This week on the podcast, we are talking with Melissa Harstine, a Customer Research Specialist. As a researcher, copywriter, and trained journalist, she explains the best ways to get to know your ideal customer to improve your sales and marketing. If you are in the stage of business where you need a consultant to take your customer research interviews to the next level, you are at the right place.

Topics discussed in this episode:

* How and why Melissa started her research business* The main questions you should ask to find your ideal customer* How willingness to be engaged is connected with your content strategy* Melissa’s perfect number of scheduling interviews per customer segment per week* Knowing how to acknowledge your own bias as an interviewer* How to create questions for the answers that you need to hear versus answers you want to hear* Knowing the difference between interviews and surveys* The importance of having your interviews transcribed* How to create a valuable offer simply by asking the right questions

Quotables:

I feel that many people are thinking it’s going to take more time to reach out to people and set up interviews and create transcripts and analyze them. But in the end, I do think it can help you work smarter, not harder in your…Click To Tweet

I think the most useful insights will come from a new offer you are creating. Just make sure you’re talking to your ideal customers and ask them questions that get below the surface. – Melissa HarstineClick To Tweet

Knowing what matters to your customers means that you can choose better stories for your content. – Melissa HarstineClick To Tweet

For different audiences, you have to come out with a completely different message, or a completely different way of positioning what you’re offering to reach them. – Melissa HarstineClick To Tweet

Always make sure that you are recording the conversation, and then turn that recorded conversation into a written transcript. So you’re getting the exact words straight from your customer̵...