Customer research

Research earns its cost only if a decision hangs on it. Name that decision before recruiting anyone.

Choose the method by question

• Why did this happen / what do they actually do — interviews. Small n, deep.
• How common is this — survey. Only after interviews have told you what to ask; a survey written from assumptions returns your assumptions.
• Why did we win or lose — win-loss, with losses weighted higher. Losses are where the truth is and are systematically under-sampled.
• Which framing works — message testing against a real choice, not a preference rating.

Interviewing

Ask about the past, not the future. "What did you do last time" is evidence; "would you use this" is politeness.