Rule #1 of customer discovery: never ask people if they like your idea. People are polite and will lie to you. Ask about their past behaviors instead.
The three golden rules of high-signal discovery
- Talk about their life, not your idea. Ask how they currently handle the friction point.
- Ask about past specifics. “Tell me about the last time you faced this issue” produces 10x better signal than “Would you use an app for this?”
- Listen for emotional micro-triggers. Tone changes and frustration reveal true pain level.
None of this requires a large sample. A well-run set of 15–20 interviews, read for behavior rather than opinion, tells you more about willingness to pay than any survey ever will.