Insights — Channel Creation & New Revenue Streams — 3 min read
How Many Customers Should I Speak to Before Launching a New Service?
The truth about your new service isn't found in the boardroom—it's found in the honest feedback of your customers.
In short
Aim for a minimum of 20 to 30 structured interviews with your target customers. You don't need hundreds—after 20 interviews, you will notice patterns in the 'pain points' and objections that will allow you to refine your proposition. Focus on identifying the problems they currently struggle with, how they are solving them now, and what they would be willing to pay for a better solution. The goal is to reach a state of 'saturated data' where new interviews stop providing new insights.
It is easy to believe in your own idea. The harder, more important challenge is getting your customers to believe in it too. Before you launch a new service, you need to move from 'I have an idea' to 'I have evidence'. The most reliable way to get that evidence is through one-on-one structured interviews.
Customer interviews are not about pitching your service; they are about understanding the 'why' behind their problems. Most business owners spend too much time talking about features and not enough time listening to the pain points that make a new service necessary.
The Art of the B2B Interview
The biggest error is asking leading questions like 'Would you buy this?'. The customer wants to be nice and will say 'yes'. Instead, ask for their history.
The Questions That Matter
- Tell me about the last time you struggled with [the problem].
- What did you try to do to fix it?
- How much time or money do you think that problem costs you annually?
- Why haven't you found a better solution yet?
- What would a 'perfect' solution look like to you?
Analysing the Results
After 20 interviews, map the feedback:
- The 'Hair-on-Fire' Segment: If 50% of the interviewees mention this as a major headache, you have a solid market.
- The 'Objection' Segment: If they all say 'it's too expensive', rethink your delivery model.
- The 'Non-Issue' Segment: If they say 'I don't really care about that', discard that feature.
Commercial Reasoning
Every interview you do should be a risk-mitigation exercise.
- Revenue: Does the interview confirm a willingness to pay, or is it a 'nice to have'?
- Margin: Can you identify which features they are willing to pay a premium for?
- Cash: Can you find out their procurement cycle so you know when to budget for the launch?
- Capacity: Will this new service require you to change how you work?
- Complexity: Does the service match the 'language' the customer uses?
- Risk: Have you identified the biggest 'deal-breakers' before you've even spent a pound?
When NOT to Launch
If after 30 interviews you hear:
- We already have a solution that we love.
- We don't have the budget for this right now.
- This doesn't seem like the kind of service you offer.
- We are too busy with other priorities to even consider this.
Conclusion
The goal of the interview phase is not to get a 'yes'. The goal is to get the truth. If you find out the truth is that your idea won't work, that is the most profitable conversation you will ever have.
Could your business support another route to revenue?
Evans Channel Creation identifies, validates and builds additional revenue channels from capabilities a business already has — B2B to D2C, D2C to B2B, product to service, recurring revenue or partners — and says so plainly when a channel should not be built. Programme from £1,995 + VAT per month over six months.
Related services