Real user interviews vs. Internal experts: a practical approach

One of my favourite activities as a Product Designer is talking to users. They are the centre of our world, and speaking with them helps us gain knowledge and key insights that drive our work.

Although it’s my favourite activity, it’s also one of the trickiest to set up, and it’s not often discussed. Accessing users isn’t always easy, and recruiting them for interviews or testing can be a major dependency or an unknown factor in our otherwise well-planned process. How do we know how many customers we’ll be able to recruit? And when?

The complexity of user access depends on the structure of your company, the type of product or service you provide, and the size of your user base. In my case, I work for a SaaS B2B company with thousands of customers, yet organising sessions with users remains one of the most challenging parts of my process. Here are some common pushbacks and the contexts that create friction:

• Sales teams are protective of their customers. Understandably so—we work in a highly competitive market where securing new deals and maintaining existing ones is a daily challenge. Sales teams may be reluctant to provide direct user contacts, especially if they’re in the middle of contract renewals or negotiations with an important customer.

• Users have limited availability. Our users are incredibly busy, and saving time is one of their top priorities. It’s no surprise that setting aside an hour for an interview about something they’re not deeply invested in can be difficult for them.

• The process is often rushed. Sometimes, we need to move fast, and as designers, we must be flexible. In reality, user interviews are often the first thing sacrificed under time pressure, with the assumption that skipping them won’t have long-term effects.

Leveraging Internal Experts

So, what do we do if we find ourselves in this situation? We use our secret weapon—internal experts. Many people in our organisation interact with users regularly and have deep knowledge about them, yet their insights often go unnoticed. Anyone with "Customer" in their job title is a valuable resource—Customer Support, Customer Solutions, Solution Consultants, and similar roles all have strong user knowledge.

Here’s how we can leverage their expertise:

• Internal Interviews. These help us gain insights into user needs and common problems without needing direct user access.

• Usability Testing. Since internal experts know the product well, they can serve as user avatars in usability tests.

• Surveys. Collecting their feedback on features or solutions can help frame the right scope for our designs.

Next time you find yourself struggling to contact users, remember that your Customer Support team can be your best allies. They are usually the most collaborative and user-focused team in the company!