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Customer interview script template

Good interviews ask about what people did, not what they'd do. "Would you use this?" gets polite yeses. "Tell me about the last time this happened" gets the truth. This script is for early discovery and for pre-launch positioning; the exact phrases people use become your headline and your SEO pages.

Use it for

  • Before building, to check the problem is real.
  • Before launch, to find the words for your landing page.
  • After launch, to understand who sticks and why.

Limits and rules

  • Ask for consent before recording, and tell people how you'll use their words.

The template

Copy it, then replace everything in [BRACKETS]. Delete lines that don't apply rather than leaving them vague.

Customer interview script template
CUSTOMER INTERVIEW - [TOPIC] (30 min)
Interviewee: [NAME / ROLE]    Date: [DATE]    Recording consent: [Y/N]

WARM-UP (3 min)
- Tell me about your role and what a normal week looks like.

THE LAST TIME (10 min)
- Tell me about the last time you [DEALT WITH THE PROBLEM].
- What happened just before that?
- What did you do next? And then?
- How long did that take?

WORKAROUNDS (7 min)
- What have you tried to fix this? What happened?
- What do you use today? What do you like and dislike about it?
- Have you paid for anything to solve this?

COST (5 min)
- What does it cost you when this goes wrong? (time, money, stress)
- Who else is affected?

WRAP-UP (5 min)
- If you could wave a magic wand, what would be different?
- Is there anything I should have asked but didn't?
- Who else should I talk to?

NOTES
Exact phrases they used: [WRITE THEM DOWN VERBATIM]
Surprises: [...]

How to fill it in

  1. [THE PROBLEM]

    Describe the situation, not your solution.

  2. Exact phrases

    Capture their words verbatim; these become copy and page titles.

  3. Who else should I talk to?

    The best source of your next interview.

Filled example

Fictional example. Paperlark is a fictional product we made up for these examples: an invoice-reminder tool for freelancers that sends polite follow-ups when a client pays late. Names, prices and details are invented to show the template filled in; they aren't a real company or real results.

Example (fictional product)
CUSTOMER INTERVIEW - late invoices (30 min)
Interviewee: freelance illustrator    Recording consent: Y

THE LAST TIME
- "Tell me about the last time a client paid late."
  -> "A studio was five weeks late. I kept meaning to email them. I finally did after my rent was due."
- "What did you do next?"
  -> "Wrote a really apologetic email. Deleted half of it. Sent it two days later."

WORKAROUNDS
- "What have you tried?"
  -> "Calendar reminders. I snooze them."
- "Paid for anything?"
  -> "My invoicing tool has reminders but they sound robotic, so I turned them off."

NOTES
Exact phrases: "I kept meaning to email them", "sound robotic", "apologetic email"
Surprise: she turned off built-in reminders because of tone, not features.

(Fictional interview for a fictional product.)

Do

  • Ask about specific past events.
  • Stay quiet after questions; let them fill the silence.
  • Write down exact phrases.
  • Interview people who churned too.

Don't

  • Don't pitch your product in the interview.
  • Don't ask "would you use" or "would you pay".
  • Don't lead ("Isn't it annoying when...?").

FAQ

How many customer interviews should I do?

Keep going until you hear the same stories and phrases repeatedly; for a narrow audience that can happen after a handful.

Why not ask if they'd use my product?

People are polite about hypotheticals. Questions about what they actually did last time are more reliable.

How do I use interview notes for marketing?

Their exact phrases for the problem make strong headlines, FAQ questions and page titles.

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