# Customer Interviews > Customer interviews skill - Skill: `matteotitta/customer-interviews` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add matteotitta/customer-interviews` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/matteotitta/customer-interviews/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Research & Search - Author: matteotitta (https://skillmd.com/u/matteotitta) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/matteotitta/customer-interviews --- # Customer interviews skill Prepare structured interview guides for B2B SaaS customer research. Produces question banks, preparation frameworks, and synthesis templates that feed directly into ICP research and positioning work. ## Inputs | Input | Required | Source | |-------|----------|--------| | Interview type | Yes | User specifies: discovery, win/loss, churn, expansion, or testimonial | | Company context | Recommended | `/company-context` output or client CLAUDE.md | | ICP profile | Recommended | `/icp-research` output | | Specific research goals | Yes | User states what they're trying to learn | ## Interview types Full question banks (10-15 questions per type) live in the premium reference. Use this table to pick the right type, then pull 8-12 questions from the bank. | Type | Purpose | When to use | |------|---------|-------------| | **1. Discovery** | Understand the prospect's world before they became a customer. Map pain, workflow, buying triggers, decision criteria. | Early-stage ICP research, entering new segments, validating positioning hypotheses | | **2. Win/loss** | Understand why deals closed (or didn't). Extract decision criteria, competitive dynamics, buying process details. | After closed-won/closed-lost deals, competitive positioning, sales enablement | | **3. Churn** | Understand why customers left. Identify product gaps, service failures, unmet expectations. | After churn events, retention strategy, product feedback loops | | **4. Expansion** | Understand what drives upsell, cross-sell, seat expansion. Map the internal champion's advocacy process. | Expansion playbook development, pricing research, PLG analysis | | **5. Testimonial** | Extract quotable results, transformation stories, social proof. | Case study production, social proof gathering, website copy refresh | ## Preparation framework Run this checklist before every interview. ### 1. Research the interviewee - [ ] Role, title, tenure at company - [ ] LinkedIn profile review (career path, posts, interests) - [ ] Their company's stage, size, industry - [ ] Any previous interactions with your team (sales notes, support tickets, NPS scores) - [ ] Public content they've produced (blog posts, conference talks, comments) ### 2. Define research goals - [ ] What are the 3 specific things you need to learn from this conversation? - [ ] What hypotheses are you testing? - [ ] What gaps in your current ICP/positioning/competitive data does this fill? - [ ] How will you use the output? (Which downstream skill or deliverable?) ### 3. Customize the question bank - [ ] Select 8-12 questions from the relevant interview type - [ ] Reorder based on priority (most important questions early, in case you run short) - [ ] Personalize with company-specific details ("I noticed you switched from [competitor]...") - [ ] Prepare 2-3 follow-up probes for each key question - [ ] Remove questions you already have answers to ### 4. Logistics - [ ] Interview length: 30-45 minutes (never over 60) - [ ] Recording permission: ask at the start, not mid-conversation - [ ] Note-taker: assign someone or use transcription (Granola, Otter, etc.) - [ ] Warm-up plan: 2-3 minutes of genuine rapport before questions ## During the interview ### Principles - **Listen more than you talk.** Target 80/20 ratio (them/you). - **Follow the energy.** When they lean into a topic, go deeper. Your script is a guide, not a cage. - **Ask "why" and "tell me more" liberally.** The best insights come from the second and third layers. - **Use their words, not yours.** Don't rephrase their pain into your product language. - **Sit in the silence.** When they pause, don't fill the gap. They're often about to say the most honest thing. - **Capture exact quotes.** Flag verbatim language in your notes with quotation marks. These are gold for messaging. ### Follow-up prompts Use these when an answer is surface-level: - "Can you give me a specific example of that?" - "What happened next?" - "How did that make you feel?" - "Who else was affected by that?" - "What would have happened if you hadn't done anything?" - "Help me understand the timeline on that." - "You mentioned [X] -- say more about that?" ### Red flags during interviews - They're giving you the answers they think you want. Redirect with "I really want the honest version." - They're speaking in generalities. Push for specifics: "When was the last time that happened?" - They're selling you on their company. Gently steer back: "That's helpful context. Now tell me about the problem side." - You're asking leading questions. Catch yourself. "Don't you think X is a problem?" becomes "How do you think about X?" ## Synthesis framework After the interview, map findings to these categories. Each one feeds directly into downstream skills. | Category | Feeds into | What to capture | |----------|------------|-----------------| | **Pain points and triggers** | icp-research, positioning | Specific problems described; what triggered the search; urgency / cost of inaction | | **Buying process** | icp-research, win-loss-analysis | Who was involved; evaluation process; timeline and friction points | | **Decision criteria** | positioning, product-messaging | What mattered most; deal-breakers; how alternatives were compared | | **Language and vocabulary** | tone-of-voice, messaging | Exact phrases for the problem; how they describe the solution to peers; words they avoid | | **Results and impact** | case-study, testimonial content | Quantifiable outcomes; qualitative changes; before/after contrast | | **Objections and concerns** | sales-enablement, battlecards | What almost stopped them buying; concerns remaining; what they'd change | ## Anti-patterns **Don't do these:** - Asking yes/no questions. Every question should be open-ended. - Running through all 15 questions in 30 minutes. Pick 8-12 and go deep. - Recording without permission. Always ask first, and respect a "no." - Interviewing through a screen share of your product. This is research, not a demo. - Combining interviews with sales pitches. Keep them separate or you'll poison the data. - Interviewing only happy customers. Churned users and lost deals are where the real insights live. - Skipping synthesis. Raw notes decay fast. Synthesize within 24 hours or the context fades. - Treating one interview as truth. A single data point is an anecdote. You need 5-8 interviews per segment to see patterns.