Customers & Research

How do I recruit and interview my competitor's customers without it getting weird or them shutting down?

A starting point

Competitor customers are gold because they've already paid to solve the problem, and their complaints are your roadmap. As a starting point, approach them as a curious researcher, not a poacher: ask why they chose their tool, what they wish it did, and what nearly made them cancel. Skip the sales pitch entirely on the first call, because the moment you sell, they stop telling you the truth.

Go deeper

Hand-picked from around the web, each with a note on why it earns your time.

2 resources 2 link-checked Read Use

Read

📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

Why we picked it Talking to a rival's customers is really the win-loss and churn interview discipline, and this guide from Klue (a competitive intelligence company) breaks down exactly how to run those conversations so people open up instead of clamming up. It gives you a 12-part question flow that moves from their original buying story to why they switched, which keeps the chat about their experience rather than feeling like you are digging for dirt on a competitor. Treat it as a starting point for your own script, not a rigid form.

How to Conduct Customer Churn Interviews: A Step-by-Step Guide

From Klue by Adam McQueen ~15 min read

  • Frame the conversation around the person's own buying and usage story, not around your competitor, so it never feels like an interrogation or a sales pitch.
  • Ask about the switch and the trade-offs (what they gained, what they gave up) to surface the honest gaps a rival's marketing hides.
  • When someone blames price, keep digging: cost is usually a symptom of a deeper problem they had not fully named.
Open klue.com →

Use

🛠️ Tool
✓ Link checked Freemium Beginner

Why we picked it The fastest way to mine real customer complaints and comparisons about your competitors, the negative reviews are a free roadmap to your differentiation. A staple competitive-research tool.

G2, software reviews and competitive comparison

From G2 by G2 ongoing

  • Read competitor reviews (especially critical ones) to find unmet needs
  • Compare feature grids and pricing across alternatives quickly
  • Spot which segments love or hate a competitor
  • Use recurring complaints as your wedge into the market
Open g2.com →

People also ask

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