Win-loss interviews are an effective way for product managers to gain insight into why customers choose to do business with (or not do business with) their company. Here is a guide to help you conduct a win-loss interview:
Process for conducting a win loss interview
- Identify the right interviewees: The best candidates for win-loss interviews are recent customers who have either decided to do business with your company (wins) or decided not to (losses). Make sure to get a diverse sample of customers, including both large and small accounts.
- Prepare the questions: Before conducting the interview, prepare a list of open-ended questions that will help you understand the customer’s decision-making process. Examples include “Why did you decide to do business with us?” and “What factors influenced your decision not to do business with us?”
- Schedule the interview: Reach out to the customer and schedule the interview at a convenient time for them. Make sure to give them a clear idea of what the interview will entail and how long it will take.
- Conduct the interview: During the interview, keep your questions open-ended and let the customer speak freely. Avoid leading questions or trying to steer the conversation in a certain direction. Also, make sure to take detailed notes to capture all of the customer’s insights and feedback.
- Follow up: After the interview, send a thank-you note to the customer and let them know that their feedback is valuable to your company. Also, make sure to share the key takeaways from the interview with your team and use the information to improve your product and sales process.
- Analyze and act on the feedback: Once you’ve conducted several win-loss interviews, look for patterns and common themes in the feedback. Use this information to make changes to your product, sales process, and marketing strategy.
Win Loss Interview Guide
Beyond the actual process of performing the win loss interview, it is important to structure the interview appropriately. A well structured guide will help ensure the product manager will obtain quality insights that will help him or her to develop a better product strategy. A win loss interview guide should include the following:
- Introduction: Begin by introducing yourself and the purpose of the interview. Explain that the goal of the interview is to understand why a customer chose to do business with your company, or why they chose not to.
- Background: Ask the customer to provide background information on their company and their role within it. Ask about the decision-making process and key stakeholders involved.
- Problem: Ask the customer to describe the problem or opportunity they were trying to address, and how it impacted their business.
- Evaluation: Ask about the customer’s evaluation process, including the criteria they used to evaluate potential solutions and the different options they considered.
- Decision: Ask the customer to describe the decision-making process and the factors that led to the decision to do business with your company, or not.
- Implementation: Ask about the customer’s experience implementing your solution, including any challenges or successes they encountered.
- Results: Ask the customer to describe the results they have seen from using your solution and how it has impacted their business.
- Feedback: Ask the customer for feedback on your solution and your company’s service. Ask what you could have done differently or better.
- Future: Ask the customer about their future plans and if they would consider doing business with your company again in the future.
- Conclusion: Thank the customer for their time and let them know that their feedback is valuable and will be used to improve your company’s offerings.
Conclusion
Conducting win-loss interviews is a valuable tool for product managers to gain insight into customer’s decision-making process, it can help you to improve your product, sales process, and marketing strategy. Remember that this is an ongoing process that requires regular check-ins and follow-ups to continuously improve your product or service.