How Flex Interviews Work
1. Structured, pre-recorded questions
We'll work with you to set up the questions you want to ask. Your customers receive these questions as recordings and can respond at a time that works best for them.
2. AI follow-up questions in real time
As customers respond, Clozd AI listens and can ask clarifying follow-up questions automatically. This ensures important details aren't missed and you get more complete answers.
3. Feedback flows into Clozd
All responses are captured and organized in the Clozd Platform, where you can review, analyze, and share insights with your team.
You can take an example Flex Interview here.
Once an interview has been completed, you'll see a summary, decision drivers, quotes, a video recording, and the full transcript. This is similar to a Live Interview, with the added benefit of seeing the video response.
Getting started with Flex Interviews
1. Build your Flex Interview guide
Your guide is the set of questions and flow you'll use for each interview. We recommend keeping Flex Interviews to 5-7 questions, since completion rates drop if they are longer.
Question types
- Custom questions: Similar to survey questions. Options include text box, multiple choice, or pick-list. Often used to branch based on deal outcome or capture quantitative data (e.g., Net Promoter Score).
- Open-ended questions: Respondents record answers via video or audio. These provide the most detailed feedback, so it's best to focus here.
Optional: AI follow-ups
For each open-ended question, you can toggle AI follow-ups on or off. When enabled, Clozd's AI Interviewer will ask clarifying follow-up questions based on the customer's response. For example, if a buyer mentions "integrations" without specifics, the AI might ask: "What specific integrations were you looking for, and why were they important?"
Here's a short video demonstrating what an AI follow up question looks like in practice.
https://vimeo.com/1117844716/03bc76f412?fl=pl&fe=cm
Using templates
If you'd like a starting point, Clozd can provide an off-the-shelf guide designed for win-loss analysis. Many customers adapt this template for other use cases, including:
- Post-implementation check-ins
- Midpoint satisfaction check-ins
- Sales rep feedback
- Any other type of qualitative research
2. Record your interview questions
Flex Interviews can be recorded directly in the Configuration tab of the Clozd Platform.
- Customer recording: Your team can record both the introduction and the questions. Many customers have a company leader record the intro, which helps personalize the experience.
- Clozd recording: If you prefer, our studio can record the questions for you to create a more neutral, third-party feel.
Tip: Most teams start by sending a test interview to a few internal stakeholders. This lets you see how the AI responds, refine your questions, and confirm the experience before sending it to customers.
3. Guide the AI Interviewer
You can guide the AI so its follow-up questions are relevant and aligned with your goals. There are two levels of guidance:
Overall context (settings)
At the start of setup, you'll see a field for providing context that applies to the entire interview. Use this space to:
- Give a high-level description of your business
- Describe the product or service offered to participants
- State the main objective of the Flex Interview (e.g., win-loss analysis, renewal feedback, customer satisfaction check-in)
Follow-up instructions (per question)
For each open-ended question, you can choose whether to enable AI follow-ups. If enabled, you can add instructions to help the AI focus on the right details. Best practices include:
- Keep instructions clear and concise
- Point the AI toward specific details based on your question
- Example: If your question is "Tell us about your experience with onboarding" and the interviewee says it was negative, you might instruct the AI to ask for specifics so your team can understand what to improve.
Tip: Don't overload the AI with long descriptions. A few clear, targeted instructions are more effective than lengthy context.
4. Finalize your email outreach
We provide default email templates that you can edit based on your goals (e.g., upsell, churn, partial churn). Review the template, make edits, and finalize messaging with your Clozd Program Manager.
FAQs
What response rates should I expect?
Flex Interviews typically see 4-8% participation, which is higher than surveys but lower than live interviews.
How do incentives work?
Incentives for Flex Interviews depend on your contract. Many contracts for win-loss programs include a $50 incentive per completed interview. After responses are reviewed and confirmed as meaningful, Clozd pays the incentive to the respondent.
If your contract does not include incentives—or if you'd like to increase the amount—talk with your Clozd account executive about available options.
Do I have to use AI in every Flex Interview?
No. AI follow-ups are completely optional. You can enable them per question, adjust how many are allowed, and refine the intent as needed.
How do you keep the AI secure and accurate?
Follow-ups are always grounded in customer responses, never random. Data is never used to train external models, ensuring your insights remain private and secure.
Questions?
For additional questions about Flex Interviews, please contact support@clozd.com.