The customer interview that changes everything – lesson 3/3 from Yoto

This is the third and final instalment of a 3-part series on essential lessons on brand, taken from our recent talk with Yoto’s Head of Brand, Huntley Gorden.

For part 1, you can catch up here.

For part 2, you can catch up here.

If you want to grow a brand that lands with new customers, you’ve got to first get to know your current customers inside out. It isn’t as easy as it sounds…

When Huntley Gordon spoke to our community, he said that for Yoto, customer interviews are what has helped the brand scale and build superfans GLOBALLY.

5 years on and they still make time to speak to their customers, using the quieter post-Christmas/post-New Year weeks to catch up with their users.

It’s also a powerful part of Yoto’s team’s onboarding process – doing customer interviews helps their new hires add value to internal conversations almost immediately.

So how do you nail the interview process?

The customer interview formula

Huntley recommended the Adele Revella framework that starts with the magic question:

"Take me back to the moment you realised something needed to change..."

What you're listening for is:

• The trigger - What broke their status quo? What’s the specific reason they decided NOW was the time to purchase?

• Success factors - What’s the difference the customer really feels after using the product (e.g. "my kid sleeps better at night")

• Desired criteria - What are the product features that deliver those emotional outcomes?

• Perceived barriers - Their objections/hesitation/concerns

• Customer journey - Who influences them? Where do they research? What channels are they on? How do they really decide?

After 10-12 interviews, you’ll spot patterns that can help you pre-empt your segments.

Price is about perception

After the customer interviews, you’ll be in a better place to think about pricing.

One thing Yoto were clear about after speaking to customers is that charging a more premium price, especially if you’re actively integrating new features, can signal quality and trustworthiness to your customers.

The question to ask isn’t ‘what’s the lowest amount we can charge?’, but ‘how do we create the commercial case for investment in the product?

Break the category cage

Customer interviews are also a great opportunity to see past short-sighted category assumptions.

Those mums buying Yoto’s product? They're also choosing Nike, Apple and Peloton. They're sophisticated consumers with elevated expectations, so Yoto immediately knew that talking down to them with a ‘kiddie’ TOV and childish imagery wasn’t going to cut the cake.

The answers to your brand's evolution aren't hiding in office brainstorms or competitor analysis spreadsheets. It’s about building with empathy.

In Huntley’s own words, ‘the answers aren’t in here, they’re out there’.