What are some of your favorite interview questions to ask customers when doing market research on segmentation?

Here are some questions you can ask:

• Describe your role in the software purchasing process: are you a budget holder? Decision Maker? Committee Member? Key Influencer?

• Thinking back to when you started evaluating [one tool named above] what was your role in that process and what was going on that prompted the search for a tool? (get as much detail here as possible – this is the trigger)

• What problems were you looking to solve with this solution or what use cases were you looking to apply the solution to? (get as much detail as possible) 

• Who else besides you was most involved in deciding whether to use this tool? (title, department, why were they involved)?

• How would you describe the value and benefits you realized from the implementation of this tool? 

• What are the different resources & forums (digital & in-person) you go to learn & network with your peers?  Tell me about specific industry events or associations you are part of.

• Would you tell me about a specific work-related article that you recently read that was insightful?  What was the article, and why was it insightful or relevant to you?

"How did you solve this problem before our product?"

40-60% of deals end in no decision, according to a Harvard Business Review article (and my own lived experience). It's easier to conceptualize how to beat competitors. You can review their positioning, estimate or uncover their pricing, and evaluate their features relative to your product. Battlecards make it easy to format the findings.

But it doesn't help for roughly half of the lost deals. Understanding how to compete with internal processes, the work of interns, and monstrous spreadsheets provides incredible insight into identifying the ideal customer profiles (ICPs) and acceptable customer profiles (ACPs) within the broader segments.

The answer to this question from customers can be crucial in refining your audience and positioning your product.