new business module

INITIAL MARKET ASSESSMENT 73
Adapt your interview to the interviewee
You will have no difficulty adapting the interview to people
you know. You will know how they react in certain situations
and can anticipate their behaviour by the way in which they
address the subjects you want to discuss.
You will not have this advantage with people you do not know.
In some situations, you may be able to observe the person
before you start the interview. For example, before interviewing
a competitor you can observe how the competitor treats
the customers. Those observations may indicate whether the
competitor is calm, quiet, patient, talkative, grumpy, etc.
Depending on how you assess the competitor’s behaviour, you
can then adapt the way in which you conduct the interview.
If the competitor is very busy, it may be better to come back
some other time or else you may have to limit the interview
to a few questions.
Be aware of who you are interviewing. You can ask your
competitors whether their clients are happy with their goods
or services, but you should be aware that the competitors’
customers are a much better source of reliable information on
this subject.
Cross-check your information
If you want reliable information, you will have to interview
several people on the same subjects. This will allow you to
compare the answers and increases the chances that you will
get an accurate picture of the “real” situation. The potential
customers interviewed are likely to have different preferences
and different opinions on goods and services. You want to
obtain a picture of the typical customer. You will therefore have
to interview several people belonging to the group of customers
you want to target.