Example customer survey

One of the most valuable exercises I do with clients is structured customer interviews. Not casual chats. Not NPS surveys. Real, structured conversations designed to surface the insights that actually matter for pricing and product decisions.

Below is a template I have refined over multiple projects. It is organized into seven sections, each serving a specific purpose. I recommend using this with recent customers, people who went through the buying process in the last three to six months, so the experience is still fresh.

Section 1: Context and role

Start by understanding who you are talking to and what their world looks like.

• What is your role and what are you responsible for?
• How does our product or service fit into your daily work?
• Who else in your organization uses or benefits from it?

The goal here is to map the stakeholder landscape and understand the decision-making context.

Section 2: The trigger

Understand what drove them to look for a solution in the first place.

• What was happening before you started looking for a solution like ours?
• Was there a specific moment or event that triggered the search?
• What would have happened if you had not found a solution?

This section reveals the urgency and pain level. Both are critical inputs for value-based pricing.

Section 3: The alternatives

Find out what else they considered and why.

• What other options did you evaluate?
• What made you choose us over those alternatives?
• Was there anything about the alternatives that you found appealing?

Understanding the competitive set from the customer’s perspective is often very different from what you assume internally.

Section 4: The buying process

Map out how the decision was actually made.

• Who was involved in the decision to purchase?
• What was the approval process like?
• How long did the process take from first contact to signed contract?

This helps you understand friction points and who the real decision-maker is.

Section 5: Value and outcomes

This is where pricing insights live.

• What specific outcomes have you achieved since using our product?
• Can you quantify any of those outcomes in terms of time saved, revenue gained, or costs reduced?
• What would it cost you if you had to stop using our product tomorrow?

The answers here directly inform your value metric and willingness to pay.

Section 6: Pricing perception

Get direct feedback on how they perceive your pricing.

• How did you feel about the pricing when you first saw it?
• Do you feel the price is fair relative to the value you receive?
• If you had to describe our pricing to a colleague, what would you say?

Listen carefully for emotional language here. Words like “reasonable,” “steep,” or “no-brainer” tell you a lot.

Section 7: Looking forward

Close with forward-looking questions.

• What would make you consider upgrading or expanding your usage?
• Is there anything you wish we offered that we currently do not?
• Would you recommend us to a peer? Why or why not?

How to use this template

I recommend conducting these interviews live, not as a written survey. The richest insights come from follow-up questions and the moments when someone pauses before answering. Record the conversation if the customer consents, and take notes on both the content and the tone.

Five to eight interviews using this structure will give you more useful pricing intelligence than most quantitative surveys ever will.

Want help designing customer research that informs your pricing? Get in touch.