10 alternative ways to ask: Would you buy this?
Asking the right questions to get the information you need.
“Would you buy this?”
“Would I do it? Will I need it? How can I know the answer now, in my current situation?”
Thinking process of your interviewee gets interrupted with this question. It makes him think, construct, imagine his action and answer he is going to give you. His response will be just a better-future-self speaking about a forecasted action, because people can only be certain about the past.
So, how can you ask this question differently, when it’s still too early to test the demand quantitatively?
Here are 10 alternatives to: Would you buy this?
1. Change of words
Would you = could /can you? This might sound a bit blunt, yet it usually gives you the full honesty:
“Could you buy this?” or “Can you buy this?”
“Em..hm..I don’t think so.”
A subtle way of asking it would be:
“Can you see yourself buying this?”
“Em..hm..I doubt this, unless it’s _____ (the situation, price, etc.)”
It’s a sudden question that requires a responsible answer, so pay attention to the body language of the person. At first, you’ll see a sign of surprise or nervousness, what comes up next, supporting gesture, is exactly what you are looking for. With such an honest question you get an honest response, that addresses the current situation and customer constraints.
“Can you see yourself buying this?”
“No, I can’t because I already bought one with a yearly contract.”
“Maybe.. but I’m not sure if this is much better/cheaper/add features than the rest, I need to research.”
Honesty rules.
2. Redirect the question
2 question approach:
“Do you know anyone who is looking for this sort of solution?”
And what about you? Why?”
It’s a personal approach, that redirects attention back to the interviewee after making him assess the solution first. Here you are driven by the conversation, if he or she redirects it to another segment it is not a good signal, but still ask a second question. It will tell you their current “Why not?” or why they are not willing to buy/use it yet.
3. Ask for a comparison
3 question approach:
“Are you using something similar already?”
“Can you compare it to the one you saw before?”
“How much are you paying?”
Tip: watch their body language, observe how far will they go into comparison, the more they debate or explain — the more they care.
First, you address their past behaviour, then redirect conversation into comparison which helps you to understand where your solution fits on the scale amongst the others. If your interviewee is already paying for other similar solutions then he or she is more likely to pay for yours.
4. Ask for a follow-up / B2B
Just one phrase makes it:
“We would like to schedule another meeting to discuss pricing.”
A business approach, B2B, that’s it.
If yes, they will actually appreciate you speeding up things, here you test the buy-in. If no, you get what it means.
5. Ask about the value of the benefit
4 question approach:
“How much do you spend on this problem now?
“And with the solution that we showed, how much will you be able to save?”
“Is this benefit worth paying for?”
“How much is this benefit worth paying for? / How much is it worth for you?”
In this scenario you are quantifying the benefit, you make it easier for the customer to name an honest price basing it on the benefit, that he understands and relates to.
6. Ask about similar tools
4 question approach:
“Have you purchased any similar tools before?”
“How did the process go?”
“How much did you pay?”
“Which other solutions that you use have a similar price?”
The second question brings up their prejudices about certain solutions and process around it + pricing range, value/price perception.
7. Address the situation
4–5 question approach:
“In which situation you can (see yourself benefitting) benefit from using this?”
“Have you ever been in/experienced such a situation before?”
“And if you had this one how could it help?”
“How much it could save you then?”
Then, you can follow up with:
“Are you considering buying something like this?”
This is still a hypothetical approach, but here you tie your question to the situation, so response is based on past behaviour.
8. Subtle hint
2 question approach:
“Who do you think is the customer of this solution?”
“How much do you relate to them? (optional) from 1 to 10?”
Despite it is a hypothetical approach, you make your interviewee think of other customers for your solution first and then relate these segments back to your interviewee. As we practise this, it gives honest responses, sometimes even the “ugly truth” as it is.
9. Due diligence
4 question approach:
“Have you ever researched similar solutions?”
“Why haven’t you bought any yet?”
“What were the prices of these solutions?”
“Have you considered them? Why yes/no?”
This addresses past behaviour and the range of considered available solutions that customer has researched in the past, so you get the real picture.
10. Budgeting
A classic approach that works very well for B2B too, only 2 questions:
“Is there a budget for it? Do you have a budget for it?”
“How much do you currently spend on it?”
It works for B2B or family budgets where you ask about current money allocation because it’s easier to get access to an existing bucket.
And a bonus:
5 follow-ups you should consider including in your interview:
- “How much does this solution fit your situation: from 1 to 10 ? Why yes/no?”
- “We would like to invite you to be our tester, are you in?”
- “Let’s connect so that you can contact us next time when you would experience this problem.”
- “Would you be available to help us figure out pricing? When can we meet?” (B2B)
- “Would you recommend it to a friend? Why yes/no?”
I hope this helps in your research. :)
If you have any questions, feedback, ideas and thoughts to discuss, send me an email at daria@ideahackers.nl. + Try the Problem-Solution fit canvas at www.solutioncanvas.com.
XOXO,
Daria Nepriakhina,
Problem-Solution fit canvas
