DocsHub Market Research - Interview Guide

Interview Guide for Video Calls

30-Minute Customer Validation Interviews

🎯 Interview Objectives

Primary Goals:

1. Understand current documentation pain points
2. Validate DocsHub value proposition
3. Test pricing assumptions
4. Identify must-have features
5. Gauge beta trial interest

Success Metrics:

• 3-5 interviews completed
• Rich qualitative insights (beyond survey data)
• Beta customer pipeline started

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📅 PRE-INTERVIEW CHECKLIST

24 Hours Before:

• Send calendar invite with Zoom/Teams link
• Send reminder email with agenda
• Review their survey responses (if completed)
• Research their organization (website, LinkedIn)
• Prepare personalized questions
• Test recording equipment
• Prepare note-taking template

5 Minutes Before:

• Join meeting early
• Test audio/video
• Open note-taking template
• Have survey questions ready
• Silence phone/notifications

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🎬 INTERVIEW STRUCTURE (30 Minutes)

Part 1: Opening & Rapport (3 min)

Part 2: Current State Deep-Dive (10 min)

Part 3: Solution Validation (10 min)

Part 4: Feature Prioritization (5 min)

Part 5: Closing & Next Steps (2 min)

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📝 DETAILED SCRIPT

PART 1: Opening & Rapport (3 minutes)

Script:

Hi [NAME], thanks so much for making time today!

Before we start, is it okay if I record this call for my notes?
It helps me focus on our conversation rather than frantically typing.
The recording is just for my reference and won't be shared.

[If yes → start recording]
[If no → take detailed notes]

Great! So, this should take about 20-30 minutes. I'm researching
documentation challenges for [SEGMENT] in South Africa, and I want
to understand:
- How you currently manage documentation
- What works and what doesn't
- Whether a potential solution would be valuable

There are no right or wrong answers - I'm just trying to learn from
your experience.

Sound good? Let's start with you telling me a bit about your
organization and your role...

Listen for:

• Organization size
• Their responsibilities
• Documentation scope (how much, what type)

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PART 2: Current State Deep-Dive (10 minutes)

Question 1: Current Tools

Walk me through how your team currently manages documentation.
Where do you store things? How do people find information?

Probing questions:

• “Is everything in one place, or scattered?”
• “How do new employees learn where things are?”
• “What happens when someone updates a document?”

Listen for:

• Specific tools (Google Docs, SharePoint, etc.)
• Pain points (scattered, hard to find, outdated)
• Workarounds they’ve created

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Question 2: Pain Points

What's the most frustrating thing about your current approach?
What problems does it cause?

Probing questions:

• “Can you give me a specific example of when this caused an issue?”
• “How much time do you think this costs your team weekly?”
• “Have you tried to solve this before? What happened?”

Listen for:

• Emotional intensity (strong frustration = real pain point)
• Quantifiable impact (hours lost, mistakes made)
• Failed attempts to solve (indicates motivation)

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Question 3: Time Spent Searching

Roughly how much time would you estimate your team spends searching
for information each week?

Probing questions:

• “Is that evenly distributed or concentrated on certain people?”
• “What are they usually looking for?”
• “What happens if they can’t find it?”

Listen for:

• Specific time estimates (helps calculate ROI)
• Who is most affected
• Consequences of not finding information

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Question 4: Previous Solutions Explored

Have you looked at professional documentation tools before?
What stopped you from adopting them?

Probing questions:

• “Which tools did you evaluate?”
• “What did you like/dislike about them?”
• “Was there a specific reason you didn’t move forward?”

Listen for:

• Competitive intel (what they tried)
• Barriers (price, complexity, feature gaps)
• Decision-making process (who decides, what matters)

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PART 3: Solution Validation (10 minutes)

Present the Concept:

Thanks, that's really helpful context. Let me describe what we're
considering and get your reaction.

We're exploring a documentation platform specifically for SA
organizations with:

1. Beautiful, searchable interface - think of a modern website
   rather than a folder structure
2. South African data hosting - all your data stays in SA,
   POPIA compliant
3. Mobile-friendly - works perfectly on phones and tablets
4. White-glove setup - we migrate your content for you, you don't
   have to do the technical work
5. Custom branding - your logo, your colors, looks like your platform
6. Fixed monthly pricing - not per-user like most tools

What's your initial reaction to this?

Listen for:

• Immediate interest or skepticism
• Which features resonate most
• Questions they ask (indicates what matters to them)

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Question 5: Pricing

If this solved your documentation problems, what would be a
reasonable monthly price for your organization?

And for context - what do you currently spend on documentation
tools, if anything?

Probing questions:

• “At what price point does it become too expensive?”
• “What would you compare this to budget-wise?”
• “Would this come from IT budget, operations, or somewhere else?”

Listen for:

• Specific price ranges
• Budget constraints
• Value perception (cheap vs. investment)

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Question 6: Differentiation

What would make this more appealing than just using Google Docs
or SharePoint or another tool you mentioned?

Probing questions:

• “Is SA data residency important to you? Why?”
• “How important is the setup/migration help?”
• “Would you pay more for [specific feature]?”

Listen for:

• Key differentiators that matter
• Features that justify premium pricing
• Deal-breakers (must-haves)

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Question 7: Concerns

What concerns or hesitations would you have about switching to
something like this?

Probing questions:

• “What would it take to overcome that concern?”
• “Have you switched documentation tools before? How did that go?”
• “Who else would need to be involved in this decision?”

Listen for:

• Objections to address
• Risk factors (migration anxiety, vendor lock-in)
• Internal politics (who has veto power)

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PART 4: Feature Prioritization (5 minutes)

Question 8: Must-Haves

Of all the features I mentioned - search, mobile, SA hosting,
custom branding, migration help - which are absolute must-haves
for you? What could you live without?

Probing questions:

• “Why is [feature] so important?”
• “What would happen if we didn’t include [feature]?”

Listen for:

• Non-negotiable features (must be in v1)
• Nice-to-haves (can be in v2)
• Indifferent features (don’t waste time building)

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Question 9: Missing Features

What am I missing? What features would you want that I haven't
mentioned?

Listen for:

• Unmet needs (innovation opportunities)
• Industry-specific requirements
• Integration needs (connect to other tools)

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PART 5: Closing & Next Steps (2 minutes)

Question 10: Beta Interest

If we built this, would you be interested in trying it out as a
beta customer? We'd offer significantly discounted pricing in
exchange for your feedback.

If YES:

• “Great! What would you need to see in a beta to feel comfortable trying it?”
• “What’s your timeline - when would you realistically be able to start?”
• “Who else in your organization should be involved?”
• “Can I follow up with you once we have a beta ready?”

If MAYBE:

• “What would move you from ‘maybe’ to ‘yes’?”
• “Is it a timing issue, or something about the solution?”

If NO:

• “That’s totally fine - can you tell me why not?”
• (Often reveals important objections)

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Thank You:

This has been incredibly helpful. I'll compile all the feedback
and send you a summary of what we learned across all interviews.

Can I follow up with you in a couple weeks once we've analyzed
everything and made a decision?

[Get best contact method: email, phone, LinkedIn]

And if you think of anything else after we hang up, feel free to
email me at [YOUR EMAIL].

Thank you again for your time and honesty!

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📊 NOTE-TAKING TEMPLATE

Interview with: [NAME] Organization: [ORG] Date: [DATE] Segment: [NGO/SME/Municipality/Corporate]

CURRENT STATE:

• Tools used:
• Main pain points:
• Time spent searching:
• Previous solutions tried:

SOLUTION VALIDATION:

• Initial reaction:
• Pricing feedback:
• Key differentiators:
• Main concerns:

FEATURES:

• Must-haves:
• Nice-to-haves:
• Missing features requested:

BETA INTEREST:

• Yes / Maybe / No
• Conditions:
• Timeline:
• Decision-makers involved:

KEY QUOTES (verbatim):

• “[Quote that captures main insight]”
• “[Quote about pricing/value]”
• “[Quote about pain point]”

ACTION ITEMS:

• Send thank you email
• Add to beta pipeline (if interested)
• Follow up on [specific question]

OVERALL ASSESSMENT:

• Strong lead / Medium lead / Weak lead
• Key insight:
• Unique consideration:

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🎯 POST-INTERVIEW CHECKLIST

Immediately After:

• Save recording (if recorded)
• Complete notes while fresh
• Identify key quotes
• Update tracking spreadsheet
• Note action items

Within 4 Hours:

• Send thank you email
• Add contact to CRM/pipeline
• Share insights with team (if urgent)

Within 24 Hours:

• Transcribe key sections (or use Otter.ai)
• Tag themes (pricing, features, objections)
• Update analysis dashboard

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💡 INTERVIEWING BEST PRACTICES

DO:

• ✅ Listen 80%, talk 20%
• ✅ Ask “why” and “can you tell me more about that?”
• ✅ Let silence happen (gives them space to think)
• ✅ Take notes on exact words they use
• ✅ Be genuinely curious
• ✅ Thank them profusely

DON’T:

• ❌ Lead the witness (“Don’t you think X is important?”)
• ❌ Defend your solution (you’re learning, not selling)
• ❌ Interrupt or talk over them
• ❌ Rush through questions
• ❌ Assume you know what they mean (ask for clarification)
• ❌ Go over time (respect their schedule)

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DocsHub Interview Guide iSu Technologies (Pty) Ltd