JOURNALSeptember 30, 2026
How B2B Companies Can Ask Customers Why They Were Chosen—Designing Interviews to Reduce Assumptions
Author: Daisuke Irikura (Representative Director, HUV DESIGN OFFICE Co., Ltd.)
Conclusion
Rather than asking only “Why did you choose us?”, ask in sequence: what they wanted to resolve, what alternatives they compared, who checked what, and what concerns they had when making the decision. Record customers’ own words and keep them separate from the sales team’s interpretations. The findings provide hypotheses about “reasons for being chosen,” but a handful of interviews should not be treated as answers for the entire market.
Why Personas Fail to Work addressed insufficient evidence. This article focuses specifically on how to interview customers as one source of that evidence.
The Role of Customer Interviews
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) lists questionnaires and in-depth interviews among direct research methods for gaining a detailed understanding of a particular business or its customers. It also notes that direct research can be time-consuming and expensive.[1] OpenStax outlines stages in the B2B buying process, including problem recognition, specification development, supplier search, proposal solicitation, selection, and post-purchase evaluation.[2]
The question sequence below is HUV’s practical recommendation informed by these sources. The sources do not establish the effectiveness of any particular questionnaire.
Decide Whom to Interview
First, decide which decision you want to improve. If you want to improve proposals to new customers, seek input not only from recent wins but also, where they are willing to participate, from prospects who chose another option or postponed their selection. Interviewing only long-standing customers makes it harder to see the questions that first-time prospects have.
Record each interviewee’s role as well. Users, purchasing staff, and approvers may give different answers, so do not treat one person’s response as the view of the entire organization. Participation should be voluntary. If you intend to publish individual responses or use them for sales purposes, explain the intended use in advance.
Arrange Questions in Decision-Making Order
1. The Situation That Gave Rise to the Need
“What prompted you to start considering a solution?” “How were you handling it before?” Ask about the situation at the time without steering the customer toward a predefined problem label.
2. The Alternatives Considered
“What other approaches did you consider?” “Were maintaining the status quo or handling it in-house also options?” Avoid reading out competitor names first. If the customer cannot remember, do not press for an answer.
3. The Selection Criteria
“What requirements had to be met?” “Where did the options differ?” Do not assume that price, quality, delivery time, or any other factor was decisive.
4. Concerns and Supporting Materials
“What concerns did you have before deciding?” “What information did you need when explaining the choice internally?” Distinguish between questions that proposals or contract terms can address and issues with actual delivery capabilities.
5. The Assessment After Use
“What met your expectations, and what was different?” Record expectations at the time of selection separately from experiences after implementation so that the two points in time are not confused.
Turn the Records into Brand Strategy
Separate responses into customer statements / materials verified / the staff member’s interpretations / unverified points. If a customer says “the quality is good,” ask a follow-up question about the basis for that judgment. Even when several responses share common themes, compare the conditions before grouping them into a single pattern if the industries or project sizes differ.
Finally, consider whether “our current promises align with customers’ assessments” and whether “employees can consistently deliver the value customers appreciated.” The article on proposals can help when translating what you have learned into materials that support customer decisions.
Limitations
Customers who agree to participate may not be representative, and they may not accurately recall the reasons for past decisions. Their answers offer important clues, but cross-check them against sales win data, lost-deal records, project profitability, and conditions on the delivery side. It is also important not to equate the reasons customers cite with the causal factors that actually led to a sale.
Summary
Start by choosing one service and seeking participants from deals with different outcomes. Use a consistent question sequence, and keep facts, statements, and interpretations separate in your records. This is the starting point for identifying “reasons for being chosen” without relying on assumptions.
References
[1] U.S. Small Business Administration, Plan your business: Market research and competitive analysis (direct research methods and their resource requirements). Accessed September 30, 2026.
[2] OpenStax, Principles of Marketing, 4.4 Stages in the B2B Buying Process (an overview of the buying process). Accessed September 30, 2026.
Related Articles
If you would like to connect customer feedback with analysis of your market, competitors, and company, explore HUV DESIGN OFFICE’s services.
Translated from the original Japanese article. Read in Japanese