As a consultant or coach, your real leverage lies in knowing your customers better than they know themselves. A workshop is only as powerful as the preparation behind it. Before you even step in front of the group, you need to immerse yourself in their world, using a strong customer insights strategy, based on these steps:
Customer insights uncover hidden frustrations, personal motivations, and unspoken desires. When you understand these nuances, you can craft experiences that feel tailor-made and leave a lasting impact.
For example, accountancy marketing agency, Remarkable Practice reported 80% of people at a community event who completed a pre-event assessment went on to secure work from them. Their approach demonstrates how aligning content with participant needs can transform outcomes.
Think of it like cooking: you wouldn’t serve a dinner party without knowing if your guests are vegetarian or allergic to peanuts, right? Same principle. Knowing these “taste preferences” makes your workshop unforgettable rather than forgettable.
Speak directly with decision-makers and participants. Ask probing questions:
Also, don’t rely solely on a single data source. Cross-check interviews against survey results and existing feedback – your future self will thank you when your narrative is airtight.
Download this pre-workshop customer insights interview template with question prompts, note-taking sections, and a place to indicate required follow-up.
When you can’t interview everyone, surveys help. Keep them short but potent. Prioritize clear, concise questions. Use closed questions with predefined response options when possible (that way you can score survey answers to quantify, analyze, and compare them for real insight).
You can also sprinkle in a few open-ended questions for richer context, especially if you’re not planning to do any pre-workshop interviews.
Also, don’t rely solely on a single data source. Cross-check interviews against survey results and existing feedback – your future self will thank you when your narrative is airtight.
At Pointerpro, I’ve seen hundreds of surveys take shape. About 75% of them have been some form of investigation into customer maturity, readiness, or satisfaction. And they all use the same structure, which I’ve called the GUIDE-flow.
At Pointerpro, I’ve seen hundreds of surveys see the light of day. I’d say about 75% of them have been some form of investigation into customer maturity, readiness, or satisfaction. And they all use the same structure I’ve ended up calling the GUIDE-flow.
Start with a warm, friendly introduction that explains the purpose of the survey and sets expectations for timing. Ease them in with simple warm-up questions to build comfort and engagement (like confidence ratings or relevance checks).
Now at this point, if you’ve applied the first two tips on how to get customer insights for your workshop, you should be able to translate the findings into clear stakeholder personas and journey maps to visualize pain points and motivations.
As a copywriter, I always think in terms of personas – because if I don’t understand what motivates someone, I can’t move them. The same logic applies when you’re a consultant designing a workshop or intervention: You need to know your participant’s “hell” and their “heaven.”
In other words: What are they trying to get away from (their daily pains and frustrations), and what are they longing to move toward (their desired outcomes and emotional wins)? There are always functional and emotional layers to these. When you map both clearly, you can create experiences that resonate deeply and actually inspire change – not just polite nodding.
|
Section |
Details to fill in |
|
Persona nickname |
A memorable, catchy name (e.g., “Deadline Diana”) |
|
Role & context |
Their job, work environment, life snapshot |
|
Their “hell” |
– Functional frustrations (e.g., “Overloaded with tasks, no clarity on priorities”)- Emotional pains (e.g., “Feels unappreciated and invisible”) |
|
Their “heaven” |
– Functional wins (e.g., “Streamlined processes, clear success metrics”)- Emotional highs (e.g., “Feels respected, empowered, and valued”) |
|
What keeps them stuck? |
Key blockers that stop them from escaping “hell” |
|
Motivating moments |
Moments or triggers that might finally push them to take action |
Time to set up the workshop agenda.
Or wait. Instead of revealing a fully baked agenda, share an outline early and invite (important) stakeholders to weigh in. This simple act transforms them from passive attendees into active co-designers.
By gathering their ideas and priorities up front, you make sure the agenda addresses real needs – not just assumptions. It also shows that you value their expertise and perspectives, setting a collaborative tone before the workshop even begins.
This agenda structure spreadsheet will make it easier for you to note down suggestions from stakeholders and help you finalize the workshop design afterwards.
Why I believe in the power of consultancy workshops
When your consultancy workshops are grounded in real insights, you create trust and momentum. Customers feel genuinely understood, leading to deeper impact and stronger long-term relationships.
If you’d like concrete examples, check out my more in-depth blog article on change management consultancy tools that ground your services in real customer insights every step of the way.
When participants feel “seen,” they open up faster, collaborate more willingly, and leave the room not just with notes but with genuine shifts in mindset. That’s how you move from “That was a nice session” to “That session changed the way I work.”
"We use Pointerpro for all types of surveys and assessments across our global business, and employees love its ease of use and flexible reporting."
Director at Alere
"I give the new report builder 5 stars for its easy of use. Anyone without coding experience can start creating automated personalized reports quickly."
CFO & COO at Egg Science
"You guys have done a great job making this as easy to use as possible and still robust in functionality."
Account Director at Reed Talent Solutions
“It’s a great advantage to have formulas and the possibility for a really thorough analysis. There are hundreds of formulas, but the customer only sees the easy-to-read report. If you’re looking for something like that, it’s really nice to work with Pointerpro.”
Country Manager Netherlands at Better Minds at Work
You can create a simple questionnaire in Excel by listing questions in one column and providing space for answers in adjacent cells. Use data validation tools (like dropdowns or checkboxes) to guide responses and conditional formatting to flag missing data. While Excel works for basic setups, it lacks logic routing, scoring, and reporting—making dedicated tools better for more advanced assessments.
Keep language simple, culturally neutral, and consider time zone differences when sending surveys. Include open-ended questions to account for local nuances. Tools like Pointerpro let you personalize survey flows by region or role, which improves both engagement and data relevance.
Anonymized surveys, third-party tools, and optional questions help build trust. Explain how the data will be used and avoid assumptions in your language. Prioritize platforms with strong data privacy controls to reassure respondents and ensure compliance with GDPR or similar standards.
Absolutely. Use scaled questions (quantitative) to identify trends, then follow up with open-text responses (qualitative) for deeper context. A balanced mix helps tailor the workshop content. Platforms like Pointerpro allow both formats in one flow and auto-summarize results for easy prep.
Review your process after every major workshop or quarterly if you run them regularly. Look at gaps between prep insights and in-session findings—if they diverge, it’s time to tweak your questions or timing. Continual refinement keeps the approach relevant and high-impact.
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About the author:
Jeroen De Rore
As Creative Copywriter at Pointerpro, Jeroen thinks and writes about the challenges professional service providers find on their paths. He is a tech optimist with a taste for nostalgia and storytelling.