A template for acquiring feedback interviews for your product

When you get your very first users, your weeks are packed with research, refinement, and development. But you know getting feedback from your users is crucial to building a product that sells. You have to choose wisely which features to prioritize and have still to nail your value proposition.

So you start sending emails to your customers. But you get very little response. It feels like trying to shotgun blast and see who responds. So let me show you what customers motivate to give you feedback and how I ask them.

What motivates people to give you feedback

There are two forces involved here. People's lives are packed with a lot of responsibilities. Plus there are so many things competing for their attention. This means your message should not just ask for an interview. For me, at last, it raises expectations of a quite boring meeting.

Another common piece of advice is to ask people for their opinion. This as well isn’t an exciting proposal in my opinion. Plus it remembers me of the many pitches of founders and proud product managers I've heard. They loved their product and craved for compliments and approval.

So what motivates them then? Most people with real problems love to talk about these problems. Especially if someone offers to solve them. So this should be your anchor.

The actual Template

The template is inspired by the one from The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick to acquire prospects for problem interviews.

It consist of only two small paragraphs:

1. Who are you

You’re an entrepreneur/product manager/product owner trying

2. The problem they care about

You try to solve a horrible problem X, usher in wonderful vision Y, or fix stagnant industry Z. Show weakness. Give them a chance to help you by mentioning the problem that you’re looking for answers on. This will also clarify that you’re not a time-waster. Put them on a pedestal by showing how much they, in particular, can help.

An Example

Hi Emilie,

I’m the founder of Acme Inc. the company behind the FindYourSoulmate app you are using. As you know we want to help you find your true soulmate and fix the evil dating industry.

But to be honest, I’m not happy with the onboarding experience of the app. We are losing many new potential soulmates there.

As you are one of our most active users, I would love to grab an online coffee with you. Let me ask you some questions about the onboarding and what did make you sign up for our app in the first place.

Love to hear from you

Fredi

Conclusion

We have to be a little empathic with our users and it gets quite easy to acquire users for feedback interviews. Don’t waste their time and show them how they can invest their time valuable by stating the problem you try to solve.