Where your customers spend time online
- Where do you spend the most time online?
- Which social media platforms do you use regularly?
- Which online groups, communities, or forums are you part of?
- What websites or apps do you check most often?
Where they get their information
- Where do you go when you want to learn about a product or service like ours?
- Which newsletters, blogs, or podcasts do you follow?
- What did you search for when you were looking for a solution like ours?
- Where do you go to find reviews or compare your options?
Who they listen to and trust
- Whose recommendations do you trust when deciding what to buy?
- Which creators or experts do you follow in this area?
- Who do you ask for advice before making a purchase like this?
- What makes you trust someone’s recommendation?
What other products and services they use
- What products or services do you use alongside ours?
- What were you using before you found us?
- Which other brands or businesses do you regularly buy from?
- What would you use if our product/service weren’t available?
What they want help with
- What was happening that made you start looking for a product/service like ours?
- What problem were you hoping we would help you solve?
- What had you already tried to solve that problem?
- What would a great outcome look like for you?
How they think and talk about your product/service
- How would you describe our product/service to a friend?
- What do you see as the main benefit of using it?
- What makes us different from the other options you considered?
- What did you think we offered before becoming a customer?
How they decide what to buy
- How did you first hear about us?
- Which other options did you consider before choosing us?
- What almost stopped you from buying?
- What ultimately made you decide to choose us?
What marketing catches their attention
- What first caught your attention about our business?
- What information helped you feel ready to buy?
- What about our marketing was confusing or hard to believe?
- What would you like us to explain or talk about more?
Marketing research survey FAQ
How many questions should a marketing research survey have?
For a focused survey, five to ten questions is a practical starting point. Pick one thing you want to understand, like where your customers get information or what convinced them to buy. The right length depends on what you’re asking and how much work each answer takes, so you don’t need to include every question from this list.
How long should each survey question be?
Aim for one short sentence that asks about one thing. “Which social media platforms do you use?” is easy to understand. Adding questions about who someone follows and what they buy in that same sentence gives them several things to keep track of. Break those into separate questions.
How long should the survey take to complete?
For this kind of survey, aim for around three to five minutes as a starting target. A few thoughtful written answers can take longer than several multiple-choice questions, so question count alone won’t tell you. Have a few people from your intended audience take it, time them, and use that to give people an honest estimate.
How do I decide which questions to include?
Start with the marketing decision you want to make. If you’re deciding where to spend time creating content, ask where people hang out, what they read, and who they follow. If you’re rewriting your website, ask how they describe your product and what helped them decide to buy. Every question should give you something you can use.
Should I use multiple-choice or open-ended questions?
Use a mix. Multiple-choice questions help you compare answers, while open-ended questions give people room to tell you something you didn’t think to ask about. If you don’t know which creators your customers follow, let them write the names instead of making them pick from your guesses. The options you provide can influence what people tell you.
How many answer options should I include?
Aim for three to five clear options when that covers the question well. Keep them distinct, and leave room for “Other,” “None,” or “I’m not sure” when those are reasonable answers. If you have to combine unrelated answers to keep the list short, consider letting people write their response instead.
Who should I send my marketing research survey to?
Ask the people whose decisions you’re trying to understand. Current customers can explain why they chose you, while potential customers can tell you what they’re looking for. People who considered buying but didn’t can help you understand what got in the way. Keep those groups separate when reviewing the answers.
How many responses do I need?
There isn’t one number that works for every survey. A small set of thoughtful responses can give you messaging ideas to test, but it won’t tell you what your whole market thinks. If you want reliable percentages or comparisons between customer groups, you’ll need a sampling plan that fits that goal. Getting more answers from the wrong audience won’t solve the problem.
How do I avoid leading people toward the answer I want?
Ask in a way that leaves room for an answer you might not like. “How would you describe our product?” gives someone more freedom than “What makes our product so useful?” Also, ask about things people actually did, such as where they researched their last purchase, rather than relying entirely on what they think they might do.
Should every question be required?
No. Require only the answers you truly need, and let people skip questions they can’t answer or don’t want to answer. This is especially helpful with written responses. Someone who doesn’t remember which podcast mentioned you shouldn’t have to make something up to finish the survey.
How do I get people to answer the survey?
Tell them what you’re trying to learn, how long it will take, and how you’ll use their answers. “We’re deciding which topics to cover next and would love your input” gives someone a clear reason to participate. Keep the survey relevant to them, and thank them for taking time out of their day.
What should I do with the answers?
Look for repeated themes, specific names, and the words people use to describe what they need. Use those answers to plan content, explore partnerships, improve your website copy, or test a marketing channel. Pay attention to context: spending time on Instagram doesn’t necessarily mean someone wants to research your product there. Use the survey to decide what to test, then see how people actually respond.