Here's a neat framework to help you better understand customers.
D — Discover the Pain
Uncover what’s not working.
Sample Questions:
- “Walk me through how you currently handle [X].”
- “What’s frustrating about that process?”
- “What’s not working as well as it could?”
“If you could wave a magic wand, what would you change?”
I — Identify the Impact
Understand how the pain affects the business.
Sample General Questions:
- “How does that affect you/your teams?”
- “Have you ever calculated what that costs you — in time, money, or risk?”
- “Who else feels the pain when this happens?”
- “What are the downstream effects if this doesn’t get fixed?”
- “What is the current impact the company right now?”
G — Gain Agreement on the Problem
Ensure mutual understanding that this is the right problem to solve.
Sample Questions:
- “If I’m hearing you correctly, the real challenge(s) is [summarize]. Would you agree?”
- “Is there anything we missed that we need to solve to make this meaningful?”