Turn conference conversations into customer evidence

Customer discovery is most useful when every conversation becomes evidence for a decision rather than a showcase for a polished pitch. The 2019 BYU Management Society Asia Pacific Conference in Ulaanbaatar offers a concentrated setting for this work, with founders, operators, investors and partners sharing sessions, breakouts and networking breaks.

For teams refining a Believe & Achieve entry or testing an Australian venture, a customer discovery plan should connect those conversations to a commercial question. The aim is to identify a credible need, observe the behaviour behind stated preferences, and leave with a testable next move.

Prepare the decision before departure

Before departure, write the decision discovery must inform: “Would a regional Australian retailer pay for this service?” Then build a working plan around one priority customer, three behavioural questions, a recruitment target, an evidence log and the next experiment. A broad ambition such as “find more customers” cannot guide a useful conversation.

If you are preparing a Believe & Achieve proposal, frame each item around an assumption the judges can test. Use the conference reading list to refresh your business-model tools, then prepare a one-page interview sheet and contact group. A dozen scheduled conversations will outperform unstructured networking because each has a purpose and a comparable record.

Define the right interview participants

Do not treat every attendee as the same customer. Separate the user from the budget holder, then choose one segment where those roles overlap. This matters for Australian start-ups, where a founder may be both buyer and first user.

Set a target of eight to twelve conversations, including two or three decision-makers. An investor can sharpen a hypothesis but cannot validate willingness to pay. Recruit before the event, request short slots between sessions, and include an interested buyer, a current customer of an alternative, and someone who rejected a similar offer.

Build questions that reveal behaviour

Ask for a recent story rather than a general opinion: “Tell me about the last time you solved this problem.” Follow with, “What triggered the search?”, “What did you try first?” and “What made you stop?” Specific memories reveal workarounds, urgency and decision criteria that abstract surveys often miss.

Keep each conversation to about ten minutes, then demonstrate only if the participant wants it. Reserve the final two minutes to ask what evidence would make them confident enough to proceed. This creates a useful commitment without turning the interview into a sales pitch.

Prepare neutral follow-ups such as “What was most expensive about the current approach?” Avoid leading claims, especially when a sponsor favours your idea. The participant’s language should shape the hypothesis; your product language should not shape their answer.

Capture evidence without bias

Use one note structure for every interview: customer role, location, current alternative, recent example, direct quotes, observed pain and next action. Label each item as reported, observed or inferred. “Spends two hours reconciling invoices” is reported; “wants automatic reconciliation” is inferred, and only the first directly supports a fact.

Keep quotes exact and add enough context to judge them. Review notes the same evening, highlighting repeated problems, inconsistent answers and surprising workarounds without discarding contradictions. Follow up on each inconsistency before deciding whether it reflects a niche segment, a wording problem or a genuine difference in buying behaviour.

Read the Australian market accurately

Australian evidence is geographically uneven. Sydney and Melbourne contain large markets, while buyers in Perth, Adelaide, regional Victoria or rural NSW face different logistics, staffing and pricing conditions. A metropolitan customer cannot represent the country, so record location and test whether patterns repeat elsewhere.

Many small businesses are owner-operated, so buyer and user may be the same person. Conversations are often relaxed but direct, with first names, plain answers and modest claims. “No worries” signals informality, while corporate jargon can sound evasive; reflect the directness without imitating slang.

Australian buyers commonly weigh value against reliability and transparent costs. Ask what a current alternative costs, what delay creates frustration, and whether the buyer would trade price for convenience. These questions expose the trade-off behind a purchase rather than merely recording a preferred feature.

Get consent before recording names or contact details, follow the Australian Privacy Principles where they apply, and keep claims consistent with the Australian Consumer Law. Quote prices in AUD, state whether GST is included, and remember that cards and EFTPOS are common.

Use conference moments for real conversations

Use the published schedule to protect interview slots rather than waiting for chance encounters. Mix one-to-one conversations with breakouts where several participants share a problem, and leave enough time to take notes without rushing the final question.

Do not pitch while someone is describing a problem. Listen, reflect and ask one clarifying question. If a participant sees a fit, describe the idea in two sentences and ask about a later demonstration. After each session, a structured speaker feedback method can guide you to separate observation from interpretation. Schedule a specific follow-up while interest is fresh, such as a fifteen-minute customer call the next morning.

Convert conversations into a testable plan

Within twenty-four hours, cluster the evidence by customer problem rather than conference session. Compare each problem with its frequency, severity, existing alternatives and the buyer’s actual behaviour. The loudest request may be common but unimportant, while a quieter complaint could represent a valuable, urgent need.

Revise the business plan around the strongest pattern. State the target customer, problem, proposed value, price hypothesis and channel in plain language. Mark each claim as supported, contradicted or untested, then choose one experiment that could change your confidence.

Thank participants for their time, send the agreed summary and retain only the follow-up details you legitimately collected. The finished discovery plan should contain a focused decision, a traceable evidence base and a credible next experiment. That gives the Believe & Achieve pitch a stronger foundation than confidence, compliments or a crowded contact list.