4 Must-Have Customer Needs Analysis Questions (Quick Start)

Critical questions for customer needs analysis for social impact leaders

Dan Wu, JD/PhD

Aug 11, 2025

Innovation Process

4 Must-Have Customer Needs Analysis Questions (Quick Start)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4 Essential Questions for Customer Needs Analysis

Phase 1: Discovery

Phase 2: Validation

Refine Needs and Offers

Free Template for Channel Partner Customer Needs Analysis

4 Essential Questions for Customer Needs Analysis

Need to understand your community quickly? This quick start guide distills the 4 essential customer needs analysis (CNA) questions for social impact leaders, ensuring you capture core insights from beneficiaries and stakeholders when time is limited.

Remember to revise the wording of these questions to make them your own.

This article provides the key questions for Discovery and Validation. For more on the "why" behind them and deeper strategies, see the full guides on needs discovery & validation.

Phase 1: Discovery

Understanding Customer Needs (Partner & Client)

Sequence	Question	Response Notes
1	Define Dream Outcome If you are talking to your target directly Ideally, what does success look like for you when to achieve a key goal (e.g., finding stable employment)? If you are talking to a channel partner with direct access to your target Ideally, what does success look like for you when you're helping your typical client (e.g., a youth participant in your program) navigate a key goal (e.g., finding stable employment)? For more on this case, see this guide	ㅤ
2	Identify the #1 Challenge Thinking about that ideal success, what are the main challenges or limitations – perhaps with current tools, resources, or the overall process – that make achieving that ideal difficult for you today? If channel partner: Add “…difficult for you or or your clients today” If they list many, ask them to rate significance (1-5) to prioritize the biggest misalignment. (Refer to guide for tips)
3	Identify Consequences Thinking about [the #1 challenge identified above], what are the specific consequences to your life if it’s not addressed? If channel partner: Add “…to your or your clients’ lives or finance if if it’s not addressed?”	ㅤ

🪴 Joyful Ventures helps you win funding & contracts for lasting community impact through program discovery, positioning, and optimization, fusing Harvard PhD insight with Silicon Valley agility

Phase 2: Validation

Analyze Offer Alignment

Sequence	Question	Response Rating & Notes
4	Validate Offer [Share solution/offer] Based on your review of our proposed solution/offer, on a scale of 1 to 5, how well does this align with addressing the challenges we discussed, and how interested would you be in [a working session to refine its fit]? (Adjust wording based on your desired call to action)	ㅤ
5	Next Steps If 4+ (Strong Alignment): Schedule next step in meeting If 3 or below (Alignment Gap): To help me understand, what's the biggest friction point regarding taking that collaborative step with us and make that session feel like a ‘5/5’ valuable use of your time?

Refine Needs and Offers

These customer needs analysis questions provide a starting point for your direct engagement efforts in the social impact sector.

Select, adapt, and combine them based on your specific goals and stakeholders.

Remember that how you ask and listen is as important as what you ask.

This article provides the key questions for Discovery and Validation. For more on the "why" behind them and deeper strategies, see the full guides on needs discovery & validation.