Interviewing a former customer: how to find out why they left

One answer rarely explains the whole journey

A customer says “It got too expensive.” That may reflect a smaller team, infrequent use, an unfinished rollout or a better way of working. Ask what changed and how price factored into the decision without disputing the customer’s assessment.

Define what counts as leaving for your study: canceling a subscription, failing to return to the product or declining after a trial. These are different experiences. Keep the selection rule and explain any decision to group them together.

Reconstruct the sequence that led to leaving

1. Start with the original task

   Ask why the person started using the product and when they last got a useful result. Clarify the actual workflow. This helps distinguish a need that disappeared from one that remained but was no longer served by the product.

2. Find changes and difficulties

   Ask the person to recall their first doubts and the events before them. Find out what they tried, whom they contacted and what happened. Let them tell the story in their own words before suggesting a list of reasons.

3. Examine the decision point

   Find out what triggered the decision, what options were compared and who took part. Ask how they do the same work now. A new product is only one option. They may have canceled the work, put it off or done it manually.

4. Compare with other evidence

   Tag interviews using the same structure and keep contradictory cases. If you have permission, compare the account with usage history while recognizing that it gives only part of the explanation. Estimating how common a cause is requires separate comparable data.

Price prompted a review of usage

This is a fictional training example. The names, circumstances and outcomes are included solely to explain the method.

Renewal was the immediate trigger. The change in workload was an important circumstance. This account does not show that the product got worse or that a lower price would bring the customer back.

Ask which projects ended, what work remains and how well the spreadsheet handles it. The team’s response depends on those answers. A blanket discount has yet to be justified.

Customer exit interview plan

Explain the research purpose. If the conversation turns into an offer to return, make it clear when the research ends and the offer begins.

Participant selection criterion:
Original task:
Last useful outcome:
What changed at work:
First difficulties and attempts to solve them:
When and why the decision happened:
Who took part in the decision:
Alternatives considered:
How they do the work now:
What remains unresolved:
Confirmed circumstances:
Hypotheses and how to test them next:

Review the findings after the interview

• The trigger and the circumstances that accumulated are distinct.
• The interviewer did not argue with the customer’s assessment.
• The alternative is described factually without assuming a competitor.
• The conclusion is limited to the evidence.