What isn’t a customer interview?

Customer interviews are often misunderstood and confused with other types of customer engagements, but they serve a very specific purpose.

What customer interviews are not:

• Usability tests or prototype tests: These focus on how users interact with a specific product or solution, evaluating its usability, rather than exploring broader user needs or goals. They are valuable but do not dig into the customer's motivations or pain points like customer interviews do.
• Sales conversations: The intent here is to close a deal or renew business. These conversations are sales-driven, aiming for a transaction, rather than understanding user challenges and needs.
• Support conversations: These interactions are about solving a customer's specific problem or complaint. While they are important for customer satisfaction, they are reactive and focus on resolving immediate issues, not on understanding the broader context of user needs.^[1]