Top 5 reasons your customer case study interview went poorly

Customer case studies are powerful marketing collateral, particularly in B2B SaaS where social proofing and referral-based marketing are increasingly more effective. There’s just nothing quite like having current customers speak directly about the pain your solution has solved. But, getting this content is not always easy. We’ve all experienced the hesitant, shy customer who does not want to be interviewed or who does not seem to be enjoying the process. So why does this happen? What kinds of things should you avoid doing if you want to have a good interview?

Here are five things you should avoid when interviewing a customer for a customer case study:  

1)         Apologize for interviewing them

Asking someone to be interviewed for a video or blog post can be an awkward ask. Sometimes it feels like are inconveniencing the person. Most likely, they have taken time out of their day to answer questions for your sake, often with little immediate benefit to them. As a result, you may be feeling guilty or uncertain about how they will feel throughout the interview. However, it’s important to remember that this interview is not about your emotions. As interviewer, your role is to make the interviewee feel listened to and to be a guide for the conversation. If you apologize for them taking part in the process, you are acknowledging your negativity towards the process, and you are calling into question something that is important to reiterate: this is a fun and meaningful process! Instead of apologizing, thank them for their time and express your excitement for the opportunity to speak with them.

2)         Tell them exactly what to say

As a content marketer, you probably already have in mind what you want them to say. You may feel like it’s a better use of their time and your time if you just get what you need as quickly as possible. This can be a big mistake, particularly if the interviewee feels you lack the context to understand the complexities of what they have to say. By telling them what to say right off the bat, you risk making them feel used in the process. Instead, you should share with them what you are hoping to get out of the interview at the beginning, and then slowly work your way up to the most important question you want to ask. It’s only after people feel comfortable that they start to open up, so the first few questions should be easy and should be more about establishing a relationship than anything else.

3)         Ask yes or no questions 

This is one of the most common mistakes interviewers make: they ask yes or no questions. To an interviewee, this can make the interview feel awkward and amateur. The rhythm and flow of an interview are interrupted by asking yes or no questions. One simple fix to change your questions into open-ended questions is to add the words “tell me about” to the beginning. So for example, if you were planning to ask, “did our software help reduce time spent dealing with paperwork?”, you could instead say to them, “tell me about the effect our software had on the amount of time your team spent on paperwork.” This will force the interviewee to answer with a complete thought of their own.  

4)         Ignore when the interviewee deviated from script

Interviewees will often deviate from script. This is usually good! Let it happen! It is ok if they wander a bit. And you want to pay close attention when they do. Sometimes the best insights and best sound bites come from unexpected places in an interview. When an interviewee deviates from the script, you should ask follow-up questions that acknowledge you listened to them, thus permitting them to do this again. You could say things like, “oh I had not thought about that before, can you tell me more about that?” This helps build trust by giving the interviewee agency in the conversation, and it will result in really powerful insights and soundbites for your case study.

5)         Fill the emotional space with your voice and opinion

Lastly, a very common mistake that people make when interviewing for a case study is a simple one: they talk too much. As interviewer, your job is to encourage the interviewee to fill the space as much as possible. The interview is about them and their opinions, so the less you talk the better. There may be some awkward silences or awkward pauses where you are tempted to speak. But you should stay patient and give them space to continue when they are ready. By listening more than speaking and by allowing the interviewee to guide the conversation, you give the interviewee the space to open up and share their thoughts and opinions.