Structured interviewing

When strategy depends on what customers or suppliers think, ask them directly—and use enough structure to compare what different people say without suppressing unexpected insight.

When to use it

Use structured interviews in most strategy-development processes unless a recent, relevant customer study already answers the questions. Do not burden customers by repeating research without a decision need.

Origins

Structured and semi-structured interviews developed through qualitative social research, market research and applied organisational inquiry. A common guide improves comparability and coverage, while open questions and probes preserve the depth of a conversation. The method here applies that tradition to customer and supplier evidence for strategy rather than to employee selection.

What it is

Walt Disney advised doing the work so well that customers return and bring their friends. Structured interviewing helps discover whether customers would recommend the firm, what they value, how they compare providers and what they will need next.

It is not a scripted survey. The interviewer uses a concise guide, asks comparable core questions and follows relevant answers. The output can inform key success factors, competitor ratings, segment needs and strategic priorities.

How to use it

Follow five broad activities, illustrated in Figure F.1:

1. Select a representative group of interviewees.
2. Prepare a customer-centred storyline.
3. Create a concise discussion guide.
4. Conduct interviews by email, telephone or, preferably where practical, face to face.
5. Thank participants and provide appropriate feedback.

The interviewees

Choose a cross-section that represents the strategic question:

Customers from each major segment

The top six customers by revenue

Long-standing relationships and recent wins

Customers with direct experience of competitors

Customers with whom the firm has had problems

Target customers currently buying from a rival

Former customers who switched, who may provide especially valuable evidence

Use judgement rather than interviewing everyone. Three to six participants in each main segment—perhaps two dozen overall—may be enough to reveal a pattern, although the required sample depends on diversity and saturation rather than a fixed rule.