Interview Script·45 min·9 questions
Discovering why marketing managers struggle with influencer tracking despite endless spreadsheet fixes
You're seeing marketing teams constantly complaining about influencer campaign tracking, juggling complex spreadsheets and manual processes. But when you dig deeper, you notice they keep patching these systems rather than replacing them entirely, and their biggest frustrations might not align with the tracking solutions flooding the market.
Why standard questions fail here
Direct questions about pain points often surface what people think they should want, not what drives their actual behavior. This script anchors in their most recent campaign decisions, reconstructs the moments when tracking broke down, and works backward from their last tool purchase to reveal whether tracking is truly their priority or if deeper workflow issues are driving the surface-level complaints.
Sample Questions
Grounded in The Mom Test and Jobs-to-be-Done.
JTBD: Understanding the job context and competing priorities before diving into specific pain points
Listen for percentage of time spent on influencer marketing vs other tasks - this reveals priority level
- What does a typical week look like for you?
- How much of your time goes to influencer campaigns versus other marketing activities?
- Generic job descriptions - push for specific daily activities
Mom Test principle: Ask about specifics in the past instead of generics about the future
Use the narrative interview technique - let them tell the complete story, then probe specific moments
- What tools or documents did you use for that campaign?
- Who else was involved and how did you coordinate with them?
- How long did that whole process take?
- High-level process descriptions - dig into actual tools and documents used
Ethnographic technique: Direct observation of current tools and workflows reveals actual vs stated behavior
Ask them to screen share or describe their actual spreadsheet/dashboard - look for workarounds and manual processes
- How often do you update this?
- What's the most tedious part of maintaining this?
- How do you share this information with your team or boss?
- Theoretical descriptions of what they 'usually' do - insist on seeing actual current work
JTBD: Identifying struggling moments where current solutions fail to do the job
Use the critical incident technique - focus on specific failure moments, not general frustrations
- What was the impact of that problem?
- How did you solve it in the end?
- Has this type of issue happened more than once?
- Vague complaints about spreadsheets being 'messy' - probe for specific consequences
Clayton Christensen's innovation theory: Workarounds indicate unmet jobs and market opportunities
Listen for time-consuming manual tasks - these reveal highest value automation opportunities
- How much time does that workaround take you?
- Have you tried to find tools to solve this?
- What happened when you tried other solutions?
- Answers like 'everything is fine' - everyone has workarounds, probe deeper
Mom Test: Focus on their life and actual tasks, not hypothetical product needs
Probe the emotional dimension - stress, frustration, or confidence levels during reporting
- How long does it typically take you to prepare those reports?
- What questions do stakeholders ask that you struggle to answer?
- Have you ever had to delay a report because the data wasn't ready?
- Perfect scenarios - everyone struggles with reporting, find the real pain points
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