Market Research Questionnaire

In the wise words of Benjamin Franklin: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” 

Though Franklin said that three centuries ago, his idea still holds true in the business world — those who don’t prepare by conducting market research are highly likely to fail. So how do you avoid failure?

Creating a thorough market research questionnaire is the first step toward making informed business decisions. In this post, we’ll discuss:

• Common types of market research questionnaires
• Questions to add to your template
• Tips for creating a good market research form
• The best questionnaire design tools

Let’s get it going!

Types of market research questionnaires

Agile teams divide market research into different segments to focus on forthcoming campaigns or projects. For instance, they will analyze the market to prepare for a product launch or a new pricing strategy. That’s why we have several types of market research questionnaires:

• Product development: This type of questionnaire helps companies create a product by soliciting feedback on features, design, and usability.

• Customer satisfaction: The only way to improve customer satisfaction is to understand their experiences and expectations. 

• Brand perception: Sometimes you need to evaluate how your brand is perceived to figure out how to build a positive brand image.

• Market segmentation: This questionnaire is helpful if you still don’t understand the diverse segments within your target audience.

• Competitor analysis: A business can learn how to differentiate by assessing the strengths, weaknesses, and perceptions of competitors. 

• Pricing strategy: You can set optimal price points through surveys focused on consumer perceptions of value, their willingness to pay, and factors influencing purchasing decisions.

Market research questions to include in your template

We’ve compiled a list of questions you can ask for each of these questionnaire types below. It’s a pretty exhaustive list, but it will help you understand the ins and outs of the market.

Pro tip: We recommend customizing the questionnaire based on your niche or industry. For instance, B2C and B2B market research questionnaires must be different as they focus on different types of audiences (customers vs. clients).

Product development 

1. What features do you find most appealing in a [product category]?

2. How satisfied are you with the current design of our [product]?

3. What improvements would you like to see in the usability of the [product]?

4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our [product] to others?

5. What additional features would enhance your overall experience with our [product]?

6. How frequently do you use [specific features] in our [product]?

7. Are there any pain points or challenges you currently face with our [product]?

8. How does our [product] compare to competitors in terms of [specific attributes]?

9. What factors influence your decision when purchasing a [product]?

Customer satisfaction

10. On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your recent experience with our company?

11. What specific aspects of our products/services do you find most satisfying?

12. Were your expectations met during your recent interaction with our company?

13. How likely are you to continue using our products/services in the future?

14. What could we do to improve your overall satisfaction with our company?

15. How responsive do you find our customer support team to be?

16. Have you encountered any issues with our products/services? If yes, please specify.

17. How would you rate the quality of our products/services compared to your expectations?

18. What suggestions do you have for enhancing our customer service experience?

19. How likely are you to recommend our company to friends or colleagues?

Brand perception

20. What words or phrases come to mind when you think of our brand?

21. How well do our brand values align with your personal values?

22. What emotions or feelings does our brand evoke for you?

23. On a scale of 1 to 10, how trustworthy do you find our brand?

24. What distinguishes our brand from competitors in your perception?

25. How has your perception of our brand changed over the past year?

26. What marketing messages or campaigns have left a lasting impression on you?

27. In what ways do you believe our brand contributes to the community or society?

28. What improvements, if any, would you suggest to enhance our brand image?

29. How likely are you to remain loyal to our brand in the long term?

Market segmentation

30. What factors influence your purchasing decisions within the [product/service] category?

31. In which demographic category do you primarily identify (age, gender, income, etc.)?

32. Are there specific features or benefits you prioritize when choosing [product/service]?

33. What challenges do you commonly face when seeking [product/service] in the market?

34. How do you typically discover and engage with information about [product/service]?

35. Which information channels do you use most frequently for [product/service] insights?

36. Would you prefer personalized recommendations based on your preferences?

37. How likely are you to try new variations or offerings within the [product/service] category?

38. What motivates you to switch brands or try a different [product/service]?

Competitor analysis

39. How familiar are you with our competitors in the [industry/niche]?

40. What do you perceive as the strengths of our main competitors?

41. Are there specific weaknesses or areas for improvement you associate with our competitors?

42. How would you rate the overall customer service provided by our competitors?

43. What unique value propositions do our competitors offer that we currently do not?

44. Have you ever considered switching to a competitor? If yes, please specify.

45. What marketing strategies or messages from competitors resonate with you?

46. Are there any innovations or trends from competitors that you find particularly appealing?

47. How likely are you to recommend our products/services over those of our competitors?

Pricing strategy

48. How would you rate the current pricing of our products/services?

49. What factors influence your perception of the value for money our products/services offer?

50. Are there specific features or attributes that you believe justify a higher price point?

51. How do our prices compare to those of competitors offering similar products/services?

52. What pricing models or structures do you find most appealing as a consumer?

53. Would you be open to subscription-based pricing for our products/services?

54. How frequently do you consider price when making purchasing decisions in this category?

55. Are there any discounts or promotions that would incentivize you to make a purchase?

56. What price range do you consider the most reasonable for products/services in this category?

Tips to write good market research questions

The most important tip for writing market research survey questions is to clearly define your goal. There’s no reason to ask your clients about brand perception if your goal is to develop a new product or service. Once you define the purpose, do your best to follow these writing tips:   

1. Keep questions as concise as possible

Extra questions don’t necessarily lead to better market insights. You should keep your efforts focused to avoid ambiguity — each question must have a clear purpose. It’s best to use straightforward language to mitigate the risk of misinterpretation, so your respondents can provide meaningful answers.

Related: How to create a questionnaire (plus templates)

2. Use neutral language

Most people don’t intend to use biased formulations, but they end up doing it. That’s why we encourage you to write questions without introducing bias as neutral language prevents leading respondents toward a particular answer. 

Here’s an example:

• Leading question: Our company is known for providing exceptional customer service. How satisfied are you with the support you've received?

• Neutral language: How would you rate the overall quality of our customer service?

3. Ensure logical flow

Another important rule is to organize your questions in a logical sequence that follows a natural flow of thought. A well-structured survey helps respondents smoothly progress from one question to the next. A simple way to ensure this is to start with broad and general questions before delving into more specific inquiries. This gradual progression provides context before delving into more nuanced topics.

4. Mix different types of market research questions

This isn’t mandatory, but it works well for most surveys — you can diversify question types to capture both quantitative and qualitative data. For instance, blend closed-ended questions for numerical insights with open-ended questions that encourage detailed responses.

Here’s an example:

• Closed-ended question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with the recent update to our software?

• Open-ended question: Please provide specific details or features you appreciated or found lacking in the recent software update.

5. Avoid business jargon 

Tip number five is a must (unless you’re surveying highly specific clients): Speak the language of your audience. The best answers come from questionnaires that steer clear of industry jargon or complex terminology that makes people confused.

• Business jargon: Rate the efficacy of our recent technological enhancements in optimizing user experience.

• Plain language: How would you describe your experience with our new product feature?

6. Pilot test your questionnaire

The final tip is to conduct a pilot test with a small group before deploying the full survey. Though it adds another step to the process, it will be of great help — testing will pinpoint ambiguities or potential issues with the question flow before launching full-scale research.

Best tools to build a questionnaire 

A questionnaire is a reliable data collection method, but it takes a special tool to design this type of online form. We’ve got this topic covered in depth in our data collection tools blog post so we’ll suggest only a couple of options here.

Content Snare: Best for surveying B2B clients

Content Snare is the go-to platform for making a detailed market research questionnaire. Our tool offers a ready-made template that you can send to your clients as-is, but you are free to make adjustments to better suit your specific goals.

We know that market research questionnaires can be a pain in the neck for many clients, so we added automated reminders to the system. If your client hesitates to respond, you don’t have to send notifications manually — Content Snare does it for you according to the predefined schedule.

Our platform features more than 20 field types. That way, you can design a unique template with questions that perfectly fit your market research:

There are many other benefits of creating questionnaires with Content Snare, so we suggest testing it. You can sign up right now to get a free 14-day trial.

Zonka Feedback: Best for surveying B2C customers

Zonka Feedback stands out as a user-friendly tool for creating customer-oriented market research surveys. This platform offers a broad scope of question types. Whether it's multiple-choice questions, rating scales, or open-ended queries, Zonka Feedback will assist you in capturing nuanced responses.

It also provides real-time analytics for data-driven decisions. Zonka Feedback generates detailed reports and graphs on the go, so you can interpret responses promptly. The best part is that you can distribute surveys across multiple channels (email, SMS, or embedded website links) to maximize the reach of your market research survey. 

A questionnaire determines the success of your market research

Creating a questionnaire may not seem like a top priority, but it should be because your business decisions depend on it. By asking the right market research questions, you can get quality insights that will guide your business plans. And if you get stuck in the process, remember that you can always use Content Snare’s market research questionnaire template as-is or for some question inspiration.

You might also like:

• Why use Content Snare over an alternative?

• How to create a branding questionnaire for your clients

• Client onboarding questionnaire: 20 questions to ask