile phone without keys”. Well, that went stellar, too. So while getting feedback on your ideas is important, don’t expect to get too much information from your (potential) customers.

Here are three reasons why:

1.      They don’t know

They use their stuff, but they have hardly any idea of how it works, how it could be improved and what alternatives exist. So how could they do your thinking for you?

2.      They don’t think about it

“Why did you buy brand x?” Well, who cares? It’s the one we’re used to, the one with the special deal, my regular brand was out of stock… We don’t reflect on our choices and our behaviour.

3.      Most important: We ask the wrong questions

Any question starting with “Why do you...” is a confrontation. Instead of honest interest, we force them to justify their actions. They probable haven’t thought about it (see above) and will make up some kind of answer. The one they think you might want to hear, the one that’s social acceptable or makes a good impression. Not useful.

How to ask better questions

We need to learn to ask better questions. That’s what we do in an ongoing project, where we develop service packages for an international manufacturer of powered garden tools.

We want to learn from customers and dealers, and in our first draft, the interview guide ran along the classic “Why did you buy our brand / the other brand?” kind of questions. On first glance, a inconspicuous question, isn’t it? But on second glance, you’ll realize that it is a quite unpleasant question. Would you like to be asked that by a complete stranger? Would you be able to give an honest, clear answer? Probably not.

Empathy Interviews

Luckily, there is a better way, used in Anthropology as well as in Design Thinking. It’s called an Empathy Interview, and it differs from the usual questionnaires (that feel like the Spanish inquisition, anyway).

• You take your time. You’ll need probable half an hour until you have built trust and rapport, so the interviewee feels safe and comfortable and opens up. So the overall length is, if possible, around 90 minutes. Remember, you’re here to learn, not to finish a chore.
• You avoid direct questions, especially in the beginning. Let them talk about the topic and show interest. In our case, we want to hear about their garden. How it looks, what they like about it, what challenges they face. Just ALL of it.
• You keep an open mind. A good long talk is a gold mine! It’s not about getting answers to your questions, but to understand the other persons situation, feelings, point of view.
• There’s gold dust in all the small signs, the smiles and sighs, posture and facial expression. Read what they say between the lines!

 Technically, it’s best to use two people. One to take notes, so the other can concentrate on the discussion. And of course it’s good manners to thank your interviewee for their time and offer a little gift. They were doing you a favor, so act like it.

But what about my mother?

Ah, yes. There is a small and very insightful book, “The Mom Test” by Rob Fitzpatrick. He points out that you should never (!) base your product development on the feedback of your mother. Because mothers always lie.

Not of malicious intent, just the opposite. Go and describe your idea, ask her if she would buy your stuff and the answer will be “Yes, dear, of course I will!” She lies because she loves you and wants to support you. That’s great, but a weak foundation for business decisions, as your “real” customers will probably not love you that much.

So better don’t ask her. Don’t ask your customers, either, at least not directly.

 Instead, do as the BBC does when filming wildlife: Observe and learn.

Do as the BBC: Observe and learn.