Clarity Calls Guide v3 SM
Clarity Calls Guide v3 SM
Clarity Calls Guide v3 SM
QUICK START
GUIDE
This guide teaches you how to use 1:1
interviews to get explosive clarity about
what works with any audience, fast.
KATELYN BOURGOIN
FOUNDER, CUSTOMER CAMP
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Listening Cues
10 Who To Interview
STEP FOUR
STEP THREE
Conduct interview
Use our Interview Script to help
Schedule interview
Once the customer agrees to talk,
lead the discussion and extract
send them a calendar invite
useful details
STEP FIVE
Summarize key findings
Use our Interview Summary Template to
summarize the most valuable intel from the
call and extract ideas to action
FAQ
Below is a list of the most frequently asked questions. Use this as a quick reference
and see the suggested pages for more detailed answers within this guide
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FAQ
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UNDERSTANDING WHY PEOPLE *REALLY* BUY
One question has plagued marketers and People don’t buy because of who they are...
business leaders since the dawn of time... People buy because of who they want to become
Why do customers really buy? Whether you sell lip gloss, copywriting services, software or
alarm clocks, that’s not what your customer is really buying.
If you want to market smarter and sell more stuff, you must be What your customer is really buying is a better version of
able to answer this question. themselves.
The challenge? Finding the answer can be tricky. Why did I *really* buy an old school alarm clock?
We’ve been looking for answers in the wrong places
What I Bought
Old school alarm clock with NO
snooze button
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UNDERSTANDING WHY PEOPLE *REALLY* BUY
People want their lives to be better. They have a vision of where Answering these questions will begin to give insight into what
they want to go, but there are obstacles in their path. really motivates people to buy.
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UNDERSTANDING WHY PEOPLE *REALLY* BUY
Case Study
“ THE CUSTOMER RARELY BUYS
WHAT THE COMPANY THINKS
Why do people really buy milkshakes?
IT’S SELLING.
~ Peter Drucker, Management Consultant
Watch this 4-minute video to find out. I bet the answer will
surprise you.
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WHO TO INTERVIEW
If you want to figure out how to get more Direct and Indirect Competitors
prospects to buy, you should talk to actual If you can’t find someone to talk to who bought from one of
buyers your direct competitors—or you don’t have any direct
competitors, which is sometimes the case for new startups
that are trying to disrupt a market with an innovative new
This may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how often
solution—you can talk to people who bought from an indirect
people get this wrong when doing customer discovery.
competitor.
Instead of interviewing people who recently bought a solution to
An indirect competitor does the same job you do but in a
solve a similar problem or people who are actively in the buying
different way. For instance, for people who want to grab a
journey, they’ll talk to people who fit some pre-defined profile of
quick bite on the go, a vending machine or granola bar could
who they THINK their customers will be. These insights can be
be an indirect competitor to Mcdondalds. You’ll still gather
valuable, but these conversations can also lead you astray.
great insights by exploring these buying stories that you can
use in your marketing materials.
Most people will happily talk at length about their opinions on
certain topics, but that doesn’t mean that they’d actually spend
money to solve the problem you solve. That’s why you should Direct Competitors
always talk to actual buyers if possible. You’ll learn so much
more from these conversations.
vs vs
Who to interview
Quickbooks Xero
Silver vs vs
#2
People who bought from a direct or
indirect competitor
#3 Bronze
People who are currently in the buying
vs vs
journey and actively looking to buy a
solution to solve the problem you solve
Quickbooks Accountant Spreadsheet
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WHERE TO FIND INTERVIEW PROSPECTS
There are plenty of ways to find people to talk to I’ve always found that sending a personalized email works
much better than sending a mass email out to your whole list.
6 Ways To Recruit Interview Prospects
Use a paid service to recruit prospects You can also ask your customers to opt-in to an interview
themselves. This can be a good solution if you’re nervous
about “bugging” their customers.
See the Interview Request Templates for specific outreach
scripts you can swipe. You could post on your social media asking for volunteers or
ask your website visitors using a chat app or notification.
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WHERE TO FIND INTERVIEW PROSPECTS
Yelp Capterra
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WHERE TO FIND INTERVIEW PROSPECTS
You can check out Facebook reviews, Yelp, G2
Crowd or Amazon. These sites often allow you to
click on the profile of the person who wrote the
review. If you can find the original review writer on
social media, you may be able to send them a direct
message and ask them for an interview.
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WHERE TO FIND INTERVIEW PROSPECTS
Paid Services
Respondant.io Upwork
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GETTING PEOPLE TO COMMIT TO INTERVIEWS
How to convince people to say “yes” A perk to using a calling software like UberConference is that
it includes easy call recording, free transcription and keyword
Getting people to commit to a quick interview is often easier search, and automatically highlights emotional language.
than you’d think.
Incentivise them
Below are a few tips to get people to say yes to an interview. Incentives aren’t always necessary, but they can be helpful.
See the Interview request templates for specific outreach
scripts you can swipe. You can incentivise your own customers by offering them a
free product, a gift certificate or an Amazon gift card. Avoid
Ask nicely offering discounts as an incentive since it can appear less
People will be far more likely to commit to an interview if you genuine.
personalize your ask. Remember to keep the request concise
and don’t be afraid to stroke their ego a bit to butter them up If you’re reaching out to non-customers, offering a $25
to the idea. Amazon gift card or a donation to their favourite charity tends
to work well.
Make it easy for them
Once someone agrees to be interviewed, you want to make it
super easy for them. Be clear that you’re only asking for 25
minutes of their time and that you can do an audio call (ie. no
dressing up required)
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INTERVIEW MASTERY
Your #1 objective of each Clarity Call is to explore the Your objective during each interview is to try to retrace the
customer’s buying journey in exacting detail whole buying journey. You want to start at the very beginning
—the trigger that motivated the customer to begin the buying
If you want to figure out how to get more people to buy, the journey—and retrace every step of the buying journey in
most powerful insights will come from exploring the detail. Every question you ask is designed to fill in the gaps.
motivations that led to actual purchase decisions. Think of it like you’re filming a documentary and you need to
gather all the relevant details so you can retell the story
Understanding why a customer switched from their old accurately.
solution to a new one will reveal an enormous amount of
actionable insight that can inform everything from marketing When done successfully, you should be able to map the whole
and messaging to product design. customer’s buying journey with specific details. The best part?
Everything you learn can be applied directly to your
Stages of a Buying Journey marketing.
A typical buying journey includes several steps. It begins with This might seem like a lot to remember, but don’t worry—the
a trigger event—a specific moment when the customer first Note Taking Template will help you to keep the interview on
realizes that they may need a new solution—and ends with the track.
customer using the product and evaluating whether they are
satisfied with it.
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EXAMPLE BUYING JOURNEY:
INTERVIEW MASTERY PURCHASING A CASPER MATTRESS
Ally gets a puppy who sleeps in Talks to colleague about sleep Sleeps in after a restless night Begins Googling sleep training dog,
bed and now she can’t sleep problem, notices friend’s post on and is late for important meeting online search for dog beds, DM’s friend
Instagram showing off their new asking about her new mattress, explores
mattress, gets flyer from IKEA Casper website, explores Endy website,
with sale on bedroom furniture reads mattress reviews online, watches
YouTube videos on dog training
Prepare Questions
But don’t be robotic—it should feel more
like a conversation than an interrogation
Focus on the “What”
Listen More Than You Talk Ask questions that focus on what
Awkward silences can lead to wow insights customers actually did...
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INTERVIEW MASTERY
Listening Cues
Dig In And Ask For Details Each buyer interview contains valuable intel that you can
Use these deep dive question at any time action. In addition to asking questions to help your customer
during your interview to get the person you’re to retrace the buying interview, there are also specific details
interviewing to share more details that you should be listening for during the interview.
If they use positive words: Barriers slow or even stall purchase decisions and lead
to increased churn
“You seem pretty excited about
that — why was that a big deal?” Identifying barriers will help you to adjust your
approach or find ways to answer possible objections.
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INTERVIEW MASTERY
Delight
What specifically did the
buyer like about the product
and overall customer
experience? What brought
them joy?
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FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION
We named these Clarity Calls because everything you learn Know how to your strengthen your core
will give you clarity about what *really* motivates #7
messaging
customers to buy
Use customer language to write high-
#8
When you understand that makes people tick, click and buy, converting copy
you market smarter. You’ll stop guessing about what might
work with your audience and have real evidence about what Generate new marketing campaign
#9
does work. ideas
The insights you gather through customer interviews and Identify new topics for content
#10
document in your Interview Summary Template can be used marketing
across your whole customer experience—from product design
to demand generation to loyalty/retention strategy. #11 Identify purchase catalysts that you
can leverage
16 Powerful Ways to Action Your Interview Insights #12 Know how to answer potential
objections upfront
Create research-backed customer
#1
personas #13 Know how to improve your product
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FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION
Everything you learn from your interviews can be immediately used in your growth plan. By
documenting your customer’s buying journey, you’ll get clues that will allow you to help prospective
customers to move faster through the buying journey.
Use the tips below to map your growth strategy to your customer’s buying journey.
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FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION
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FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION
Awesome Resources
Watch Video>
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