# Customer Interviews: A Guide to Perfecting B2B Messaging _Last updated: 2025-06-30_ Customer interviews are a structured method to uncover insights that should inform brand strategy, go-to-market approach, audience targeting, and product evolution. According to Dentsu, 68% of buyers feel that B2B brands all sound the same and fail to differentiate, signaling that messaging developed without customer input often misses the mark. ## Why conduct customer interviews? Interviewing the right Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) reveals: - Why customers chose your product - Whether their expectations match reality - What keeps them using it (or what is pushing them away) - How smooth or painful their buying process was - What objections they had to overcome internally These findings unlock customer motivations and pain points, the exact language they use, emotional triggers that drive purchasing decisions, blind spots in messaging and sales approach, and how competitors may be positioning themselves differently. ## When to conduct customer interviews Conduct customer interviews when major market changes occur, product strategy shifts, new product offerings are being developed, or brand momentum shows signs of slowing. They are particularly valuable when you suspect something has changed for the worse—such as when market maturity increases or external guidance contradicts your product's value proposition. Signs that brand messaging needs review include: - Lower-than-benchmark conversion rates - Weak website engagement - Declining lead volume - Complaints from sales or customer success teams A difficult quarter is an excellent trigger to run customer interviews. ## Preparing for effective customer interviews ### Step 1: Set a Clear Goal Define what you are trying to solve and align messaging goals. Aim for at least eight interviews within a set timeframe. ### Step 2: Choose the Right Segment Start with your largest and most loyal customer profile. ### Step 3: Identify Who to Interview Align your persona choice with your core project objectives. ### Step 4: Pick the Right Interviewer Never let sales or customer success conduct the interview. Choose a neutral, skilled interviewer who can establish rapport and remain impartial. A neutral interviewer is critical because customers often hesitate to share honest feedback with someone they associate with the company's revenue goals. A salesperson or customer success manager may unintentionally lead the conversation or make the interviewee feel pressured to give positive responses. A good interviewer should: - Build rapport before diving into tough questions - Reassure interviewees that their feedback will remain anonymous or only be used internally - Use open-ended questions that encourage genuine, unfiltered responses - Keep the interview 85% customer speaking, 15% you speaking (or less) ## Example customer interview question set Before creating questions, work with your operations team to analyze sticking points in the buyer journey by looking for slow stage velocity, disengaged leads, stalled opportunities, and poor conversion rates compared to industry standards. ### Scenario A marketing analytics company selling B2B attribution software in the United States has primary end users who are marketing operations professionals, but sales require CMO or CRO approval and existing budget. The primary concern is customer churn: when the primary stakeholder churns, so does the product. The company wants to understand how to become more engaged directly with leadership and when this engagement should occur in the customer lifecycle. Target eight interviews with marketing operations professionals and eight with VP of Marketing, CMO, or CRO roles. Questions will be mostly consistent with only slight tailoring to persona. ### Questions for marketing operations professionals - Whose idea was it to purchase marketing attribution? - How risky is it to bring in a new marketing attribution system? - How difficult was it to convince leadership to invest in the tool? - Do you think your leader understands why the product was purchased? - What was your leader's goal for purchasing the product? Were their expectations aligned with what you expected or wanted? - How often do you think the leader looks at reports or actively uses the tool? When or why not? - If you were to win the lottery and leave your company, do you think your leader would keep the product? Why or why not? - When your CFO analyzes software spend, how do you defend this purchase? What information would you like to more easily defend the purchase? - What did you want out of a marketing attribution tool? - How did you feel your expectations of the product matched with what you received? - Is there anything you would like to discuss that I haven't asked about? ### Questions for CMO, VP of Marketing, or CRO roles - Whose idea was it to purchase marketing attribution? - How difficult was it to convince your peers (CEO/CFO) to invest in the tool? - Do you think your CFO/CEO understands why the product was purchased? - What was your goal for purchasing the product? - Do you ever use the product? Why or why not? - If your operations leader were to win the lottery and leave your company, would you keep the product? Why or why not? - When your CFO analyzes software spend, how do you defend this purchase? What information would you like to more easily defend the purchase? - What did you want out of a marketing attribution tool? - How did you feel your expectations of the product matched with what you received? - Is there anything you would like to discuss that I haven't asked about? ## Analyzing customer interview data Customer interviews often reveal obvious patterns early in the process. However, collect at least eight interviews to ensure you don't miss contradictions to early insights. Review conversations for patterns and identify people who were engaged and enthusiastic about providing thorough feedback. It is acceptable to weigh interviewees who openly discussed a poor match between sales expectations and customer success delivery more heavily if other personas were not involved in the sales process or were reluctant to share criticism. ## Incorporating insights into brand messaging Instead of rushing to update all content, take a cautious and data-driven approach by creating A/B tests. 1. **Test** – Run A/B tests on ads, landing pages, and social content. 2. **Measure** – Track engagement, conversions, and lead quality. 3. **Refine** – If results improve, roll out updates more broadly. 4. **Keep Interviews on File** – Use recorded interviews to get sales and leadership excited about strategic shifts. A successful brand messaging update will result in higher engagement on your website from your target audience, more leads, higher conversion rates, and more pipeline. ## Closing guidance Customer interviews are a method to revamp brand messaging. If conducting interviews independently feels daunting, consider working collaboratively with research partners such as Decode Insights.