DROPCustomer Development: Follow Up After a Public Conversation
Ask permission for an interview, document past behavior, and define follow-up and stopping conditions.
Short answer. Customer development continues after a relevant person agrees to talk. Clarify the task, examine past attempts and test one specific assumption. Keep permission, observed behavior and product interest separate; a public post does not establish an interview agreement.
Ask for a bounded follow-up
Example to adapt: “I work on this problem. Would a short conversation about how you handle it be useful? No problem if not.” State your role and topic. Stop if the person declines or does not engage.
Use a record that separates facts from interpretation
Illustrative record with unobserved fields left explicit.
| Field | Record | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Permission | Not yet requested | Do not schedule or imply agreement. |
| Past task | Author reported manual reconciliation | Ask for the last actual occurrence. |
| Attempted workaround | Unknown | Ask what they tried and why it failed. |
| Product test | Not agreed | Offer only after the requirements are understood. |
| Follow-up | Only if requested or agreed | Record the permitted channel and purpose. |
Know when to stop
Stop when the task is resolved, requirements cannot be met, the person declines, or the conversation would require unavailable private information. Link a product only if it answers the stated task and participation rules allow it.
Keep discovery and validation distinct
The discovery question guide helps understand behavior.
A successful product trial requires a separate observation of the task being completed; an encouraging comment is not that observation.
Test a hypothesis, not a sales label
Illustrative exercise — not a real customer result.
Worth checking: If you think agencies struggle with approvals, ask an author describing that problem what they currently do and what fails.
Do not count: Do not call the author qualified solely because the post contains “approval.”
Next step: Write down evidence for and against the hypothesis. Ask permission before requesting a longer conversation.