How to Conduct Quick and Easy User Interviews

Finding good users can be simple and cheap

Let’s face it, some of us don’t work for organizations that have all the money in the world to throw at user research.

This makes it tough to leverage tools like UserTesting.com, Optimizely, and panels of users that research agencies covet most.

With that said, there are numerous, low cost ways you can talk to your users 1:1 in conversations about their current habits.

Most of the time, all it takes is good ole fashioned creativity and hard work to find the right users you want to interview and to actually go interview them.

Below is a list of ways you can get your ideas and prototypes in front of users to actually test out what you have.

Meet your users where they are

Potential users are everywhere. That’s why low budget recruiting can be overwhelming.

But the right users, they are where you need to be.

At home. At the bar. At an event. At work. The people you are looking for are exactly where you want to interview them.

Although remote interviews are convenient, there is no better way to get deep insights than to meet your users where they typically use your products.

And even if you talk to people where you believe your users are, you may find out the biggest insight of all: that your users actually don’t use your product there!

You can find out way more by getting away from your desk and going to the streets.

Regardless of if you have the budget for research tools or not, you should regularly meet your users where they use your products.

Find your users on Craigslist

This one may seem sketchy, but it actually works incredibly well.

No, Craigslist doesn’t just have weirdo creeps looking to scam you. It is actually a fantastic site to find current users or prospects to give you feedback.

All you need to do is post an ad with some of the details of your study and give people a clear description of why you need them, what requirements you have, and what compensation is involved.

Although Craigslist wasn’t made to be a pool for user testing recruiting, you would be surprised the number of people who are looking to help out or make a quick buck to give you feedback.

Of course, when pursuing this method, make sure you screen them once you’ve got their attention to ensure they are a good candidate and they understand your intention and what you expect from them.

Talk to your coworkers

There are so many studies that ask simple usability questions that even your coworkers would be fit to answer.

I’m sure not all of your coworkers work in product and do not have a grasp on all of the intricacies that go into the product or feature you are building.

These are great people to do usability testing with or talk about their first time use experience if they fall into your target segment.

Most of your coworkers probably have similar beliefs to your target user and therefore can do a good job speaking on their behalf.

Leverage your relationship and easy access with your coworkers to help you efficiently gather feedback you could have gotten from hours of recruiting and thousands of dollars later.

In Conclusion

Talking to users is the best way to build empathy and test out your ideas and it’s clear that you don’t need to spend a fortune to find the right users to talk to.

Next time you’re looking for feedback on a design, a direction on what to build next, or just want to build empathy, try the methods above and I’m sure you’ll be surprised with the results.