Successful customer discovery depends on finding engaged potential customers who genuinely care about the problem or idea.

I have heard some versions of the question "What does it mean when people won’t talk to you for customer discovery?" a couple of times recently. An entrepreneur is exploring a new idea, and is having a hard time getting potential customers to speak with them. Here are a few thoughts on what that means and how to move forward.

Are you looking in the right places?

Is this a function of you not being able to find the potential customers? Have you considered online, network connections, friends & family? Have you driven to their locations and met with them at off-times (i.e. mid-afternoon for a restaurant)? Trade Shows/Industry events are another great way to meet lots of potential customers in one spot. Make sure you are finding your customers where they are.

During conversations, what is the conversation like?

So if you find these potential customers, do they even talk to you? If not, that could be a red flag. When you have a conversation, are they just answering your questions with short answers and trying to be done? Or are they doing most of the talking and a scheduled 15-minute meeting goes an hour long? If it’s the latter, those are further signs of potential authentic demand.

Ultimately, do they care enough?

Given the above, I find customer discovery itself can be a clue into how “must-have” the problem is that you are trying to solve. If you can’t find people to talk with and they aren’t engaging, that is a sign you might not be after the right problem/idea. But if they are engaging, leading the talking, and showing genuine curiosity you could be on the right path.

So while not a perfect correlation, I often find the harder customer discovery is to execute the more likely it is not a must-have problem. The easier customer discovery is, the greater the chance that you are leaning into a must-have problem. Just keep listening, asking questions, and learning!