Customer interview playbook

What a customer interview is for

A customer interview is for learning how people handle a problem today and what they already spend on it, before you build or sell anything. You’re there to test an assumption, not to get approval for your idea. If the problem isn’t in their top three, that’s an answer too.

The playbook is built on Rob Fitzpatrick’s The Mom Test. Its rules: talk about their life instead of your idea, ask about specific things in the past instead of opinions about the future, and talk less and listen more. The name comes from the idea that if you ask the right questions, even your mum can’t mislead you. Compliments and “I’d use that” tell you little; money or time already spent, and workarounds they’ve built, tell you a lot. That’s what the Signals section sorts.

The optional section for people who recently switched tools is a switch interview, from the Jobs to be Done approach associated with Bob Moesta. It listens for four forces: the push away from the old way, the pull of the new one, the worry about changing and the habit that nearly kept them put.

The customer interview playbook

Words in [Capitalised brackets] are for you to fill in before the call. Words in [lowercase brackets] are filled from the call itself. Copy it to use anywhere, including in Aside.

Copy playbook

How to coach me

• If I mention my idea or ask “would you use…”, “would you pay…” or “do you think…”, tell me to ask about the last time it happened instead.
• When they generalise (“usually”, “always”, “I would”), nudge me to ask for one specific time.
• When they show emotion or mention a workaround, tell me to dig in: “Tell me more about that.”
• Keep me talking well under a third of the time. Silence is fine; let them fill it.
• Near the end, remind me to ask who else to talk to and for a small commitment.

The flow

1. Open (2 min)
   • “Thanks for doing this. I’m trying to learn how people handle [the problem area]. I’m not selling anything; I just want to hear how it really works for you. The messier the better.”
   • Don’t describe my idea. If they ask, it waits until the end.
2. Their world (5 min)
   • “Tell me about your role. What does a normal week look like?”
   • “Where does [the problem area] fit into that?”
   • “What are the hardest parts of [the problem area]?”
   • Listen for: whether my problem comes up on its own, and how high. If it’s not in their top three, that’s an answer.
3. The last time it happened (10 to 15 min). The heart of the interview.
   • “Tell me about the last time [the problem] happened. When was it?”
   • “What were you doing? What did you do next? Then what?”
   • “Who else was involved?”
   • “How long did that take? What did it cost you?”
   • “What have you tried to fix it? Why did you stop?”
   • “How do you deal with it now?”
   • Listen for: workarounds they’ve built, money or time already spent, frustration in their voice. Stay in the past and specific.
4. If they recently switched tools (5 min, optional)
   • “When did you first think you needed something different? What happened that day?”
   • “What did you look at? Who did you ask?”
   • “What almost stopped you?”
   • “What finally made you decide? What did you give up?”
   • “Is it doing what you hoped?”
   • Listen for: what pushed them away from the old way, what pulled them to the new one, what worried them, and what habit nearly kept them put.
5. Wrap up (3 min)
   • “Is there anything I should have asked but didn’t?”
   • “Who else should I talk to about this? Could you introduce me?”
   • If I have something to show: ask for [a small commitment, e.g. a second session, trying an early version, a paid pilot]. “Sounds great, keep me posted” with no date is not a yes.

Steering it back

• “So what are you building?” → “Happy to tell you at the end. I don’t want to bias you. Can I ask more about [the last thing they said]?”
• They suggest a feature → “What would that let you do? How do you handle that today?”
• They compliment the idea → Move past it: “Thanks. How do you deal with that today?”
• “We always…” / “Usually…” → “When was the last time that happened? Walk me through it.”
• “I’d definitely use that” / “I’d pay for that” → “What have you already tried, or paid for, to solve it?”
• They go off on a tangent → Let it run if there’s feeling in it; otherwise “That’s useful. Going back to [the last time], what happened next?”

Signals

• Strong: they’ve spent money or time on it, built a workaround, ask when they can have it, offer an intro or a commitment.
• Weak: compliments, “interesting”, “I’d use that”, feature ideas, talk about the future.

What I’m here to learn

• [The assumption I’m testing, e.g. “agency owners lose 5+ hours a week on client reporting”]
• [Who this person is: role, company type, why I picked them]

Use it in Aside

Customer interview is one of the starter playbooks in the Aside app. Click New playbook, pick Customer interview, and fill in What I’m here to learn: the assumption you’re testing and who this person is. Then name it in the plan for each interview.

During the interview, live guidance reads the whole playbook. The coach is written to catch a “would you use…” question before you ask it, nudge you to ask for one specific time when they say “usually”, and remind you near the end to ask for an intro and a small commitment. Press ⌃⌥N or Ctrl+Alt+N to note a quote; it lands in the transcript at the moment you started typing.

Aside’s ⌘K or Ctrl+K finds the moment a word was said in any transcript. After a round of interviews, a connected AI app like Claude can read the transcripts and tell you what came up again and again. See Connect AI apps and Aside for user research.

Free guides 2 calls a week with a playbook; every call is on the paid plan, $48 a month or $456 a year. New accounts get 14 days of it free, no card needed.