Cheaper to ask two hundred people a question than to build the wrong thing.
Market research goes wrong in a predictable way: you ask people whether they would buy something, they are polite, and you build it. The questions here are shaped to ask about what somebody has already done rather than what they imagine they might do.
A market research survey tests demand, preference or positioning before you commit. It screens for the right respondents first, then asks about past behavior, then asks about intent, in that order.
Before you build, before you price, and before you commit to a message. Run it again after launch against the same questions to see what actually moved.
The questions, in full
Every one of them is on this page before you sign up for anything. The line under each question says what it is for, and what it is deliberately not asking.
The chart that suits the question, and a paragraph under it.
Numbers get the widget built for them. Written answers get grouped into the things people kept saying, with a count on each and every original answer still readable underneath, word for word.
Everything a results page holdsWhat goes wrong with a market research survey
- Asking whether people would buy it. Almost everybody says yes and almost nobody does.
- Skipping the screening question, then reporting results from a sample that is mostly not your market.
- Listing your competitors as options. You get your own assumptions back, ranked.
- Leading the question. If the wording contains the answer you are hoping for, you will get it.
How many responses do I need?
For a directional read on a clear question, one to two hundred usable responses after screening will show you the big differences. Small gaps need considerably more before they mean anything.
How do I stop people just being polite?
Ask what they have already done rather than what they would do. Past behavior is the only part of a survey answer that is hard to be polite about.
Can I ask about price?
Yes, but ask what they pay now rather than what they would pay. Stated willingness to pay is the least reliable number in any survey.
Often run alongside this one
CSAT survey
Customer Satisfaction Score measures one specific interaction rather than the whole relationship. It is the right tool immediately after a purchase, a support ticket or a delivery, and the wrong tool for a quarterly health check.
NPS survey
Net Promoter Score℠ is the most asked question in business, and the most wasted. The score tells you where you stand. The sentence after it tells you what to do. FreeSurvey gives you both on the same page.