Designers, product managers and researchers agree: user research is insanely valuable, but getting it set up is a colossal waste of time.
Scheduling participants takes too much time, and that’s if you can get them to respond in the first place.
But, I have an email template that’s guaranteed to get you participants on the phone (or Zoom) today.
I’ve been using and iterating on some variant of this for years, and it’s never let me down. I haven’t had a problem getting customers (or potential customers) on the phone in a long time, and this template is a huge part of that success.
The quick keys to an effective email research request:
- Sound friendly, be friendly. Everybody gets a ton of marketing and ad emails. An email written like it’s special will get attention.
- Make it clear right up front that you’re not trying to sell them something. Again, everybody gets a ton of marketing emails, and you need to get meetings.
- Make it short and succinct. You’re not the only email they’re getting right then.
- Make the ask clear and easy to say yes to. Don’t make them work to understand what you want. Hitting archive on that email is too easy.
Here’s my template. Feel free to copy/paste and update it to match your specific scenario.
Subject Line: thom, got a couple minutes re: widgetco? [1]
Hi Thom-
I work at WidgetCo on a team that’s investigating offering a new widget to WidgetCo customers.[2] The widget isn’t in development yet (it’s only an idea at this point), but I’m hoping to talk to some Widget Managers in the area to begin gathering feedback on the idea. [3]
It would just be a conversation about your company, your widgets, and how you’re utilizing technology today to make them better [4]- not a sales pitch. [5]
Is there a day next week that I could come visit with you for a few minutes? How about Tuesday morning at 9am? [6]
Jeff [7]
Here’s why this template works:
- All lower-case to imply that this isn’t spam. Use their first name, because everybody loves it. I add “re:” somewhere in the subject line to imply that this may have been an ongoing thread.
- I quickly explain who I am, and why I’m reaching out. This works better if they are already familiar with the company, but actually works even if they’re not.
- I tell them why I’m reaching out to them. They are a widget manager, I want to gather feedback from widget managers on something new. And new product development is very exciting! Saying that I’m investigating offering a new widget sparks that “new and shiny” thing that we all love deep down inside.
- I explain to them what I want to talk about. There won’t be surprises here! These are topics they already know, increasing their confidence that it’s going to be valuable time spent for both of us.
- This is key – but obviously won’t work if you are expecting to try to sell them something in the meeting. Make it very clear that this isn’t a sales pitch. Sometimes I even double-down on that, saying “this isn’t a sales pitch – I’m not in sales, and I don’t even have anything to sell you!”
- Make as a specific ask as you can. I noticed that if I suggest a day and time, instead of a generic “what works best for you?”, I get a better response rate. (Pro-tip: if you’re emailing multiple people and looking to fill a few spots, use a tool like Calendly instead so you don’t overbook!)
- This is controversial, but it works. First name only in your sign-off, no signature. (They will have your last name in the email header anyways.) This implies that you took time to write THEM this email directly. You’re on a first name basis now!
So there you have it. This template is part of the reason why user research or product discovery isn’t a big deal to me. (But I’d love to hear yours. Email me: jeff@clarkle.com)
I have other tricks up my sleeve to make user research easier and more valuable for your team. If you want to get an email when I share these, subscribe quickly here.