01
Churn and win-back
“What finally made you decide to leave?”
Product and customer-success teams run this when a cancellation form only records a tick box. You invite people who left, or who are about to. The interviewer asks what they were trying to get done, which parts they actually used, and what they went back to.
What the plan usually covers
- The job they hired the product for
- What they used in a normal week
- The moment they decided to leave
- What they use instead
Each person comes back with a cancellation reason, a win-back likelihood and the competitor they named, next to the transcript, a summary and quotes. Across the study you see which reasons repeat, and which tick-box answer was hiding a different problem.
Cancellation reasonWin-back likelihoodCompetitor
02
Onboarding
“Where did you get stuck in your first week?”
This is for the first week, when someone signs up and then goes quiet. Product and success teams send it to new accounts after setup, or when activation stalls. The interviewer asks them to walk through what they tried, rather than to score the product.
What the plan usually covers
- The first thing they tried to do
- Where they got stuck
- Whether they asked anyone for help
- How long it took to get something useful
Setup blocker, time to value and whether they still need help turn those stories into rows you can sort. Themes show the stuck points that show up more than once, with the quote that explains each one.
Setup blockerTime to valueNeeds help
03
Product discovery
“Walk me through the last time you did this.”
Research and product teams use this before building, when they need the last time someone did the job, not a vote on a feature. Participants are current users, or people who do that work today. The interviewer follows the sequence of what happened, including the workaround.
What the plan usually covers
- The last time they did the task
- The tools they used
- The workaround they have settled for
- How often it comes up
You leave with a job to be done, the workaround and a frequency for each person, plus quotes tied to the turn they came from. That is material for a problem statement, not a backlog.
Job to be doneWorkaroundFrequency
04
NPS follow-up
“You gave us a 6. What would make it a 9?”
A score says someone is a six. It does not say what would make them a nine. Teams send this after an NPS or CSAT survey, to the people whose number needs an explanation. The interviewer starts from the score they already gave and asks what sat behind it.
What the plan usually covers
- What the score is reacting to
- The last experience that shaped it
- What would have to change
- Whether that is true for their whole team or just them
Score driver, detractor reason and segment are filled in per person. You can read the detractors as a group without losing the sentence that explains the number.
Score driverDetractor reasonSegment
05
Pricing and packaging
“What would make this an easy yes?”
Use this around a packaging or price change, when you need the reaction in the buyer’s words before you ship it. The people you invite are the ones who would pay: the buyer, the user, or both. The interviewer asks what they compare it with and what would make the decision easy.
What the plan usually covers
- Who owns the budget
- Which plan would fit the way they work
- The reaction to the price
- What they would drop to make room for it
Plan fit, budget owner and price reaction come back as attributes, with the transcript behind each one. Themes separate the objections that are about price from the ones that are about the package.
Plan fitBudget ownerPrice reaction
06
Win and loss
“What tipped the decision?”
Sales and product teams run this after a deal is won or lost, while the decision is still easy to remember. Participants are the people who made or blocked the call. The interviewer asks what tipped it, not for a scorecard of features.
What the plan usually covers
- The alternatives they seriously considered
- The moment the decision tipped
- Who had to agree
- What nearly changed the outcome
Deciding factor, alternative chosen and deal stage are recorded for each conversation. Read together, they show the pattern in wins and losses rather than a single memorable deal.
Deciding factorAlternative chosenDeal stage