Leave with an interview guide and a structured evidence record.
Start with a real buying situation
For the worked example, the audience is an operations manager arranging space for a hybrid team. Their problem is that attendance varies and meeting rooms are difficult to reserve. The desired practical outcome is a workspace arrangement matched to actual attendance and meeting needs.
The example is deliberately bounded: peak meeting times and access requirements must fit the available space. That condition should influence the promise, scope and next step rather than disappear from the marketing copy.
| Illustrative offer | a flexible team workspace agreement |
|---|---|
| Buyer question | How many people attend on your busiest day, and what do they need to do? |
| Possible evidence | a tour using the team’s proposed weekly schedule |
| Useful asset | a workspace requirements comparison |
How to complete your customer interview guide
- Choose a learning question and recruit people who have relevant experience.
- Ask about a recent event rather than a hypothetical preference.
- Follow the sequence: trigger, attempted solution, decision and result.
- Record direct quotations with permission and keep interpretation separate.
- Look for repeated evidence while retaining contradictions and exceptions.
Worked example
These entries are illustrative planning material, not research findings or customer results. Keep the structure and replace the content with verified details.
| What we need to learn | Understand how an operations manager arranging space for a hybrid team deals with this problem: attendance varies and meeting rooms are difficult to reserve. |
|---|---|
| A recent incident to explore | How many people attend on your busiest day, and what do they need to do? |
| Follow-up questions | What happened next? Who was affected? What did you try? What did you compare before deciding? |
| Evidence and exact language | Record the participant’s exact account with permission. Example to investigate, not a finding: “A permanent office looks cheaper per desk.” |
| What remains uncertain | We have not yet established the frequency, cost or prevalence of the problem. Test those assumptions in further conversations. |
Review before using it
A useful operational measure in this example is fit between booked capacity and the team’s actual attendance. That does not automatically make it a marketing attribution metric. Define the source, period and owner before drawing conclusions.
- Would the questions still make sense if the interviewee never bought from us?
- Check the delivery assumptions: Clarify deposits, access hours, guests, room allowances and notice periods.
- Use evidence rather than promises. Do not promise availability before checking current inventory.
- Discuss the draft with someone who understands the buying situation. Start with: “How many people attend on your busiest day, and what do they need to do?”
- If the next step is a trial, define its purpose. One possible starting point is to trial an agreed team day and review the room and desk experience.
Common mistakes and a better review
Do not fill a missing fact with an impressive-sounding number. Mark it as an assumption, explain how you will check it and give that check an owner. A short, honest document is easier to use than an elaborate plan built on unknowns.
| Watch for | Asking whether someone likes your solution encourages polite approval. |
|---|---|
| A real buyer concern | A permanent office looks cheaper per desk. |
| Useful response direction | Let us compare the expected use, meeting facilities, service costs and commitment period on the same basis. |
| Evidence to collect | The buyer’s own account, a tour using the team’s proposed weekly schedule, and records relevant to fit between booked capacity and the team’s actual attendance. |
Your working sheet
Write your own version below. Notes are saved on this browser when local storage is available. Use Download to keep a separate copy; avoid adding confidential information on a shared device.
Example: Understand how an operations manager arranging space for a hybrid team deals with this problem: attendance varies and meeting rooms are difficult to reserve.
Example: How many people attend on your busiest day, and what do they need to do?
Example: What happened next? Who was affected? What did you try? What did you compare before deciding?
Example: Record the participant’s exact account with permission. Example to investigate, not a finding: “A permanent office looks cheaper per desk.”
Example: We have not yet established the frequency, cost or prevalence of the problem. Test those assumptions in further conversations.
Review your work
Tick only what you can support with your answer or practice. This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.
Questions about this resource
How do I adapt this for my coworking spaces business?
Replace the audience, offer and evidence with your actual information. Begin with a recent buyer conversation about why attendance varies and meeting rooms are difficult to reserve, then check which assumptions match your business.
Is the filled example ready to publish?
No. It is a working example. Verify claims, permissions, prices, current capabilities and any customer information before using it externally. Do not promise availability before checking current inventory.
What should I do after completing the worksheet?
Use it to make one decision or have one focused conversation. The intended output is an interview guide and a structured evidence record. Set a review date and update it when the evidence changes.
Illustrative business worksheet. No customer results, market rates, traffic volumes or performance benchmarks are implied. About these resources.