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Interview people who recently chose a competitor

Talking to a competitor's customers shows why people choose a product like yours. Jobs-to-be-done practice recommends people who recently switched, because settled users are not trying to change anything. thoughtbot typically needs 8 to 10 interviews. Recruiting is the hard part: a win-loss vendor sees 20 to 30% of buyers who chose a rival accept an interview. No published outcome data exists.

Evidence C, limited evidenceSituational

Stage
Stage 1. No proven demandIs the problem real, and does anyone want this solved?
Category
Customer research
Time
1 to 2 weeksAwiser's estimate of the active work
Cash
No cash
Live calls
Needs live calls
First result
Within weeks
Risk
LowThe cost is recruiting time. The risk is interviewing settled users and hearing feature wishes instead of reasons.
Needs
Names of people who recently switched to or away from the competitorThree to five times more contacts than the interviews you needQuestions about their switch, not about your product

When does it fit?

  • You are entering a market with an established competitor: Bob Moesta says it is often easier to begin with interviews on a competitor.[1]
  • You can find people who switched recently: thoughtbot interviews them because the timeline of why they switched is still fresh.[2]

When should you skip it?

  • You can only reach long-time, settled users: Moesta says habitual users make poor interview subjects because they are not looking to improve their situation.[1]
  • Your plan is a batch of messages to reviewers or forum posters: Reddit treats large amounts of unsolicited private messages as spam.[5]

How do you run it?

  1. Find recent switchers

    People who chose the competitor, or left it, in recent months. Look in reviews, community threads and your own lost deals.

  2. Over-recruit

    Collect three to five times more names than the interviews you need; many will not answer.

  3. Open with their problem, not their review

    Refer to the problem they described, not to the review itself, and never pitch.

  4. Walk through the switch

    What was going on when they started looking, what else they considered, why they chose, and what they dislike now.

  5. Steer away from wishes

    When the talk turns to features they would like, ask about the last time the gap cost them something.

  6. Stop when reasons repeat

    Count the reasons for choosing or leaving that come up more than once.

What usually happens?

  • A handful of interviews can be enough: thoughtbot, which sells validation services, typically needs about 8 to 10 switch interviews to get valuable information, sometimes fewer.[2]
  • Many people will not answer: Clozd, a win-loss vendor, sees 20 to 30% of buyers who chose another vendor accept an interview when the sponsor is named, and 5 to 15% when it is not.[4]
  • Switchers explain the choice itself: Moesta says talking to people who switched uncovers the underlying causes.[1]

What does the evidence say against it?

  • No published outcome data, and no recent documented case with numbers, was found for interviewing a competitor's users.
  • Reviews are not always a way in: G2 lets reviewers publish without their name or photo.[6]

How do you read the result?

What to count
Interviews done, and the reasons for choosing or leaving the competitor that came up more than once
When to read it
After eight to ten interviews
How to decide
If the same reasons repeat, use them for positioning and for what to build first. If every interview gives different reasons, narrow the group: thoughtbot gets useful patterns from a small, focused set.[2]

What goes wrong?

  • Opening with "we saw your review": Overton, a sales agency, calls it the wrong frame and advises referring to the problem the person described.[7]
  • Collecting wishes instead of facts: YC suggests asking what people do not love about the tools they tried, and steering hypothetical talk back to specifics.[3]
  • Pitching your product: YC says an interview is not the time for it.[3]
  • Under-recruiting: Clozd advises collecting 3x to 5x as many names as the interviews you need.[4]

How was it graded?

Evidence
C. Limited evidenceA recognised method supports the move: switch interviews, which Bob Moesta says often start with a competitor. No published outcome data or recent documented case was found.
Verdict
SituationalWorth doing when an established competitor exists and you can find people who recently switched. Without switchers, problem interviews teach more.

How the grades and verdicts are decided

Sources

  1. 1
    Bob Moesta on Jobs-to-be-Done (opens in a new tab)Intercom, Des Traynor, with Bob Moesta. May 12, 2016. Method.
    It's often easier to begin with interviews on a competitor.
    This is why habitual users of a product don't make great JTBD interview subjects. They aren't looking to improve their situation.
    If I talk to people who switched, I am able to uncover those underlying causes, and that is the DNA.
    Read on October 20, 2026.
  2. 2
    Switch Interviews (opens in a new tab)thoughtbot. Undated. Method, from a seller of what it measures.
    We interview people who have recently switched products or solutions because the timeline of why they switched is still fresh in their minds.
    Typically it takes about 8-10 interviews to get valuable information, but we have gotten away with less.
    Read on October 20, 2026.
  3. 3
    Startup School Week 1 Recap: Kevin Hale and Eric Migicovsky (opens in a new tab)Y Combinator, Eric Migicovsky. September 4, 2019. Method.
    The fifth question is very tactical, it's what don't you love about the solutions that you've already tried?
    Whenever you're in the middle of a user interview and you start getting on to this hypothetical, you know, oh, here's what the product may look like in the future, try to steer it back to the specifics.
    We're founders, we love to pitch our idea, we love to talk about the product that we're working on, but during a user interview, that is not the time to be pitching the product.
    Read on October 20, 2026.
  4. 4
    Selecting Buyers for Post-Decision Interviews (opens in a new tab)Clozd, Jonathan Stevens. April 20, 2026. Vendor data, from a seller of what it measures.
    Non-Blind Losses: 20% - 30% participation
    Blind Interviews: 5% - 15% participation
    Interview participation rates will vary by industry, job title, and transaction size.
    With these figures in mind, it is a strict rule of thumb to collect 3x to 5x as many names from your CRM as you will actually need.
    Read on October 20, 2026.
  5. 5
    Spam (opens in a new tab)Reddit Help. Undated. Platform rules.
    Do not use Reddit for repeated or unsolicited mass engagement.
    Mass-tagging other users or sending large amounts of unsolicited chat or private messages.
    Read on October 20, 2026.
  6. 6
    Posting a review anonymously (opens in a new tab)G2. Undated. Platform rules.
    G2 gives you the option to publish your review without displaying your name or photo.
    Read on October 20, 2026.
  7. 7
    What a One-Star Review on G2 Is Actually Telling You (opens in a new tab)Overton. April 29, 2026. Analysis, from a seller of what it measures.
    Reaching out with "we saw your review of [Competitor]" is the wrong frame. Reaching out with a specific observation about the problem they described is the right one.
    Read on October 20, 2026.

Sources last checked on October 20, 2026. First published on October 20, 2026.

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