Now that everything is ready, it's time to talk to people. But first, define exactly who you'll be talking to. You should speak with the target audience of your product—either potential or current users.

The target audience includes everyone who could theoretically need your product and who is physically able to use it.

Describe your target audience using this template:

• Demographics.
• Geography.
• Likelihood of having the relevant need.

Demographics are important for recruiting respondents and often heavily influence preferences. Geography defines your target market. If you work across multiple countries, always research each country separately—market conditions vary significantly. Likelihood of need helps filter for people who actually might use your product. For example, if you're making diapers, you probably don’t want to interview people without kids of the right age.

| EXAMPLE You’re building a recipe app that suggests meals based on what’s left in the fridge. Your market is Grenada. Your audience might be: • Men and women aged 20–50. • Located in Grenada.

If you're planning to speak with current customers you already have access to, you usually don’t need to narrow down the audience further. But you might want to select specific segments—like lapsed users—to understand why they stopped using your product.

This playbook doesn’t cover how to recruit participants. It also doesn’t limit your choice of interview format. You can do in-person or remote interviews, message-based conversations, community discussions, or even traditional focus groups. The core approach remains the same.

Next: Full List of Guide Templates