You read 10 analyst reports about your market. You think you understand customers.
You launch a product. Customers say: "This isn't what we need."
This happens because most market research is secondary (reading reports) instead of primary (talking to actual customers).
Good market research isn't Googling. It's systematic interviews with customers and prospects to uncover unmet needs and validate assumptions.
Here's the framework for primary market research that drives strategy.
Primary vs. Secondary Research
Secondary research: Existing information (analyst reports, articles, studies)
Primary research: Original research you conduct (interviews, surveys, observations)
Why primary matters:
- Specific to your business (not generic market data)
- Current insights (not 2-year-old reports)
- Uncovers unmet needs (what customers actually struggle with)
- Validates assumptions (test your hypotheses)
Use both: Start with secondary (understand market), validate with primary (talk to customers)
The Primary Research Framework
Types of primary research:
1. Customer interviews (qualitative):
- Deep dive into needs, pain points, decision process
- 10-20 interviews per research initiative
- Best for: Understanding "why"
2. Surveys (quantitative):
- Validate hypotheses at scale
- 100-500+ responses
- Best for: Understanding "how many"
3. Win/loss interviews:
- Why customers chose you (or didn't)
- 5-10 interviews per quarter
- Best for: Competitive insights
4. User testing:
- Observe customers using product
- 5-10 sessions
- Best for: UX and product feedback
Focus on customer interviews (most valuable for strategy).
Customer Interview Framework
Step 1: Define Research Objectives
What are you trying to learn?
Example objectives:
Market entry:
- Is there demand for our product in this segment?
- What are the top pain points?
- Who are the key players and alternatives?
Product development:
- What features do customers need most?
- What's missing from current solutions?
- What would customers pay for?
Positioning:
- How do customers describe their problem?
- What language do they use?
- What alternatives are they considering?
Write clear objectives before starting.
Step 2: Identify Interview Subjects
Who to interview:
Current customers:
- Why they bought
- How they use product
- What value they get
Prospects:
- What they're looking for
- Why they haven't bought yet
- What's stopping them
Lost deals:
- Why they chose competitor
- What we lacked
- What could have changed their mind
Former customers:
- Why they churned
- What went wrong
- What would bring them back
Target: 10-20 interviews per research initiative
Recruiting:
- Email outreach (offer $50-$100 gift card)
- Leverage CSM relationships
- Sales can schedule with prospects
Step 3: Create Interview Guide
Structure: 45-minute interview
CUSTOMER INTERVIEW GUIDE: Market Research
Introduction (5 min)
- Thank them for time
- Explain purpose: "We're researching [topic] to build better products"
- Confirm recording (with permission)
- Assure confidentiality
Part 1: Current State (15 min)
Goal: Understand their world
- Tell me about your role and responsibilities
- What are your main priorities this quarter?
- Walk me through how you currently [solve problem our product addresses]
- What tools/solutions do you use today?
Part 2: Pain Points (15 min)
Goal: Identify unmet needs
- What's frustrating about your current process?
- Where do things break down?
- What takes more time than it should?
- What keeps you up at night related to [problem]?
- If you could wave a magic wand, what would you change?
Part 3: Decision Process (10 min)
Goal: Understand buying behavior
- When you look for new solutions, where do you start?
- Who else is involved in the decision?
- What criteria matter most when evaluating options?
- What's your budget for this type of solution?
- How long does it typically take to make a decision?
Part 4: Alternatives (5 min)
Goal: Understand competitive landscape
- What other solutions have you looked at?
- What do you like about [Competitor A]?
- What's missing from current options?
Wrap-Up (5 min)
- Is there anything else we should know?
- Can we follow up with clarifying questions?
- Thanks + deliver gift card
Prepare guide in advance, stay flexible during interview.
Step 4: Conduct Interviews
Best practices:
Before interview:
- Test recording setup (Zoom, Gong)
- Review interviewee background (LinkedIn)
- Prepare guide but don't script
During interview:
Listen 80%, talk 20%
- Let them talk
- Don't pitch product
- Ask follow-up questions
Ask open-ended questions:
- "Tell me about..." "Walk me through..." "What's frustrating..."
- "Do you like X?" (yes/no doesn't give depth)
Probe deeper:
- "Can you give me an example?"
- "Tell me more about that"
- "Why is that important to you?"
Stay curious:
- Follow tangents (often most valuable)
- Ask "why" 3-5 times to get to root
After interview:
- Send thank-you email
- Deliver gift card
- Save recording and notes
Step 5: Analyze and Synthesize
Process:
1. Transcribe interviews
- Use Otter.ai or Rev
- Get full transcripts
2. Tag key quotes
- Highlight pain points
- Note verbatim language
- Flag surprising insights
3. Identify patterns
After 10 interviews, look for:
- What comes up repeatedly? (pattern)
- What's unique? (outlier)
- What's surprising? (invalidates assumption)
Example analysis:
| Theme | Frequency | Key Quotes |
|---|---|---|
| Coordination chaos | 12/15 | "Launches are a nightmare" "No single source of truth" |
| Sales unprepared | 10/15 | "Sales never knows what's launching" |
| Manual work | 9/15 | "Spend 15 hours/week just coordinating" |
| Limited analytics | 5/15 | "Can't track launch success" |
Patterns: Coordination and sales readiness = top pain points
4. Create insights document
MARKET RESEARCH INSIGHTS: Product Launch Coordination
Research objective: Understand pain points in product launch process for B2B SaaS companies
Method: 15 customer interviews (45 min each) with PMMs at Series A-C companies
Key insights:
Insight 1: Coordination chaos is #1 pain point (12/15 mentioned)
Problem: Teams use spreadsheets, Slack, email to coordinate launches → information scattered, things fall through cracks
Quotes:
- "Launches are a nightmare. Every team has their own process." - Sarah, TechCorp
- "I spend 15 hours per week just coordinating across teams" - Tom, SaaS Co
Implication: Strong need for centralized platform
Insight 2: Sales is always unprepared (10/15 mentioned)
Problem: Sales doesn't know what's launching, when, or how to sell it → launches fail
Quotes:
- "Sales finds out about launches from customers, not us" - Maria, FinTech
- "We launch, sales ignores it, revenue doesn't move" - John, Cloud Co
Implication: Sales enablement is critical feature
Insight 3: No way to measure launch success (5/15 mentioned)
Problem: Don't track launch metrics → can't improve
Quotes:
- "We launch and hope for the best. No idea if it worked" - Lisa, Data Co
Implication: Analytics/reporting feature needed
Strategic recommendations:
- Positioning: Lead with "coordination" and "sales enablement" pain points (most common)
- Product: Prioritize centralized coordination and sales enablement features
- Messaging: Use customer language ("launches are chaotic" not "lack of orchestration")
- ICP: Series A-C B2B SaaS companies launching 5-10 products/year
Share with Product, Sales, Marketing.
Research Application: Win/Loss Interviews
Special case: Understanding why you win or lose deals
Interview guide:
For wins:
- Why did you choose us?
- What alternatives did you consider?
- What almost made you choose [Competitor]?
- What sealed the deal for us?
For losses:
- Why did you choose [Competitor]?
- What did they have that we didn't?
- What could have changed your decision?
- Would you consider us in the future?
Example insights (after 20 interviews):
Why we win:
- 70% say "Ease of use" (vs. competitors)
- 60% say "Fast implementation"
- 50% say "Better support"
Why we lose:
- 60% say "Lack of Salesforce integration"
- 40% say "Too expensive"
- 30% say "Not enterprise-ready"
Actions:
- Messaging: Lead with ease of use and fast implementation
- Product: Build Salesforce integration (losing 60% of deals without it)
- Pricing: Consider mid-tier between current Pro and Enterprise
Common Research Mistakes
Mistake 1: Leading questions
Bad: "Don't you hate how manual product launches are?"
Problem: Biases response
Good: "Tell me about your product launch process"
Problem solved: Let them describe pain in their own words
Mistake 2: Too few interviews
You interview 3 customers and generalize
Problem: Not statistically significant
Fix: 10-20 interviews minimum
Mistake 3: Only talking to current customers
You interview happy customers, miss why others didn't buy
Problem: Biased sample
Fix: Interview prospects, lost deals, churned customers
Mistake 4: Pitching instead of listening
You explain your product during interview
Problem: Defeats purpose (you're selling, not learning)
Fix: Pure research mode, save pitch for later
Mistake 5: Not acting on insights
You conduct research, file it away, change nothing
Problem: Wasted time and money
Fix: Turn insights into action (positioning changes, product roadmap, messaging)
Survey Research (Quantitative Validation)
After qualitative interviews, validate at scale:
Example Survey: Feature Prioritization
Goal: Validate which features matter most
Questions:
Q1: Company size?
- <50 employees
- 50-500 employees
- 500+ employees
Q2: How many products do you launch per year?
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-20
- 20+
Q3: Rate importance of each feature (1-5 scale, 1=not important, 5=very important)**
Features:
- Centralized launch coordination
- Sales enablement materials
- Launch analytics
- Integration with Salesforce
- Mobile app
Q4: Which feature would you pay extra for?**
- Salesforce integration
- Advanced analytics
- API access
- Dedicated support
Q5: What's your biggest pain point with product launches?** (open-ended)
Send to: 500 prospects + customers
Analyze:
| Feature | Avg Score | % Very Important |
|---|---|---|
| Centralized coordination | 4.6 | 78% |
| Sales enablement | 4.4 | 72% |
| Salesforce integration | 4.2 | 68% |
| Launch analytics | 3.9 | 54% |
| Mobile app | 2.8 | 22% |
Insight: Coordination, sales enablement, and Salesforce integration are top priorities
Action: Prioritize these features in product roadmap
Quick Start: Conduct Primary Research in 1 Month
Week 1: Planning
- Define research objectives
- Create interview guide
- Identify 20 interview candidates
Week 2: Recruiting
- Send outreach emails (offer $50-$100 gift card)
- Schedule 10-15 interviews
- Confirm recordings and logistics
Week 3: Interviewing
- Conduct 10-15 interviews (3-4 per day)
- Take notes and record
- Transcribe
Week 4: Analysis
- Tag themes in transcripts
- Identify patterns
- Create insights document
- Present findings to team
Deliverable: Market research insights document with recommendations
Impact: Customer-backed strategy vs. assumptions
The Uncomfortable Truth
Most companies base strategy on assumptions, not customer research.
They:
- Read analyst reports (generic, not specific)
- Rely on internal opinions (not customer voice)
- Skip primary research (too much work)
- Don't talk to lost deals or churned customers
Result: Build features no one wants, position incorrectly, miss market needs
What works:
- Primary research (customer interviews)
- 10-20 interviews minimum (identify patterns)
- Mix of customers, prospects, lost deals (balanced perspective)
- Systematic analysis (tag themes, identify patterns)
- Action-oriented (turn insights into product, messaging, positioning changes)
The best market research:
- Customer interviews (45 min, 10-20 per initiative)
- Open-ended questions ("Tell me about..." not "Do you like X?")
- Pattern identification (what comes up repeatedly?)
- Validated with surveys (quantitative confirmation)
- Acted upon (insights drive strategy)
If you haven't talked to 10+ customers this quarter, your strategy is based on assumptions.
Interview customers. Find patterns. Drive strategy with data.