# Customer Research

> Use when a product idea or feature needs real user evidence instead of opinions — before writing a survey, when a persona is guessed rather than researched, or when raw interview notes need synthesizing into opportunity areas.

- Skill: `presidenteog/customer-research` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add presidenteog/customer-research`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/presidenteog/customer-research/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: PresidenteOG (https://skillmd.com/u/presidenteog)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/presidenteog/customer-research

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# customer-research

The Mom Test principle: don't ask people what they want, ask them what they do. Real insight lives in behavior and past decisions, not in hypothetical preferences. Surveys confirm what you already think; interviews reveal what you don't.

## Qué hace esta skill

- Designs a complete interview guide with warm-up, dig, and probe questions
- Flags the questions that produce false data ("Would you use X?" "What features do you want?") and replaces them
- Provides a synthesis process (affinity mapping) to turn raw quotes into named insights
- Produces 2-3 personas in a format that captures worldview, not just demographics
- Outputs 5 opportunity areas in the Jobs-to-be-Done format: "Users need a way to [JOB] because [INSIGHT]"

## Cuándo usarla

- You're validating a new product idea before building
- You're struggling to write copy because you don't know what the customer actually cares about
- You have users but high churn and no clear hypothesis why
- You want to create personas that go beyond "marketing manager, 35, uses LinkedIn"

## Proceso

1. **Define the research question** — What decision does this research need to inform? (e.g., "Why do users drop off during onboarding?") Don't start recruiting until the question is specific.
2. **Recruit 5-8 participants** — Existing users, churned users, or target-profile strangers. 5 interviews reveal 85% of major themes. Record with permission. Use Calendly or a manual DM process.
3. **Run the interview** — Structure:
   - Warm-up (5 min): "Walk me through the last time you tried to [do the task]." Let them narrate.
   - Dig (30 min): "What were you trying to accomplish?" / "What was hard about that?" / "What did you try before?" / "What would the ideal outcome look like?" / "How did you feel when [problem happened]?"
   - Wrap (5 min): "Is there anything I didn't ask that you think I should know?"
   - Never ask: "Would you use X?" (people say yes to be nice) / "What features do you want?" (they'll describe what they've already seen) / "How much would you pay?" (hypothetical pricing is fiction)
4. **Synthesize with affinity mapping**:
   - Extract 3-5 direct quotes per interview on sticky notes (digital or physical)
   - Group by theme — don't label until groups form naturally
   - Name each cluster with an insight, not a behavior: not "users struggle with onboarding" but "users don't know what success looks like on Day 1"
5. **Build personas** — 2-3 max. Per persona:
   - Name + Role (archetypal, not fictional)
   - Primary goal (what they're hired to accomplish)
   - Top 3 frustrations (direct from interview language)
   - Current workaround (what they do today without your product)
   - Worldview quote (one sentence from interviews that captures how they think)
6. **Write opportunity areas** — 5 statements: "Users need a way to [JOB] because [INSIGHT]." These become feature briefs, copy angles, and positioning statements.
7. **Deliver** — Interview guide + synthesis framework + 2-3 personas + 5 opportunity areas.

## Ejemplo de prompt

> Estoy construyendo una herramienta de gestión de proyectos para agencias creativas. Antes de seguir construyendo, quiero entender mejor a los usuarios. ¿Cómo hago las entrevistas y qué pregunto?

## Relación con otras skills

| Situación | Skill |
|---|---|
| Ya tienes los insights y necesitas convertirlos en mensaje | `storybrand-messaging` |
| Quieres usar los insights para mejorar la copy de conversión | `influence-psychology` |
| Los insights revelan un segmento nuevo al que hacer outreach | `cold-email` |