market research survey sample questionnaire

Business growth

Marketing tips

How to conduct your own market research survey (with example)

After watching a few of those sketches, you can imagine why real-life focus groups tend to be pretty small. Even without any over-the-top personalities involved, it's easy for these groups to go off the rails.

So what happens when you want to collect market research at a larger scale? That's where the market research survey comes in. Market surveys allow you to get just as much valuable information as an in-person interview, without the burden of herding hundreds of rowdy Eagles fans through a product test.

Table of contents:

What is a market research survey?

Why conduct market research, primary vs. secondary market research.

6 types of market research surveys

How to write and conduct a market research survey

Tips for running a market research survey.

Market research survey campaign example questions

Market research survey template

Use automation to put survey results into action

A market research survey is a questionnaire designed to collect key information about a company's target market and audience that will help guide business decisions about products and services, branding angles, and advertising campaigns.

Market surveys are what's known as "primary research"—that is, information that the researching company gathers firsthand. Secondary research consists of data that another organization gathered and published, which other researchers can then use for their own reports. Primary research is more expensive and time-intensive than secondary research, which is why you should only use market research surveys to obtain information that you can't get anywhere else. 

A market research survey can collect information on your target customers':

Experiences

Preferences, desires, and needs

Values and motivations

The types of information that can usually be found in a secondary source, and therefore aren't good candidates for a market survey, include your target customers':

Demographic data

Consumer spending data

Household size

Lots of this secondary information can be found in a public database like those maintained by the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics . There are also a few free market research tools that you can use to access more detailed data, like Think with Google , Data USA , and Statista . Or, if you're looking to learn about your existing customer base, you can also use a CRM to automatically record key information about your customers each time they make a purchase.

If you've exhausted your secondary research options and still have unanswered questions, it's time to start thinking about conducting a market research survey.

The first thing to figure out is what you're trying to learn, and from whom. Are you beta testing a new product or feature with existing users? Or are you looking to identify new customer personas for your marketers to target? There are a number of different ways to use a marketing research survey, and your choice will impact how you set up the questionnaire.

Here are some examples of how market research surveys can be used to fill a wide range of knowledge gaps for companies:

A B2B software company asks real users in its industry about Kanban board usage to help prioritize their project view change rollout.

A B2C software company asks its target demographic about their mobile browsing habits to help them find features to incorporate into their forthcoming mobile app.

A printing company asks its target demographic about fabric preferences to gauge interest in a premium material option for their apparel lines.

A wholesale food vendor surveys regional restaurant owners to find ideas for seasonal products to offer.

Market surveys are what's known as "primary research"—that is, information that the researching company gathers firsthand. Secondary research consists of data that another organization gathered and published, which other researchers can then use for their own reports. 

Primary research is more expensive and time-intensive than secondary research, which is why you should only use market research surveys to obtain information that you can't get anywhere else. 

Lots of this secondary information can be found in a public database like those maintained by the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics . There are also a few free market research tools that you can use to access more detailed data, like Think with Google , Data USA , and Statista . 

Or, if you're looking to learn about your existing customer base, you can also use a CRM to automatically record key information about your customers each time they make a purchase.

6 types of market research survey

Depending on your goal, you'll need different types of market research. Here are six types of market research surveys.

1. Buyer persona research

A buyer persona or customer profile is a simple sketch of the types of people that you should be targeting as potential customers. 

A buyer persona research survey will help you learn more about things like demographics, household makeup, income and education levels, and lifestyle markers. The more you learn about your existing customers, the more specific you can get in targeting potential customers. You may find that there are more buyer personas within your user base than the ones that you've been targeting.

2. Sales funnel research

The sales funnel is the path that potential customers take to eventually become buyers. It starts with the target's awareness of your product, then moves through stages of increasing interest until they ultimately make a purchase. 

With a sales funnel research survey, you can learn about potential customers' main drivers at different stages of the sales funnel. You can also get feedback on how effective different sales strategies are. Use this survey to find out:

How close potential buyers are to making a purchase

What tools and experiences have been most effective in moving prospective customers closer to conversion

What types of lead magnets are most attractive to your target audience

3. Customer loyalty research

Whenever you take a customer experience survey after you make a purchase, you'll usually see a few questions about whether you would recommend the company or a particular product to a friend. After you've identified your biggest brand advocates , you can look for persona patterns to determine what other customers are most likely to be similarly enthusiastic about your products. Use these surveys to learn:

The demographics of your most loyal customers

What tools are most effective in turning customers into advocates

What you can do to encourage more brand loyalty

4. Branding and marketing research

The Charmin focus group featured in that SNL sketch is an example of branding and marketing research, in which a company looks for feedback on a particular advertising angle to get a sense of whether it will be effective before the company spends money on running the ad at scale. Use this type of survey to find out:

Whether a new advertising angle will do well with existing customers

Whether a campaign will do well with a new customer segment you haven't targeted yet

What types of campaign angles do well with a particular demographic

5. New products or features research

Whereas the Charmin sketch features a marketing focus group, this one features new product research for a variety of new Hidden Valley Ranch flavors. Though you can't get hands-on feedback on new products when you're conducting a survey instead of an in-person meeting, you can survey your customers to find out:

What features they wish your product currently had

What other similar or related products they shop for

What they think of a particular product or feature idea

Running a survey before investing resources into developing a new offering will save you and the company a lot of time, money, and energy.

6. Competitor research

You can get a lot of information about your own customers and users via automatic data collection , but your competitors' customer base may not be made up of the same buyer personas that yours is. Survey your competitors' users to find out:

Your competitors ' customers' demographics, habits, and behaviors

Whether your competitors have found success with a buyer persona you're not targeting

Information about buyers for a product that's similar to one you're thinking about launching

Feedback on what features your competitors' customers wish their version of a product had

Once you've narrowed down your survey's objectives, you can move forward with designing and running your survey.

Step 1: Write your survey questions

A poorly worded survey, or a survey that uses the wrong question format, can render all of your data moot. If you write a question that results in most respondents answering "none of the above," you haven't learned much. 

You'll find dozens of question types and even pre-written questions in most survey apps . Here are a few common question types that work well for market surveys.

Categorical questions

Also known as a nominal question, this question type provides numbers and percentages for easy visualization, like "35% said ABC." It works great for bar graphs and pie charts, but you can't take averages or test correlations with nominal-level data.

Yes/No: The most basic survey question used in polls is the Yes/No question, which can be easily created using your survey app or by adding Yes/No options to a multiple-choice question. 

Multiple choice: Use this type of question if you need more nuance than a Yes/No answer gives. You can add as many answers as you want, and your respondents can pick only one answer to the question. 

Checkbox: Checkbox questions add the flexibility to select all the answers that apply. Add as many answers as you want, and respondents aren't limited to just one. 

Ordinal questions

This type of question requires survey-takers to pick from options presented in a specific order, like "income of $0-$25K, $26K-$40K, $41K+." Like nominal questions, ordinal questions elicit responses that allow you to analyze counts and percentages, though you can't calculate averages or assess correlations with ordinal-level data.

Dropdown: Responses to ordinal questions can be presented as a dropdown, from which survey-takers can only make one selection. You could use this question type to gather demographic data, like the respondent's country or state of residence. 

Ranking: This is a unique question type that allows respondents to arrange a list of answers in their preferred order, providing feedback on each option in the process. 

Interval/ratio questions

For precise data and advanced analysis, use interval or ratio questions. These can help you calculate more advanced analytics, like averages, test correlations, and run regression models. Interval questions commonly use scales of 1-5 or 1-7, like "Strongly disagree" to "Strongly agree." Ratio questions have a true zero and often ask for numerical inputs (like "How many cups of coffee do you drink per day? ____").

Ranking scale: A ranking scale presents answer choices along an ordered value-based sequence, either using numbers, a like/love scale, a never/always scale, or some other ratio interval. It gives more insight into people's thoughts than a Yes/No question. 

Matrix: Have a lot of interval questions to ask? You can put a number of questions in a list and use the same scale for all of them. It simplifies gathering data about a lot of similar items at once. 

Example : How much do you like the following: oranges, apples, grapes? Hate/Dislike/Ok/Like/Love

Textbox: A textbox question is needed for collecting direct feedback or personal data like names. There will be a blank space where the respondent can enter their answer to your question on their own. 

Step 2: Choose a survey platform

There are a lot of survey platforms to choose from, and they all offer different and unique features. Check out Zapier's list of the best online survey apps to help you decide.

Most survey apps today look great on mobile, but be sure to preview your survey on your phone and computer, at least, to make sure it'll look good for all of your users.

If you have the budget, you can also purchase survey services from a larger research agency. 

Step 3: Run a test survey

Before you run your full survey, conduct a smaller test on 5%-10% of your target respondent pool size. This will allow you to work out any confusing wording or questions that result in unhelpful responses without spending the full cost of the survey. Look out for:

Survey rejection from the platform for prohibited topics

Joke or nonsense textbox answers that indicate the respondent didn't answer the survey in earnest

Multiple choice questions with an outsized percentage of "none of the above" or "N/A" responses

Step 4: Launch your survey

If your test survey comes back looking good, you're ready to launch the full thing! Make sure that you leave ample time for the survey to run—you'd be surprised at how long it takes to get a few thousand respondents. 

Even if you've run similar surveys in the past, leave more time than you need. Some surveys take longer than others for no clear reason, and you also want to build in time to conduct a comprehensive data analysis.

Step 5: Organize and interpret the data

Unless you're a trained data analyst, you should avoid crunching all but the simplest survey data by hand. Most survey platforms include some form of reporting dashboard that will handle things like population weighting for you, but you can also connect your survey platform to other apps that make it easy to keep track of your results and turn them into actionable insights.

You know the basics of how to conduct a market research survey, but here are some tips to enhance the quality of your data and the reliability of your findings.

Find the right audience: You could have meticulously crafted survey questions, but if you don't target the appropriate demographic or customer segment, it doesn't really matter. You need to collect responses from the people you're trying to understand. Targeted audiences you can send surveys to include your existing customers, current social media followers, newsletter subscribers, attendees at relevant industry events, and community members from online forums, discussion boards, or other online communities that cater to your target audience. 

Take advantage of existing resources: No need to reinvent the wheel. You may be able to use common templates and online survey platforms like SurveyMonkey for both survey creation and distribution. You can also use AI tools to create better surveys. For example, generative AI tools like ChatGPT can help you generate questions, while analytical AI tools can scan survey responses to help sort, tag, and report on them. Some survey apps have AI built into them already too.

Focus questions on a desired data type: As you conceptualize your survey, consider whether a qualitative or quantitative approach will better suit your research goals. Qualitative methods are best for exploring in-depth insights and underlying motivations, while quantitative methods are better for obtaining statistical data and measurable trends. For an outcome like "optimize our ice cream shop's menu offerings," you may want to find out which flavors of ice cream are most popular with teens. This would require a quantitative approach, for which you would use categorical questions that can help you rank potential flavors numerically.

Establish a timeline: Set a realistic timeline for your survey, from creation to distribution to data collection and analysis. You'll want to balance having your survey out long enough to generate a significant amount of responses but not so long that it loses relevance. That length can vary widely based on factors like type of survey, number of questions, audience size, time sensitivity, question format, and question length.

Define a margin of error: Your margin of error shows how much the survey results might differ from the real opinions of the entire group being studied. Since you can't possibly survey every single person in your desired population, you'll have to settle on an acceptable percentage of error upfront, a percentage figure that varies by sample size, sample proportion, and confidence interval. According to University of Wisconsin-Madison's Pamela Hunter , 95% is the industry standard confidence level (though small sample sizes may get by with 90%). At the 95% level, for example, an acceptable margin of error for a survey of 500 respondents would be 3%. That means that if 80% of respondents give a positive response to a question, the data shows that between 77-83% respond positively 95 out of 100 times.

Market research survey campaign example

Let's say you own a market research company, and you want to use a survey to gain critical insights into your market. You prompt users to fill out your survey before they can access gated premium content.

Survey questions: 

1. What size is your business? 

<10 employees

11-50 employees

51-100 employees

101-200 employees

>200 employees

2. What industry type best describes your role?

3. On a scale of 1-4, how important would you say access to market data is?

1 - Not important

2 - Somewhat important

3 - Very important

4 - Critically important

4. On a scale of 1 (least important) to 5 (most important), rank how important these market data access factors are.

Accuracy of data

Attractive presentation of data

Cost of data access

Range of data presentation formats

Timeliness of data

5. True or false: your job relies on access to accurate, up-to-date market data.

Survey findings: 

63% of respondents represent businesses with over 100 employees, while only 8% represent businesses with under 10.

71% of respondents work in sales, marketing, or operations.

80% of respondents consider access to market data to be either very important or critically important.

"Timeliness of data" (38%) and "Accuracy of data" (32%) were most commonly ranked as the most important market data access factor.

86% of respondents claimed that their jobs rely on accessing accurate, up-to-date market data.

Insights and recommendations: Independent analysis of the survey indicates that a large percentage of users work in the sales, marketing, or operations fields of large companies, and these customers value timeliness and accuracy most. These findings can help you position future report offerings more effectively by highlighting key benefits that are important to customers that fit into related customer profiles. 

Market research survey example questions

Your individual questions will vary by your industry, market, and research goals, so don't expect a cut-and-paste survey to suit your needs. To help you get started, here are market research survey example questions to give you a sense of the format.

Yes/No: Have you purchased our product before?

Multiple choice: How many employees work at your company?

<10 / 10-20 / 21-50 / 51-100 / 101-250 / 250+

Checkbox: Which of the following features do you use in our app?

Push notifications / Dashboard / Profile customization / In-app chat

Dropdown: What's your household income? 

$0-$10K / $11-$35K / $36-$60K / $61K+

Ranking: Which social media platforms do you use the most? Rank in order, from most to least.

Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn / Reddit

Ranking scale: On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our customer service? 

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Textbox: How many apps are installed on your phone? Enter a number: 

Market research survey question types

Good survey apps typically offer pre-designed templates as a starting point. But to give you a more visual sense of what these questions might look like, we've put together a document showcasing common market research survey question types.

You're going to get a lot of responses back from your survey—why dig through them all manually if you don't have to? Automate your survey to aggregate information for you, so it's that much easier to uncover findings. 

Related reading:

Poll vs. survey: What is a survey and what are polls?

The best online survey apps

The best free form builders and survey tools

How to get people to take a survey

This article was originally published in June 2015 by Stephanie Briggs. The most recent update, with contributions from Cecilia Gillen, was in September 2023.

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Amanda Pell

Amanda is a writer and content strategist who built her career writing on campaigns for brands like Nature Valley, Disney, and the NFL. When she's not knee-deep in research, you'll likely find her hiking with her dog or with her nose in a good book.

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Market Research Surveys: Sample Questions + Template

Sample Questions

• Creation Tips
• Types of Data
• Employee Feedback
• Creating the Survey
• Identity Protection
• Research Tools

Create your own survey using a MaxDiff question and more!

Definition: Market research surveys are a tool used to collect information about a target market. These surveys allow businesses to understand market needs and preferences.

Your company can offer better products or services by understanding your target market. Often, market research surveys will also include questions about competitors. Competitor data help paint the complete picture of your target market.

Depending on your goal, you want to include different question types in your survey. Here are three general categories of question types to include:

• Customer demographic questions
• Product/service questions
• Company/brand questions

Customer Demographic Questions

These questions will help you to understand  your audience  better. In addition, this data can be used to create market segments.

• What is your age range?
• What is your marital status?
• What is the highest level of education?
• What is your monthly income?
• Which of the following online retailers do you use most often?
• How many hours a week do you spend doing [task]?
• How did you find our company?

Product or Service Questions

When researching a product or service, you want to find out what attributes customers find most valuable in addition to a proper price point.  MaxDiff  will help you determine what is least and most important for this type of research, while  Gabor Granger  and  Van Westendorp  will help you find the optimal price points.

Important note: Don’t ask customers what they would pay for a product or service using an input box. The data will be unreliable. Instead, we recommend using a Gabor Granger question to determine optimal price; this question mimics real-world buying decisions where random price points are evaluated.

Asking about competitors is also essential when drafting product or service questions. Understanding the competition will help your own company build better offerings.

• Of the following features, which are LEAST and MOST important to you?
• Does this product help solve your problems?
• Is there any feature you wish a competitor offered?
• Was our product easy to use?
• How would you evaluate the following price points when purchasing this product?

Company/Brand Questions

When asking questions about your company or brand, the key focus should be on asking the Net Promoter Score question. This question asks, “How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?” with options from 0 to 10. The overall score will range from -100 to 100 and can be benchmarked against other companies.

Some additional questions in this area could include the following

• Do you understand what our brand stands for?
• Of the following terms, which do you associate with our brand?
• When thinking of a new [product] to buy, which of the following brands first comes to mind?

Tips to Create a Great Market Research Survey

Create an objective:.

Once you get the data, what actions will you take with it? For example, do you want to research features or pricing? Whatever the objective is, make sure it is clear. This will ensure the right questions are asked to gather valuable data.

Determine How to Collect Responses:

Do you have a customer list or want general consumers’ opinions? We recommend using your own customers as a starting point for market research surveys. Then you can add in a targeted survey panel to grab more general consumer opinions.

Here is a  sample size calculator  to determine your needed sample size. This data will enable you to know how many responses you need to collect based on the overall population you are studying.

Use Crosstabulation:

To spot hidden trends and relationships, use  cross-tabulation . For example, you could create a cross-tabulation report for a MaxDiff question with gender. Then you can see what product each prefers features. This can be used for marketing or to decide what target market would be more profitable.

Keep Your Survey Short:

No one wants to be overwhelmed. A  study by Survicate  found that surveys with 1-3 questions had an 83% response rate. Use  skip logic  to hide irrelevant questions from users that do not meet specific criteria.

Offer Incentives:

Offer incentives! Offer respondents a discount if they take your survey. This will help drum up new business and ensure you can collect the data you need.

Why Use Market Research Surveys?

Research a target market:.

Your target market is the consumers who would find your product or service most helpful. So first, create a survey to discover opinions on a product or service and respondent demographics such as age, income level, or education level. You can segment your results from here and find out what characteristics make up your target market.

Market Segmentation:

Now that you know your general target market, a more specific group of those people is known as a segment. With the dealership example, maybe you realize consumers in your area and target market love Audi but hate BMW. Luxury cars and people of the same income level drive them, but this difference in product preference is a segment. Knowing this is key to offering the correct brands or prices.

Competitor Analysis:

Often called SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), analyzing your competition is key to gaining market share. Go directly to consumers and ask about their opinions on competitors. Ask questions about what they do well or what you do well. Your survey results will help you identify opportunities for growth or ways your company needs to change to stay competitive.

Product Launches:

Does your product meet your customers’ needs? Sending an online product survey to customers will help you gain insights that drive improvements, consumer satisfaction, and ultimately, sales. When measuring the importance of product features, remember always to include a MaxDiff question.

Types of Market Research Data

Of course, surveys are only part of market research. You might be able to shorten your survey if you can collect data from other places first.

Primary Information (aka Field Research):

Primary market research is information YOU collect specific to your objective. This type of information is most often collected via surveys! For example, you might want to open up an arcade in a small town in the United States. You can send out a survey to a sample of the town’s residents to get demographic information and if they are willing to visit your arcade.

Secondary Information (aka Desk Research):

Secondary market research is information YOU DO NOT collect specific to your objective. This type of data is already available to you in public government databases, journals, publications, or even Google! For example, let’s say you were interested in starting your luxury car dealership. You could look at government census data for income levels for your target market before conducting your detailed research. Secondary information should help narrow down what preliminary information you need to collect.

ABOUT THE AUTOR

Allen is the founder of SurveyKing. A former CPA and government auditor, he understands how important quality data is in decision making. He continues to help SurveyKing accomplish their main goal: providing organizations around the world with low-cost high-quality feedback tools.

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Market research questionnaire: examples and complete guide

How to make a market research questionnaire? What questions to ask?  When you do market research, the questionnaire is a must. So much so that  questionnaires and market research are often used interchangeably . However, it is only one step in a  complete process  that allows you to get closer to the truth of the market. In this article, we address all these issues and propose  complete examples in B2B and B2C to download .

For more real-life examples, we refer you to the website  etude-de-marche.online , where we list and comment on the questionnaires we find online. You can also find our guide to  writing your questionnaire here .

All about the market research questionnaire in 30 seconds

• The questionnaire is a market research technique . It aims to obtain a quantitative assessment that complements the qualitative view offered by techniques such as individual interviews or focus groups.
• Questionnaire and market research are too often considered interchangeable terms. It is essential to understand that we must combine several techniques to approach the reality of a market. The administration time for a questionnaire should not exceed 10 minutes . This corresponds to about 25 questions.
• The questionnaire is divided into 3 distinct parts : 1) the introduction, 2) the questions specific to the market research, and 3) the collection of information on the respondent’s profile
• 5 questions are recurrent in any market research questionnaire: screening questions, buying habits, needs, buying intentions, and pricing.
• A B2C market research questionnaire will differ from its B2B counterpart. The latter will focus more on competitive aspects, the decision cycle, and the price currently paid by the company.

What is the place of the questionnaire in global market research?

Duration and number of questions not to exceed, the 3 parts of a market research questionnaire, how to adapt your questionnaire for b2b market research.

• Example of B2C market research questionnaire
• Example of B2B market research questionnaire

Download other examples of market research questionnaires

Understanding a market involves approaching it from several angles. Classically,  market research is done in 3 phases :

• desk research (or documentary research)
• qualitative research
• quantitative research (via questionnaire)

To know more about the market research process, visit our free online guide . You can browse the right infographic, representing the global method we have conceptualized. The questionnaire section is #6.

Most questionnaires are now administered in the form of online surveys. As far as our market research firm is concerned, we have to admit that it has been a long time since a customer asked us to conduct a face-to-face administration (on the street, for example) or by post.

We advise our customers  never to exceed 10 minutes and 25-30 questions . This avoids problems such as:

• Attrition : Respondents give up along the way when the questionnaire is too long.
• Fatigue : questionnaires that are too long will tire respondents, who tend to be more distracted and answer poorly. The quality of the answers will be inferior, and your results will be less reliable at the end of the questionnaire.

Two examples to download are waiting for you at the end of this article.

Questionnaire and market research are too often considered interchangeable terms.

In this paragraph, we propose to go through the ideal structure of a market research questionnaire:

• Introductory text
• Recurring themes
• Respondent profile

Part 1: The introductory text

Your questionnaire can start with a short introduction presenting the purpose of the market research. It should not be too long but clear enough for the respondent to understand:

• what do you want to ask them about
• what they will gain from it
• how much time will it take
• what will be done with their data (on this subject, consider reading this article on the  problems posed by the cloud act in market research questionnaires )

Part 2: questions specific to the market research

In B2C and B2B, some themes are almost always present in all market research questionnaires. There are 5 of them:

• screening of the respondent
• buying habits
• purchase intention

As you can see, these questions follow a certain logic. You will first check that the respondent has the right profile to answer (screening), then ask them about their buying habits (the current situation) before moving on.

We propose the following table to give you an overview.

Part 3: Questions about the respondent’s profile

You will finish your questionnaire by asking questions about the respondent’s profile. Age, sector of activity, gender, etc., are all variables that will allow you to cross-reference the results and better segment your target population. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the control variables we use most often in our research.

B2B (for products or services sold to companies):

• company size
• sector of activity
• hierarchical position of the respondent
• geographical location (postal code, region, country)

B2C (for products or services sold to individuals)

• family status
• level of research
• household income

In a B2B context, a market research questionnaire must undergo certain adaptations.

These concern, of course, the questions on the respondent’s profile . Demographic aspects are little important in B2B. However, the hierarchical position, the company’s size, and its sector of activity must be recorded.

Above all, the questions asked will be different. You will probably have to ask more questions to determine the company’s current practices and gather information on the competition. In this respect, B2B market research will also be interested in the price currently paid by the company if it already has a competing solution. In a B2C context, this price aspect may be less important, especially if it is a regular purchase. Do you remember the price of everything you buy in the supermarket as a consumer?

In the B2B context, you will also have to put more emphasis on decision-making . In B2C, the consumer decides alone most of the time. In B2B, this is never the case because there are procedures to follow within any company.

Example of a B2C market research questionnaire

The questionnaire below concerns research on car purchases by individuals. It is, therefore, B2C market research. It includes 26 questions. You can find the internal instructions (in blue) that we put to check that the programming of our questionnaire is correct.

Example of a B2B market research questionnaire

The questionnaire you will find below concerns research on hygiene in companies. It is therefore intended for a professional audience. You will note that we have provided an explanatory text (in blue) for some questions. This is a good practice when the question is complicated or needs to be contextualized.

Many examples of market research questionnaires are available on our dedicated website,  www.etude-de-marche.online . You can find the complete questionnaire, all the questions, and our explanations and reviews in the video.

• Market research methodology

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• 11 Market Survey Template + [Question Examples]

One of the many ways to gather information about customers is through a market research survey. A market research survey, thus, is an affordable and reliable way for organizations to collect useful information from prospective consumers and target markets.

Apart from leveraging online data collection platforms like Formplus for your market research survey, it is also important for you to ask the right questions in your survey in order to gather the most relevant information. In this article, we’ll share some market research survey templates and question examples for your business. 

What are Market Surveys?  

A market survey is a data collection tool used to gather information from target markets with regard to a particular product/service. It involves gathering feedback on the needs and preferences of customers by asking a series of questions that reveal the inclinations of your target market. 

Typically, organizations depend on the results of market research surveys to create effective marketing strategies. Through a marketing survey, you can understand the expectations of prospective customers as well as gain insights into your competition. 

Why Administer Market Surveys?  

Market surveys are essential to the success of every business; whether new or existing. Understanding the needs of your target market means that you would be able to create and improve products to suit their specific demands, and therefore, record more sales and revenue. 

Here are some other reasons why you should conduct a market research survey for your business:

With a market survey, you will gain direct feedback from your customers on their expectations for your product. Such critical information plays a key role in product marketing and feature enhancement. 

• A market research survey provides key insights into consumers’ purchasing behaviors. You would know what customers are most likely to purchase, the product features that appeal to them, and what they think about your competitor’s product or service. 
• Effective Marketing Strategy

This is one of the most important reasons for conducting a market research survey. Findings from this research activity reveal customer inclinations and this information can help you to create an effective marketing strategy. 

• Better Decision-Making

Findings from a marketing research survey often translate to better decision-making for your business. Instead of investing in trial-and-error processes, you would make decisions with a high level of predictability. 

• It helps you to optimize your business operations by investing in product features that appeal to your customers. 
• It maps out a clear path of demand and supply in the target market (s). 

Tips for Conducting the Best Market Research Surveys   

• Define a clear goal for your survey. You should be specific about the aim and expected outcomes of your market research survey.
• Identify your target market for the survey. Make your data more relevant by focusing on the right target market. Avoid generic data by ensuring that your target market aligns with your product or service. 
• Use the right market survey tool like Formplus. 
• Employ a thorough analysis method to process the data gathered via the survey into actionable findings. In the Formplus analytics dashboard, you can access important survey metrics and even generate a custom visual report.  
• Engage the services of a market research survey expert to help you get the best results from the process. 

11 Market Research Survey Templates

• Market Survey Form

Use this market survey form to gather actionable insights into consumers’ preferences and behaviors. In the drag-and-drop form builder, you can edit this template by adding different form fields to help you collect a variety of information from your target audience.  

• Product Pricing Survey

Do you want to know whether you’re charging too much or too little for your product? Then use administer this product pricing survey to gather information about your client’s preferred pricing range. With the Formplus product pricing survey, you will gather first-hand data on the customers’ perception of your pricing. 

• Product Evaluation Form

Use this product evaluation form to collect feedback from consumers about your product and improve your product features. The Formplus product evaluation form will help you gather information on the strengths and weaknesses of your product from your customers’ points of view. 

• Customer Satisfaction Survey

Find out how well your product meets up with the expectations of your customers using the Formplus customer satisfaction survey . In the drag-and-drop form builder, you can tweak this form to suit your organization’s needs by adding different form fields and changing the appearance of the form. 

• Demographic Survey

This demographic survey will help you to better understand your customers. You can collect information about the age, marital status, gender, educational level, religion, and income of your customers to help you create objective buyer personas. 

• Interview Consent Form

Use this interview consent form to collect authorized permissions from participants during qualitative and quantitative research. This form would help you prevent any breach of data privacy, and you can also collect digital signatures from participants in your form. 

• Opinion Poll Template

This opinion poll template is an easy way for you to sample the public’s opinion on a range of issues. You can edit this template and share the poll’s link with participants in order to understand how they feel about the issue at hand. 

• Patient Satisfaction Survey

After providing medical services for a patient, you can administer this patient satisfaction survey to get feedback on how he or she feels about your service delivery. This survey form is a great way for hospitals and other healthcare practitioners to gather feedback from patients and improve their overall service delivery. 

• Restaurant Satisfaction Survey

Use this restaurant satisfaction survey to gather feedback from your clients on the quality of your service delivery. Find out what clients think about your brand and how you can improve the overall service experience and perception of your business. 

• Strawpoll Template

This straw poll template can be easily modified in the form builder to suit your organization’s needs. With this form, you can collect useful data from respondents about their interests, thoughts, and other important consumer demographics. 

• Website Evaluation Survey

Gather first-hand feedback from website visitors about their experience on your website with the Formplus website evaluation survey . You can embed this survey form on your website to make it easily accessible to visitors. 

How to Create Market Surveys with Formplus

Seamlessly create and administer your market research survey in little or no time with Formplus. After creating your survey, you can use any of the multiple form-sharing options to get your market research survey across to your customers and target markets.  

Formplus also has a form analytics dashboard that displays important metrics like the total number of form submissions and the total number of form views. With the teams and collaboration feature, you and your team members can work on the market research survey and organize responses and folders, together. 

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create a market research survey with Formplus: 

• Sign in to your Formplus account to access the form builder. If you do not have a Formplus account, create one here . 

• In your dashboard, click on the Create new form button to get started.  
• Start by adding a title to your form, e.g. Market Research Survey. 
• Next, drag preferred fields into your form from the builder’s inputs section. You can edit form fields by clicking on the pencil icon beside them. 

• After dragging and dropping preferred fields into your form, click on “save” to move to the form customization section. You can add background images, insert your organization’s logo, and change your form layout with custom CSS.  

• Copy the form’s URL and share it with the respondents. You can send out email invitations to form respondents and also embed your market research survey on your organization’s website. 

Market Research Question Examples  

Question samples for target markets .

To better understand your target market and customer demographics, here are a few questions you can ask: 

• How would you rate your spending habits?
• How much do you spend on groceries every month?
• How do you like to make purchases?
• Would you be willing to pay a premium subscription fee for this service?
• What is your preferred service payment plan? 

Market Research Questions for Your Customers

Gathering feedback from your existing customers can provide great insights into your product’s market performance and help you to meet up with the expectations of your clients. Here are 5 questions you can ask here:

• How well does our product meet your needs? 
• What do you like best about our product?
• What product feature would you like to see? 
• How would you rate our service delivery?
• Has our product improved your daily output?

Market Research Questions for Competitive Analysis

These questions would provide a clearer picture of industry competitors and how they are perceived by your target market:

• What is your favorite toothpaste brand?
• Why did you choose this brand? 
• What benefits do you get from this product?
• What milk brands are you familiar with? 

Other market research questions are;

• How would you rate your last experience with our product?
• How likely are you to buy this product?
• How often do you make use of this product or service? 
• Why did you choose our services?
• How would you rate our pricing for this product?
• How likely are you to subscribe to our services?

Best Types of Questions for Market Research Surveys  

Open-ended question.

An open-ended question is a fluid question type that does not restrict respondents to a set of premeditated responses. In other words, it is a type of question that allows respondents to freely communicate their thoughts, feelings, and perceptions as they provide answers to it. 

In market research surveys, open-ended questions provide an opportunity for you to get extensive and descriptive information from respondents. Since there is no limit to the responses that can be provided, open-ended questions help you to gain better insights into the behaviors and preferences of your customers.  

Examples of open-ended questions are: 

• How would you describe your experience with our product?
• How do you think we can improve our product for you?
• What factors influence your spending habits? 

Close-ended Questions

A close-ended question is a rigid survey question type that limits respondents to a set of predetermined responses; typically in the form of options. Close-ended questions restrict respondents to already-provided responses (options) and these types of questions are mostly employed in quantitative research. 

In market research surveys, close-ended questions are typically used for evaluation; that is when you want to assign statistical values to your customers’ perceptions. Close-ended questions target specifics rather than long-form responses, and they make your data collection process faster and cost-effective. 

Examples of closed-ended questions are:

1. Did you enjoy using our product?

2. Would you recommend our services to other people?

3. How would you rate our service delivery?

Multiple Choice Questions

A multiple-choice question is a common type of closed-ended question that allows respondents to select one or more answers from the options provided. Multiple choice questions can restrict respondents to only one option or allow them to choose multiple options that are applicable to them. 

Examples of multiple-choice questions include: 

1. How long have you been using our product?

• 6-12 months
• More than 1 year

2. How often do you use our product?

• Somewhat often

Rating Scale Questions

A rating scale question is a type of survey question that requires a respondent to choose a rating option that best represents his or her perception of the subject matter. It usually displays a scale of answer options set within a specific range (like some sort of gauge). 

Net promoter score questions in customer experience surveys are good examples of rating questions. 

Conclusion  

A market survey is an important data collection tool for new and existing businesses that intend to create customer-centric products while recording increased sales and revenue. In your market research survey, ensure that you list questions that will prompt respondents to provide relevant answers. 

Also, outline specific aims and objectives for your market research survey and tailor your questions to reflect these. Finally, use Formplus to achieve a seamless data collection process from start to finish – you can create your survey, share it with respondents, and analyze the resulting data with little or no hassle. 

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Market research survey questions and templates

With our market research templates and questions, gather the data you need to understand your target audience better, improve current business, or successfully launch a new business, service, or product.

Get started

What is a market research survey?

A crucial component of launching any business, service, or product is a market research survey, a type of survey with many uses. For example, without market research surveys, companies wouldn't know if their business or service was performing well, if any changes were needed before a product launch, or if the plug should be pulled altogether before more money is sunk into a dead end.

Such insights also help businesses understand their target audience better. This can aid in preparing for a more successful launch. One way to garner such valuable information is by conducting market research.

With help from SurveyPlanet, you can create effective market research surveys. These will provide valuable insights needed for better business management.

Continue reading to find out more about great market research survey examples and questions.

Types of market research

There are two types of market research surveys: primary market research and secondary market research.

Primary market research

Primary market research is a process of collecting new data that hasn't already been gathered. This can be done with market research surveys, interviews, or questionnaires.

Secondary market research

Secondary market research involves the analysis and interpretation of existing data collected for a purpose other than the current research goal.

This is cost-effective and time-efficient compared to primary research. It provides a broader understanding of the market and can be a valuable starting point for businesses.

Market research survey questionnaire sample

Wondering how to conduct a market research survey? Here are the most common market research survey examples used by businesses:

Concept testing

When launching a new product, service, or business idea conducting a market research questionnaire can help discover if consumers think it's a good idea. A survey can concept test the launch of a new product or service or investigate what consumers specifically think about names, logos, packaging, pricing, and even proposed advertising campaigns.

Brand research

If seeking to find out what people think of a brand—if it has the right messaging or how well it resonates with people overall—an engaging brand research survey is the right tool to use. Brand research is important for any business's success. It provides hard data that will drive effective decision-making while also giving insight into consumers’ minds.

Target audience profiling when conducting surveys

How well understood is the target audience? If you're not sure how they would respond to one product over another, then target audience profiling is a great type of market research survey to utilize. Discover exactly what age, gender, and education level the target audience is composed of by using a profiling survey.

Explore this in more depth in our How to use demographic survey questions blog.

Target audience profiling is also useful in finding out what other types of brands the target audience enjoys. It provides more information about a customer base so that more effective business decisions are made.

Market survey examples

Good market research questions provide valuable insights into a target audience's preferences, behaviors, and needs. Before creating a survey, it's important to identify objectives that will provide needed answers. Keeping this in mind before developing a survey will help in the crafting of better questions.

To help create a market research survey questionnaire, use the following questions to brainstorm:

• What other services or products are similar to ours?
• Which companies do you consider our top competitors?
• What do you like most about our new product/service?
• What made you choose our company over a competitor?
• Which of the four logos do you like best?
• What brands come to mind when you think of this product?
• How often do you use this product category?

Interested in finding out more about conducting this type of research? Read our blog covering market research 101 to explore additional question examples and guidelines.

Thirty market research survey questions examples

Here are some market research survey question examples that can be used in a questionnaire:

Product/service understanding

• How familiar are you with our [Product/Service] offerings?
• Have you ever used our [Product/Service]? If yes, how often do you use it?
• Please rate your satisfaction with the features provided by our [Product/Service].
• Are there any specific aspects of our [Product/Service] that you find appealing?
• What sources or channels do you typically rely on to stay informed about new products or services?
• If you could change or add one feature to our [Product/Service], what would it be and why?
• Which features of our [Product/Service] do you find most satisfying or valuable?

Customer preferences

Rank the following factors in order of importance when considering [Product/Service] options: price, features, brand reputation, and customer reviews.

• How likely are you to switch to a different [Product/Service] if it offers a more competitive price?
• Would you prefer a customizable [Product/Service] or one that is ready to use out of the box?
• How much does the brand reputation influence your decision when choosing a [Product/Service]?

Competitor analysis

• Are you aware of our competitors? Please list any that come to mind.
• What do you perceive as the main strengths of our competitors compared to our [Product/Service]?
• Have you used similar products or services from our competitors? How does our [Product/Service] compare?
• What factors influenced your decision to choose our [Product/Service] over alternatives?
• What do you think sets our [Product/Service] apart from our competitors in terms of value?

Market trends

• How has your interest in [Product/Service] changed over the past year?
• Are there any emerging trends in the [Industry] that you believe will impact [Product/Service] offerings?
• What technological advancements do you expect to see in [Industry] over the next few years?
• How do you typically discover new products or services?
• How do social media influencers impact your purchasing decisions?
• How comfortable are you with brands using your data to personalize their marketing?
• Are there specific factors that drive your decision to shop online or in-store?
• Have you noticed any changes in your brand preferences over the past year?

Customer experience

• On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your overall experience with our [Product/Service]?
• What improvements or enhancements would enhance your experience with our [Product/Service]?
• Have you encountered any challenges or difficulties while using our [Product/Service]? If yes, please describe.

Buying behavior

• Where do you typically seek information about [Product/Service] before making a purchasing decision?
• Do you prefer making purchases online or in physical stores for [Product/Service]?
• What factors are most likely to trigger an impulse purchase of [Product/Service]?

Demographics and segmentation

• What is your age group and gender?
• What is your current occupation and approximate annual income range?
• Which geographic region do you reside in?

Advertising and branding

• How did you first learn about our [Product/Service]?
• Which type of advertising channels do you find most effective in reaching you for [Product/Service]?
• What three words would you use to describe our brand and [Product/Service]?

Feedback and suggestions

• What specific features or improvements would you like to see in future versions of [Product/Service]?
• Are there any challenges or pain points you've experienced with our [Product/Service] that we should address?
• Are there any additional functionalities you believe our [Product/Service] should offer?
• Are there any features that you believe could be improved to enhance your satisfaction?
• On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our [Product/Service] to others?
• Is there any additional feedback you would like to provide about your experience with our [Product/Service]?

Such survey questions serve as a starting point for further research efforts and can be customized to fit any industry and target audience.

Advantages and disadvantages of surveys in market research

There are advantages and disadvantages of surveys used in this type of research.

Surveys are a cost-effective way to conduct market research. They also make it easy to collect anonymous responses, which are generally more candid. A large sample size can be reached with a market research questionnaire or survey, allowing for more accurate data with which to draw conclusions. Lastly, it's easy to collect data with market research surveys.

Disadvantages

On the flip side, market research questionnaires do have a few disadvantages. To start with, respondents might not answer honestly or complete the survey in full. Surveys also run the risk of inconclusive data. Further, there's the possibility that respondents don't understand the questions correctly.

Although there are both advantages and disadvantages to using surveys for market research, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Surveys can provide a business with the needed insight to properly understand its market.

Need to find out if you have the next big product or what a target audience thinks of your brand? Maybe it’s time to sign up for an account with SurveyPlanet.

Create a market research survey with SurveyPlanet

Once you're ready to begin, simply log in to SurveyPlanet and create a survey. To develop the most effective questions, start by listing the most important answers that are needed.

Respondents have more focus at the beginning of a survey than at the end, so placing the most important questions first will bring better results. If a series of questions—based on how someone answers a specific previous question—are needed then question branching can gather more insight about a specific topic.

With our Pro version, SurveyPlanet offers the functionality to use photos in both questions and answers. Pro features make it easier to determine what an audience thinks of certain products, designs, or other visual elements.

Ready to tackle creating a survey? Feel free to use one of our pre-made designs or create a customized one that matches your branding. SurveyPlanet provides all the tools needed to create effective market research surveys.

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Different types of market research surveys (with templates)

Product design is a bit of a “chicken and egg” situation — should we get the product idea first and then attempt to find product-market fit (PMF), or research a market to see if there’s a product that’s missing from it? Well actually, both are great approaches and market research surveys can help with either of them.

In this article, you’ll learn about the different types of market research surveys, what each type is useful for, and what questions to put in them to ensure that you make great data-driven decisions about your products and overall brand.

Table of contents

What is market research, what is a market research survey, buyer persona surveys, competitor analysis surveys, brand awareness surveys, market-field research, market research diary studies, market research interviews, market research focus groups, market research conjoint analysis.

Market research is the process of gathering information about a market. More specifically, the customers and opportunities to thrive within it (if any), and how it feels about your products and brand if such exists. In a nutshell, this information is used to determine product-market fit .

Market research surveys are used to map out markets and the customers within them, determine target markets, reposition brands within the markets that they’re already in, or simply just reaffirm that the products are in the best positions and that the brand is perceived in the right way.

Now let’s take a look at the different types of market research surveys.

The different types of market research surveys

There are different types of market research surveys. We’ll cover the following:

Buyer persona surveys are used to understand who buys the type of product you’re selling or thinking about selling. This is the market research survey you’d start with but also carry out periodically, investigating further should the market appear to change.

These are the questions that I’d ask (but feel free to adapt as necessary):

• What is your age?
• What is your gender identity ?
• What is your highest level of completed education?
• What is your employment status?
• What motivates you to [buy/subscribe to] [product]?
• What is your average [e.g., monthly] spend on [product]?
• How important are the following factors when [buying/subscribing to] [product]?
• How do you typically learn more about [product]?

You can access this buyer persona market research survey template on Google Docs:

Find out where customers of the product “hang out” and send them this survey.

You won’t acquire any insights from observing the results at face value — you’ll need to identify trends within them. For example, different age demographics might have different motivations for buying. For this reason, you’ll usually learn about the size and motivations of multiple submarkets as well as the market overall.

You’ll also learn where customers hang out most by the number of responses per source. In addition, the “How do you typically learn more about [product]?” question provides additional sources of respondents to the survey.

Ultimately, you’ll learn who and where.

Competitor analysis surveys are used to see how dominated, underserved, or untapped a market is. They’re also used to discover opportunities for improvement, the shortcomings of rivals to exploit, and even fresh product ideas. When combined with buyer personas, you’ll be able to position or reposition your product in the market, or if necessary, call it a day and exit the market entirely.

Again, these are the questions I’d ask (adapt as necessary):

• When you hear “[product]”, who comes to mind?
• How often do you see their marketing campaigns?
• (Conditional) What do you like and/or dislike about them?
• (Conditional) How do they compare to us?
• (Conditional) Why did you choose that answer?
• (Conditional) How likely are you to choose their [product] over ours?

You can access this competitor analysis market research survey template on Google Docs:

The audience for this survey is the same as that of buyer persona surveys — customers who use the type of product in question. Run it periodically, especially if you’re seeing low sales. However, if you’re fishing for a product idea, start with this survey (feel free to be a bit more vague; for example, ask about coffee rather than coffee shops) and then lead into your buyer persona survey after that.

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Competitor analysis surveys are a bit more qualitative than buyer personas, so you’ll want to synthesize the data by using affinity mapping to quantify the insights.

You can use brand awareness surveys to see how your brand is perceived by a target market. This is less about product needs/wants and more about how people see your brand overall, which in turn affects whether or not people are willing to consider or recommend your products.

Sometimes it can seem like you’re doing everything right, yet the market looks to your competitors. In this case, it could be that people are just unhappy or unaware of your brand, and this is where brand awareness surveys come in. Previously mentioned market research surveys cover brand awareness a bit, but this focuses on it.

These are the survey questions I’d recommend:

• How familiar are you with our brand?
• How did you first hear about our brand?
• How often do you see our marketing campaigns?
• Have our marketing campaigns influenced you to buy from our brand?
• Have you used our products before?
• Which of our products have you used?
• How likely are you to recommend our brand to friends or family?

And here’s the brand awareness survey template for you to adapt and use:

Send this one to your target market specifically.

It’s a quantitative survey, so once again, synthesize the results using affinity mapping and then use the insights to make data-driven decisions about your brand.

Other types of market research

Market research surveys should be utilized alongside other types of market research. Let’s take a quick look at what those types are.

With market-field research, you’d carry out your survey in-person and more contextually. For example, if you were researching an existing or potential market for coffee shops in a neighborhood, you’d benefit from surveying people at those establishments or whatever you think is the next best thing. You can approach this as a 1:1 interview or as what’s referred to as participant observation (which in this scenario is coffee and casual conversation!).

There’s also direct observation, where you’d just observe from a distance (in this scenario, you’d perhaps observe how long customers spend in coffee shops). If you’d really like to lean into this type of market research, I’d suggest doing both as part of a general market-field research case study.

Also, ethnography is a type of field research where entire social settings are observed, but this has very few use-cases.

The point of field research is to catch people in context, where their thoughts and feelings are at their most intense. Diary studies are similar, except that participants will record their experiences with a product (or lack thereof) over a specific course of time. Do whichever feels most applicable.

Market research interviews are 1:1 conversations to be used in place of market research surveys or as follow-ups to them.

Market research focus groups are essentially interviews but with all of the interviewees at once. The main benefit of focus groups is that a participant’s remark can help other participants to discover their unconscious thoughts. They’re also faster than conducting 1:1 interviews individually, but slower than surveys.

Different people open up in different situations depending on their personality type, so if resources allow I’d recommend doing all of them.

Conjoint analysis helps you to determine how much customers are willing to pay and for which features. If you’ve ever come across a useful feature but the overall product seemed expensive and/or had too many unwanted features, you either weren’t the target market for it or they didn’t do any conjoint analysis.

There are also many types of product pricing surveys — generic price testing , willingness-to-pay, price laddering, Van Westendorp’s price sensitivity meter — that are typically used during the product design process. While these are more for product research than market research, they can still be useful and you’ve probably done them already, so the best way to avoid reinventing the wheel is to see what kind of insights product designers are already sitting on.

Closing thoughts

Market research surveys are extremely useful for defining target markets, actually targeting them, repositioning ourselves within the markets that we’re already in, or reaffirming that we’re already in the right positions for product success.

However, market research surveys alone aren’t enough — we must also utilize other types of market research (as mentioned above) and utilize them in a strategic way. Kimberly Hale put together a great high-level guide to the overall market analysis process that demonstrates how to approach market research strategically.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop your thoughts and questions into the comment section below!

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21 Questionnaire Templates: Examples and Samples

Questionnaire: Definition

A questionnaire is defined a market research instrument that consists of questions or prompts to elicit and collect responses from a sample of respondents. A questionnaire is typically a mix of open-ended questions and close-ended questions ; the latter allowing for respondents to enlist their views in detail.

A questionnaire can be used in both, qualitative market research as well as quantitative market research with the use of different types of questions .

LEARN ABOUT: Open-Ended Questions

Types of Questionnaires

We have learnt that a questionnaire could either be structured or free-flow. To explain this better:

• Structured Questionnaires: A structured questionnaires helps collect quantitative data . In this case, the questionnaire is designed in a way that it collects very specific type of information. It can be used to initiate a formal enquiry on collect data to prove or disprove a prior hypothesis.
• Unstructured Questionnaires: An unstructured questionnaire collects qualitative data . The questionnaire in this case has a basic structure and some branching questions but nothing that limits the responses of a respondent. The questions are more open-ended.

LEARN ABOUT:   Structured Question

Types of Questions used in a Questionnaire

A questionnaire can consist of many types of questions . Some of the commonly and widely used question types though, are:

• Open-Ended Questions: One of the commonly used question type in questionnaire is an open-ended question . These questions help collect in-depth data from a respondent as there is a huge scope to respond in detail.
• Dichotomous Questions: The dichotomous question is a “yes/no” close-ended question . This question is generally used in case of the need of basic validation. It is the easiest question type in a questionnaire.
• Multiple-Choice Questions: An easy to administer and respond to, question type in a questionnaire is the multiple-choice question . These questions are close-ended questions with either a single select multiple choice question or a multiple select multiple choice question. Each multiple choice question consists of an incomplete stem (question), right answer or answers, close alternatives, distractors and incorrect answers. Depending on the objective of the research, a mix of the above option types can be used.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS) Question: Another commonly used question type in a questionnaire is the Net Promoter Score (NPS) Question where one single question collects data on the referencability of the research topic in question.
• Scaling Questions: Scaling questions are widely used in a questionnaire as they make responding to the questionnaire, very easy. These questions are based on the principles of the 4 measurement scales – nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio .

Questionnaires help enterprises collect valuable data to help them make well-informed business decisions. There are powerful tools available in the market that allows using multiple question types, ready to use survey format templates, robust analytics, and many more features to conduct comprehensive market research.

LEARN ABOUT: course evaluation survey examples

For example, an enterprise wants to conduct market research to understand what pricing would be best for their new product to capture a higher market share. In such a case, a questionnaire for competitor analysis can be sent to the targeted audience using a powerful market research survey software which can help the enterprise conduct 360 market research that will enable them to make strategic business decisions.

Now that we have learned what a questionnaire is and its use in market research , some examples and samples of widely used questionnaire templates on the QuestionPro platform are as below:

LEARN ABOUT: Speaker evaluation form

Customer Questionnaire Templates: Examples and Samples

QuestionPro specializes in end-to-end Customer Questionnaire Templates that can be used to evaluate a customer journey right from indulging with a brand to the continued use and referenceability of the brand. These templates form excellent samples to form your own questionnaire and begin testing your customer satisfaction and experience based on customer feedback.

LEARN ABOUT: Structured Questionnaire

USE THIS FREE TEMPLATE

Employee & Human Resource (HR) Questionnaire Templates: Examples and Samples

QuestionPro has built a huge repository of employee questionnaires and HR questionnaires that can be readily deployed to collect feedback from the workforce on an organization on multiple parameters like employee satisfaction, benefits evaluation, manager evaluation , exit formalities etc. These templates provide a holistic overview of collecting actionable data from employees.

Community Questionnaire Templates: Examples and Samples

The QuestionPro repository of community questionnaires helps collect varied data on all community aspects. This template library includes popular questionnaires such as community service, demographic questionnaires, psychographic questionnaires, personal questionnaires and much more.

Academic Evaluation Questionnaire Templates: Examples and Samples

Another vastly used section of QuestionPro questionnaire templates are the academic evaluation questionnaires . These questionnaires are crafted to collect in-depth data about academic institutions and the quality of teaching provided, extra-curricular activities etc and also feedback about other educational activities.

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Market research templates: what they are and how to use them.

18 min read Interested in market research but need some templates to start with? In this guide, we unpack market research, survey planning best practice and share some of our best templates for brand, customer, product and employee research.

What is a market research template?

While you’re no doubt familiar with the concept of market research and how it can help you to reach your target audiences and improve your product or service , the real challenge is designing a market research plan that is conducive to excellent results.

All of this starts with the right market research template(s) to help you analyze specific target audiences, collect the right data and uncover insights that can drive actionable change.

In this article, we’re going to:

• talk about market research and its use cases,
• provide you with a standard template that allows you to plan your research,
• and share several other templates to help you with specific types of market research

You can also check out our free template library.

But first, let’s revisit market research.

What is market research?

Market research is the process of determining the viability of a new service or product through surveys and questionnaires with prospects and/or customers. It involves gathering information about market needs and prospect/customer preferences .

Through market research, you can discover and/or refine your target market, get opinions and feedback on what you provide to them and uncover further prospect/customer pain points and expectations of your service or product .

Market research can be conducted in-house, either by you and your research team, or through a third-party company that specializes in it (they will typically have their own research panels or be capable of creating a research panel to suit your requirements).

The four common types of market research

There are lots of different ways to conduct market research to collect customer data and feedback , test product concepts , and do brand research, but the four most common are:

The most commonly used form of market research, surveys are a form of qualitative research that asks respondents a series of open or closed-ended questions , delivered either as an on-screen questionnaire or email.

Surveys are incredibly popular because they’re cheap, easy to produce, and can capture data very quickly, leading to faster insights.

2) Focus groups

Why not bring together a carefully selected group of people in your target market using focus groups? Though more expensive and complex than surveys and interviews, focus groups can offer deeper insight into prospect and customer behavior – from how users experience your products and services to what marketing messages really resonate with them.

Of course, as a market research method that’s reliant on a moderator to steer conversation, it can be subject to bias (as different moderators might have preferred questions or be more forceful) and if you cut corners (not asking all the necessary questions or making assumptions based on responses), the data could get skewed.

3) Observation

As if you were a fly-on-the-wall, the observation market research method can be incredibly powerful. Rather than interviewing or surveying users, you simply take notes while someone from your target market/target audience engages with your product . How are they using it? What are they struggling with? Do they look as though they have concerns?

Observing your target audience/target market in this fashion is a great alternative to the other more traditional methods on this list. It’s less expensive and far more natural as it isn’t guided by a moderator or a predefined set of questions. The only issue is that you can’t get feedback directly from the mouth of the user, so it’s worth combining this type of research with interviews, surveys, and/or focus groups.

4) Interviews

Interviews allow for face-to-face discussions (both in-person and virtually), allowing for more natural conversations with participants.

For gleaning deeper insights (especially with non-verbal cues giving greater weight to opinions), there’s nothing better than face-to-face interviews. Any kind of interview will provide excellent information, helping you to better understand your prospects and target audience/target market.

Use cases for market research

When you want to understand your prospects and/or customers, but have no existing data to set a benchmark – or want to improve your products and services quickly – market research is often the go-to.

Market research (as mentioned above), helps you to discover how prospects and customers feel about your products and services, as well as what they would like to see .

But there are more use cases and benefits to market research than the above.

Reduce risk of product and business failure

With any new venture, there’s no guarantee that the new idea will be successful. As such, it’s up to you to establish the market’s appetite for your product or service. The easiest way to do this is through market research – you can understand the challenges prospects face and quickly identify where you can help. With the data from your market survey, you can then create a solution that addresses the needs and expectations of would-be customers.

Forecast future trends

Market research doesn’t just help you to understand the current market – it also helps you to forecast future needs. As you conduct your research and analyze the findings, you can identify trends – for example, how brands and businesses are adopting new technology to improve customer experiences or how sustainability is becoming a core focus for packaging. Whatever it is you’re looking to understand about the future of business in your market, comprehensive market research can help you to identify it.

Stay ahead of the competition

Understanding your market and what prospects and customers want from you will help to keep you ahead of the competition . The fact is that the top businesses frequently invest in market research to get an edge, and those that don’t tap into the insights of their audience are missing low-hanging fruit.

As well as helping you to stay in front, you can also use market research to identify gaps in the market, e.g. your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses . Just have participants answer questions about competitor products/services – or even use the products/services – and work out how you can refine your offerings to address these issues.

Plan more strategically

What’s the foundation of your business strategy? If it’s based on evidence, e.g. what people expect of your products and services, it’ll be much easier to deliver something that works. Rather than making assumptions about what you should do, market research gives you a clear, concrete understanding of what people want to see.

Check out our guide to market research for a more comprehensive breakdown.

How do you write a market research plan/template?

A market research plan is very similar to a brief in that it documents the most vital information and steps about your project. Consider it a blueprint that outlines your main objective (summary), key questions and outcomes, target audience and size, your timeline, budget, and other key variables.

Let’s talk about them in more detail.

Elements of a great market research plan

1) overview or summary.

Use the first section of your market research plan to outline the background to the problem that you are attempting to solve (this is usually your problem statement or problem question). Include background information on the study’s purpose and the business to provide context to those who would read the report, as well as the need for the research. Keep the overview simple and concise; focus on the most salient elements.

2) Objectives

What is it that you hope to achieve with this survey? Your objectives are the most important part of the survey. Make sure to list 3-5 of the decisions or initiatives that the research will influence.

For example:

Understand the most-used channels for customer engagement and purchasing to decide where to prioritize marketing and sales budget in Q1 2022. Determine what’s causing customer churn at the later stages of the buyer journey and implement a new retention and sales strategy to address it.

Your objectives should be smart, that is: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

3) Deliverables (or outcomes)

This section should focus on what you expect to have at the end of the project. How many responses are you looking for? How will the data be presented? Who will the data be shared with? (Stakeholders, executives) What are your next steps? Make sure you state how you will collect and analyze the data once it’s available.

Products such as Qualtrics CoreXM make this process fast and incredibly easy to do, drastically reducing the time to insights so you can make more meaningful changes, faster.

4) Target audience

Not to be confused with your market research sample, your target audience represents who you want to research. Of course, your sample may include ideal buyers from your target audience. Here you want to define the main variables or factors of your audience: demographic , age, location , product interaction, experience, and so on. It’s worth building out your buyer personas (if you haven’t already) and including a quick breakdown of them here.

5) Sample plan

How many participants do you want to research and what kind of groups do you want to reach? Depending on these two variables, you may have to use qualitative, quantitative , or multi-method approaches.

6) Research methods

What methods will you use in your market research project? The insights (and the granularity of those insights) will depend on the methods and tools you choose. For example, and as mentioned earlier, surveys are often the go-to for many organizations as they’re affordable and straightforward, but if you want to get more personal views from your respondents, one-to-one interviews might be more applicable. You might even want to take a hands-off approach and simply observe participants as they use your products, or try a combination of research methods. Make sure to outline what methods you will use as part of your research plan.

7) Timeline

How long will your research project run? It’s worth putting together a Gantt chart to highlight key milestones in the project, along with dependencies, and to break down tasks as much as possible. Schedule in contingency time in case some tasks or research runs over – or you need more responses.

Set a budget for the overall program and list it in your plan. Though this might be the most difficult aspect of any research plan, it helps you to be more strategic about tasks and hold people accountable at each stage of the process. If costs go over, that’s good to know for future market research. If costs are lower than anticipated, you then have the opportunity to do further research or prop up other areas of the study.

9) Ethical concerns or conflicts of interest

One of the most important parts of your market research plan, you should highlight any ethical concerns. To begin with, it’s your duty to state whether or not responses will be kept confidential and anonymous as part of the study. It’s also important to allow participants to remain anonymous and ensure you protect their privacy at all times.

Another issue to consider is stereotyping. Any analysis of real populations needs to make approximations and place individuals into groups, but if conducted irresponsibly, stereotyping can lead to undesirable results.

Lastly, conflicts of interest – it may be that researchers have interests in the outcome of the project that lead to a personal advantage that might compromise the integrity of your market research project. You should clearly state in your market research report that any potential conflicts of interest are highlighted and addressed before continuing.

But I want a faster solution!

Well, there’s a quicker and far easier way to do all of the above and get the data you need – just use a market research survey template. In our next section, we’re going to share a whole list of templates that you can use.

Free market research survey templates

No matter what kind of research you want to conduct, we have templates that will remove the complexity of the task and empower you to get more from your data. Below we’ve compiled a list of templates for four key experience areas: Brand , Customer , Employee , and Product .

All of our research templates are free. All you need to do is sign up for a free Qualtrics account to access them.

Brand experience market research templates:

• Logo testing : Collect feedback to help you evaluate and iterate on your logo designs and concepts
• Brand awareness : Track the level of brand awareness in your target market, including current and potential future customers
• Ad testing : Evaluate your consumers’ reaction to an advertisement so you know which campaigns to deploy before you invest
• A/B testing : Quickly and easily compare to versions or options in a study, whether it’s a design, headline, color palette or a mock-up of your latest ad campaign

Customer experience market research templates

• Student satisfaction : Gather feedback on how your institution is delivering on the student experience
• Net promoter score (NPS) : Measure customer loyalty and understand how they feel about your product or service using one of the world’s best-recognized metrics
• Customer satisfaction : Evaluate how satisfied your customers are with your company, including the products and services you provide, and how they are treated when they buy from you
• Customer service : Gain insights into the contact center experience, so you can achieve and maintain optimum levels of customer experience (CX) performance
• Event feedback : Measure the effectiveness of your events and how well they meet attendee expectations so that you can continuously improve your offering
• IT help desk : Understand how satisfied your employees and customers are with your IT help desk experience
• Website suggestion box : Collect visitor feedback on how your website can be improved
• Website satisfaction : Find out how satisfied visitors are with your website’s design, usability, and performance
• Store purchase feedback : Capture customer experience data at the point of purchase to help you improve the in-store experience
• Online purchase feedback : Find out how well your online shopping experience performs against customer needs and expectations

Employee experience market research templates

• Employee satisfaction : Get an overview of your current employee experience
• Manager feedback : Improve your skills as a leader with valuable feedback from your team
• Employee engagement : Find out how employees find the current experience at your workplace with this entry-level engagement survey
• Employee exit interview : Understand why your employees are leaving and how they’ll speak about your company once they’re gone with this survey template
• Employee onboarding : Improve your onboarding program by understanding what’s working and what’s not
• Team event planning : Collect inputs from employees to plan a team event that works for everyone
• Meeting feedback : Check-in with team members after a meeting to see how well your company is running and what improvements can be made
• Interview feedback : Improve your candidate experience by gathering actionable insights about the interview process
• Employee suggestion box : Gather anonymous data to help address concerns and improve the employee experience in your organization
• Candidate experience : Improve your candidate experience to increase brand perception, offer acceptance rates, and hiring process efficiency with this single-touchpoint survey template
• Employee suggestion action : Take employee feedback a step further by working with your staff to quantify solutions based on their experience data

Product experience market research templates

• Product research : Evaluate your consumers’ reaction to a new product or product feature across every stage of the product development journey
• Pricing : Understand how to set the exact price point for your product or service, according to your target consumers
• Feature prioritization : Compare and contrast product features using conjoint analysis to find the optimal mix for your customers
• Product package testing : Collect feedback on your product packaging to see how well it meets the needs and expectations of your customers

Armed with the right market research templates, getting the information you need across brand, product, customer and employee disciplines — as well as beyond — is significantly easier.

But if you want help putting together complex market research and scaling your in-house research team to get agile insights, check out our guide to building an agile research function.

Insights are more important than ever, especially during times of change, but building a great team takes a lot of time and money.

In our eBook, we’ll explain how you can:

• Scale your research team
• Build a smart partner strategy
• Ensure you have the right technology for market research and data analysis

Tackle your market research with our agile market research eBook

Related resources

Market intelligence 10 min read, marketing insights 11 min read, ethnographic research 11 min read, qualitative vs quantitative research 13 min read, qualitative research questions 11 min read, qualitative research design 12 min read, primary vs secondary research 14 min read, request demo.

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• 50+ Must-ask questions for your market research surveys

Şeyma Beyazçiçek

Market research is an essential part of finding answers to your questions. For this reason, market research surveys have a big importance. So, market study survey questions, too . These types of questions help you get essential data about the target audience, conduct competitive analysis, get new ones, or protect existing customers .

We have gathered the most essential data to help you gather information on the target market or target customer. In this article, you will find 50+ market research survey questions and examples about customers, products, social media, etc. You need to seriously consider these business survey questions for market research and learn more!

• What is a market research survey?

A market research survey is a document that asks demographic questions or any type of market research questions that aim to collect vital customer feedback to make you better in marketing . The critical point of a market research survey is to learn customer experience and make marketing plans according to it.

A report by Statista shows that since 2008 , the market research sector’s global revenue has increased by more than twice, surpassing $81 billion in 2022 . So, the importance of market research is getting more realized, and you need market analysis survey questions. Good survey questions for market research collect data to help you create definite strategies for a better marketing plan.

• 50+ Market research survey questions you must ask in your surveys

Each company has its own unique priorities and needs. For this reason, companies should choose questions carefully for their survey. 50+ market research survey questions might differ according to the needs and requirements of a company. Nevertheless, we have gathered the most essential and basic ones to make you grow faster. 

If you want to access all these privileges we have discussed so far, you need to have a look at these 50+ must-ask questions for your market research surveys:

Customer survey questions for market research questions

The primary reason for selling a product or service is for customers . Finding the target audience for your company is one of the most important parts of your market research survey. For that reason, you need to have a look at these customer survey questions for market research questions: 

1. How often do you shop from us?

• Once a week
• Twice a week
• Once a month
• Twice a month
• Once every two months
• Once every three months
• Once every six months
• Once a year

2. What is your favorite product/service?

3. What is your least favorite product/service?

4. Why do you choose us?

• Your reputation for quality products and services
• Your competitive pricing
• Your commitment to customer service
• Your convenient location
• Your wide selection of products and services
• Your knowledgeable staff
• Your experience in the industry
• Your commitment to innovation
• Your commitment to sustainability

5. Would you recommend us to your friends/family?

6. Since when do you choose us?

• Two Years Ago
• Three Years Ago

7. Overall, from 1-10, how do you rate us?

An opinion scale question example about satisfaction

Market research questions for a product

A market research question for a product is an excellent helper for companies to understand and collect data about existing. If you want to learn how your customers are satisfied with your exciting product, you only need to ask them these questions. Here are your market research questions for a product: 

8. Have you ever heard of this product before?

9. From 1-10, how would you rate this product?

10. Do you believe this product is useful/helpful for you? 

11. What is the likelihood of buying this product again?

• Very Likely
• Very Unlikely

12. What do you like about this product?

• It is easy to use
• It is cost-effective
• It is reliable
• It has great customer service
• It has a wide range of features

13. What do you dislike about this product?

• Functionality

14. Would you recommend this product to your friends or family?

You can replace the word “ product”  with the name of your own product.

A question example about purchasing behavior

New product market research survey questions

New product market research survey questions are perfect for your company if you plan for a new product. Imagine that you are about to launch a new product. You can take fewer risks if you ask questions about the new product before launching it. So you might need these market research questionnaire questions for your new product: 

15. Have you seen a similar product? 

16. How likely are you to use this product for your business activities?

17. What do you think is the best feature of this new product?

18. What do you think is the least favorite feature of this new product?

19. Do you find the price reasonable?

20. Are you excited about this product?

21. Overall, from 1-10, how do you rate this new product?

A question example about later use

Social media survey questions for market research

Social media is an excellent way of collecting helpful data from your customers because, today, nearly everybody has a social media account. You can have insightful data as long as you know which platform to use and how to use it. So, here are your social media survey questions for market research: 

22. Which social media platforms do you use? ( you can choose more than 1 )

23. In which social media platforms do you spend time the most?

24. Do you follow us on your social media accounts?

25. What do you think about our company’s social media account? 

• It's great!
• It could use some improvement.
• I haven't seen it

26. Do you believe we can use social media effectively?

27. What can we do to improve our social media accounts?

• Post regularly
• Run contests and giveaways
• Use relevant hashtags
• Optimize profile information
• Respond to comments
• Collaborate with influencers

28. Which influencers do you relate to us the most?

A market research survey question example about social media

Market research questions to ask potential customers

As much as trying to hold your existing customers, you should also try to find potential customers and expand your network. Because only in this way you can grow your business. When you have good market research questions to ask potential customers, as given below, you can easily get what you need: 

29. Have you ever heard us before?

30. When you think of our brand, what comes to your mind first? 

31. Who is our rival for you?

32. What is your minimum budget?

33. What is your maximum budget?

34. Would you consider choosing our product/service?

35. What are your best aspects, you think?

Market research questions for B2B companies

Just like any sector, B2B companies need to do their best to run market research. As for their market research survey, the questions will be different because they need to aim at businesses directly. If you need them, here are your market research questions for B2B companies: 

36 . Who is your ideal customer?

37. What really matters to your ideal customer?  

38. Do you think you know your customers?

39. How can you know your customers better?

40. What is your customers’ annual income? 

41. What do your customers do in their free time?

42. What attracts your customer?

Demographic questions for your market research survey

Demographic questions allow your company to understand your customer’s background better. Also, if you want to understand the certain characteristics of your target audience, demographic questions are the best option for you. Have a look at these demographic questions for your market research survey: 

43. What gender do you identify as?

• Genderfluid

44. How old are you?

• 65 or Above

45. What is your marital status?

46. Can you please specify your ethnicity?

• African American
• Asian American
• Hispanic/Latino
• Native American
• Pacific Islander
• White/Caucasian

47. Where are you located?

• United States
• United Kingdom

48. What is your education level?

• High School
• Associate's Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree
• Doctorate Degree

49. What is your annual income?

• $0 - $25,000
• $25,001 - $50,000
• $50,001 - $75,000
• $75,001 - $100,000
• $100,001 - $150,000
• $150,001 - $200,000
• $200,001 and above

50. What is your current employment situation? 

• Employed full-time
• Employed part-time
• Self-employed
• Not looking for work

A market research survey question example about income

• How can I create a market research survey?

In order to collect essential data for your market research, if you want to handle it the fastest way, you will need an online form builder. Also, if you want to build your form with lots of options and create just like you wish and want to do all of them for free, there is only one option left: forms.app .

As long as you follow some basic steps, you can easily create your market research survey and here are the steps: 

1. Login or create an account

Firstly, you should log in to your existing account if you do not have one; no worries, you can easily and quickly create an account . Also, do not forget that you have the opportunity to log in via Google, Facebook, and Apple accounts. 

2. Start from scratch, choose a temple, or generate with AI

You have access to a wide range of options thanks to forms.app . You must begin from scratch if you wish to pick every aspect of your survey. The site offers pre-made market research survey templates if you do not want to spend too much time on it. However, if you stay current with the latest technology, artificial intelligence can create your survey in seconds!

3. Add your market research survey questions

Based on your company’s primary needs and essential requirements, you should choose your market research survey questions very carefully. Each company’s priorities can differ. For that reason, you need to pay attention while adding them. 

4. Customize your survey form

In this step, you can easily change and personalize your online survey . To give an example, you can change the size and type of the font, colors, and order of questions, add your brand’s logo, etc. 

5. Share your market research survey

In the final step, you can share your survey with your target via many platforms . You can choose the link to be public, limited, or private while sharing. Additionally, you can preview the link to see whether it has any meta titles, descriptions, or images. 

• How can I write good market research questions?

One can randomly create market research questions for the survey; however, if you want to be one step ahead of your rivals and be good at writing market research questions, you need to follow the points given below:

• Consider your company’s needs : You need to have a moment and consider what your company needs the most. What are your priorities or urgent needs? Or what are your urgent deficiencies to be covered? After answering these questions, you can create better questions. 
• Think like the customer: The key point is listening to your customers and trying to think like them. When you think like them, you can come up with better market research questions and collect more valuable data for your survey. 
• Be direct: Questions asked directly are definitely better , instead of asking too many indirect questions or long and complex sentences that might be confusing. So, you need to pay attention at this point. 
• Key points to take away

As we have discussed so far, the importance of market research is undeniable. If you want to increase your market share and be more successful in your sector, there are some key points for your company to take away. You should not ignore these points:

• Design of the survey: Do not forget that the more you pay attention to your market research survey design, the more you will seem professional. 
• Pay attention to the context: Design is an important factor, but context is the exact reason you run a survey. So, you need to be careful with your questions. 
• Check the result: At the end of the survey, checking and analyzing the results is a key point. If you will not do that, there is no need to share the survey, isn’t it?

Now that you have read so far, you know all the critical points about the issue and where to start. Take action now and start finding your own effective data collection methods for market research !

Şeyma is a content writer at forms.app. She loves art and traveling. She is passionate about reading and writing. Şeyma has expertise in surveys, survey questions, giveaways, statistics, and online forms.

• Market Research
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• Data Collection

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Market Research Survey Template

Identify the target group for the market research.

• 3 Prefer not to say
• 1 Low income
• 2 Middle income
• 3 High income

Define the goals and objectives of the market research

Choose the type of survey to be administered - quantitative or qualitative.

• 1 Quantitative
• 2 Qualitative

Design the survey questionnaire

Approval: survey questionnaire.

• Design the survey questionnaire Will be submitted

Select the survey sample size

Implement the survey - online, phone, face to face, etc..

• 3 Face to face

Collect the survey data

Approval: raw data.

• Collect the survey data Will be submitted

Clean and prepare the raw data for analysis

Analyse the survey data.

• 1 Descriptive statistics
• 2 Regression analysis
• 3 Content analysis
• 4 Thematic analysis

Generate reports and visualisation of the survey results

• 1 Bar charts
• 2 Pie charts
• 3 Line graphs
• 5 Infographics

Interpret the survey results

Approval: research results interpretation.

• Analyse the survey data Will be submitted

Create a final report on the market research findings

Approval: final report.

• Create a final report on the market research findings Will be submitted

Plan and execute dissemination of the research findings

Review the market research process for improvements.

• 1 Revise survey design
• 2 Enhance data collection procedures
• 3 Explore new analysis techniques
• 4 Improve report presentation

Take control of your workflows today.

More templates like this.

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Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base

Methodology

• Survey Research | Definition, Examples & Methods

Survey Research | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on August 20, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on June 22, 2023.

Survey research means collecting information about a group of people by asking them questions and analyzing the results. To conduct an effective survey, follow these six steps:

• Determine who will participate in the survey
• Decide the type of survey (mail, online, or in-person)
• Design the survey questions and layout
• Distribute the survey
• Analyze the responses
• Write up the results

Surveys are a flexible method of data collection that can be used in many different types of research .

Table of contents

What are surveys used for, step 1: define the population and sample, step 2: decide on the type of survey, step 3: design the survey questions, step 4: distribute the survey and collect responses, step 5: analyze the survey results, step 6: write up the survey results, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about surveys.

Surveys are used as a method of gathering data in many different fields. They are a good choice when you want to find out about the characteristics, preferences, opinions, or beliefs of a group of people.

Common uses of survey research include:

• Social research : investigating the experiences and characteristics of different social groups
• Market research : finding out what customers think about products, services, and companies
• Health research : collecting data from patients about symptoms and treatments
• Politics : measuring public opinion about parties and policies
• Psychology : researching personality traits, preferences and behaviours

Surveys can be used in both cross-sectional studies , where you collect data just once, and in longitudinal studies , where you survey the same sample several times over an extended period.

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Before you start conducting survey research, you should already have a clear research question that defines what you want to find out. Based on this question, you need to determine exactly who you will target to participate in the survey.

Populations

The target population is the specific group of people that you want to find out about. This group can be very broad or relatively narrow. For example:

• The population of Brazil
• US college students
• Second-generation immigrants in the Netherlands
• Customers of a specific company aged 18-24
• British transgender women over the age of 50

Your survey should aim to produce results that can be generalized to the whole population. That means you need to carefully define exactly who you want to draw conclusions about.

Several common research biases can arise if your survey is not generalizable, particularly sampling bias and selection bias . The presence of these biases have serious repercussions for the validity of your results.

It’s rarely possible to survey the entire population of your research – it would be very difficult to get a response from every person in Brazil or every college student in the US. Instead, you will usually survey a sample from the population.

The sample size depends on how big the population is. You can use an online sample calculator to work out how many responses you need.

There are many sampling methods that allow you to generalize to broad populations. In general, though, the sample should aim to be representative of the population as a whole. The larger and more representative your sample, the more valid your conclusions. Again, beware of various types of sampling bias as you design your sample, particularly self-selection bias , nonresponse bias , undercoverage bias , and survivorship bias .

There are two main types of survey:

• A questionnaire , where a list of questions is distributed by mail, online or in person, and respondents fill it out themselves.
• An interview , where the researcher asks a set of questions by phone or in person and records the responses.

Which type you choose depends on the sample size and location, as well as the focus of the research.

Questionnaires

Sending out a paper survey by mail is a common method of gathering demographic information (for example, in a government census of the population).

• You can easily access a large sample.
• You have some control over who is included in the sample (e.g. residents of a specific region).
• The response rate is often low, and at risk for biases like self-selection bias .

Online surveys are a popular choice for students doing dissertation research , due to the low cost and flexibility of this method. There are many online tools available for constructing surveys, such as SurveyMonkey and Google Forms .

• You can quickly access a large sample without constraints on time or location.
• The data is easy to process and analyze.
• The anonymity and accessibility of online surveys mean you have less control over who responds, which can lead to biases like self-selection bias .

If your research focuses on a specific location, you can distribute a written questionnaire to be completed by respondents on the spot. For example, you could approach the customers of a shopping mall or ask all students to complete a questionnaire at the end of a class.

• You can screen respondents to make sure only people in the target population are included in the sample.
• You can collect time- and location-specific data (e.g. the opinions of a store’s weekday customers).
• The sample size will be smaller, so this method is less suitable for collecting data on broad populations and is at risk for sampling bias .

Oral interviews are a useful method for smaller sample sizes. They allow you to gather more in-depth information on people’s opinions and preferences. You can conduct interviews by phone or in person.

• You have personal contact with respondents, so you know exactly who will be included in the sample in advance.
• You can clarify questions and ask for follow-up information when necessary.
• The lack of anonymity may cause respondents to answer less honestly, and there is more risk of researcher bias.

Like questionnaires, interviews can be used to collect quantitative data: the researcher records each response as a category or rating and statistically analyzes the results. But they are more commonly used to collect qualitative data : the interviewees’ full responses are transcribed and analyzed individually to gain a richer understanding of their opinions and feelings.

Next, you need to decide which questions you will ask and how you will ask them. It’s important to consider:

• The type of questions
• The content of the questions
• The phrasing of the questions
• The ordering and layout of the survey

Open-ended vs closed-ended questions

There are two main forms of survey questions: open-ended and closed-ended. Many surveys use a combination of both.

Closed-ended questions give the respondent a predetermined set of answers to choose from. A closed-ended question can include:

• A binary answer (e.g. yes/no or agree/disagree )
• A scale (e.g. a Likert scale with five points ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree )
• A list of options with a single answer possible (e.g. age categories)
• A list of options with multiple answers possible (e.g. leisure interests)

Closed-ended questions are best for quantitative research . They provide you with numerical data that can be statistically analyzed to find patterns, trends, and correlations .

Open-ended questions are best for qualitative research. This type of question has no predetermined answers to choose from. Instead, the respondent answers in their own words.

Open questions are most common in interviews, but you can also use them in questionnaires. They are often useful as follow-up questions to ask for more detailed explanations of responses to the closed questions.

The content of the survey questions

To ensure the validity and reliability of your results, you need to carefully consider each question in the survey. All questions should be narrowly focused with enough context for the respondent to answer accurately. Avoid questions that are not directly relevant to the survey’s purpose.

When constructing closed-ended questions, ensure that the options cover all possibilities. If you include a list of options that isn’t exhaustive, you can add an “other” field.

Phrasing the survey questions

In terms of language, the survey questions should be as clear and precise as possible. Tailor the questions to your target population, keeping in mind their level of knowledge of the topic. Avoid jargon or industry-specific terminology.

Survey questions are at risk for biases like social desirability bias , the Hawthorne effect , or demand characteristics . It’s critical to use language that respondents will easily understand, and avoid words with vague or ambiguous meanings. Make sure your questions are phrased neutrally, with no indication that you’d prefer a particular answer or emotion.

Ordering the survey questions

The questions should be arranged in a logical order. Start with easy, non-sensitive, closed-ended questions that will encourage the respondent to continue.

If the survey covers several different topics or themes, group together related questions. You can divide a questionnaire into sections to help respondents understand what is being asked in each part.

If a question refers back to or depends on the answer to a previous question, they should be placed directly next to one another.

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Before you start, create a clear plan for where, when, how, and with whom you will conduct the survey. Determine in advance how many responses you require and how you will gain access to the sample.

When you are satisfied that you have created a strong research design suitable for answering your research questions, you can conduct the survey through your method of choice – by mail, online, or in person.

There are many methods of analyzing the results of your survey. First you have to process the data, usually with the help of a computer program to sort all the responses. You should also clean the data by removing incomplete or incorrectly completed responses.

If you asked open-ended questions, you will have to code the responses by assigning labels to each response and organizing them into categories or themes. You can also use more qualitative methods, such as thematic analysis , which is especially suitable for analyzing interviews.

Statistical analysis is usually conducted using programs like SPSS or Stata. The same set of survey data can be subject to many analyses.

Finally, when you have collected and analyzed all the necessary data, you will write it up as part of your thesis, dissertation , or research paper .

In the methodology section, you describe exactly how you conducted the survey. You should explain the types of questions you used, the sampling method, when and where the survey took place, and the response rate. You can include the full questionnaire as an appendix and refer to it in the text if relevant.

Then introduce the analysis by describing how you prepared the data and the statistical methods you used to analyze it. In the results section, you summarize the key results from your analysis.

In the discussion and conclusion , you give your explanations and interpretations of these results, answer your research question, and reflect on the implications and limitations of the research.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Student’s  t -distribution
• Normal distribution
• Null and Alternative Hypotheses
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles
• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Data cleansing
• Reproducibility vs Replicability
• Peer review
• Prospective cohort study

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Placebo effect
• Hawthorne effect
• Hindsight bias
• Affect heuristic
• Social desirability bias

A questionnaire is a data collection tool or instrument, while a survey is an overarching research method that involves collecting and analyzing data from people using questionnaires.

A Likert scale is a rating scale that quantitatively assesses opinions, attitudes, or behaviors. It is made up of 4 or more questions that measure a single attitude or trait when response scores are combined.

To use a Likert scale in a survey , you present participants with Likert-type questions or statements, and a continuum of items, usually with 5 or 7 possible responses, to capture their degree of agreement.

Individual Likert-type questions are generally considered ordinal data , because the items have clear rank order, but don’t have an even distribution.

Overall Likert scale scores are sometimes treated as interval data. These scores are considered to have directionality and even spacing between them.

The type of data determines what statistical tests you should use to analyze your data.

The priorities of a research design can vary depending on the field, but you usually have to specify:

• Your research questions and/or hypotheses
• Your overall approach (e.g., qualitative or quantitative )
• The type of design you’re using (e.g., a survey , experiment , or case study )
• Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
• Your data collection methods (e.g., questionnaires , observations)
• Your data collection procedures (e.g., operationalization , timing and data management)
• Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical tests  or thematic analysis )

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100+ Market Research Questions to Ask Your Customers

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Asking the right market research questions can help you understand your target customers and map their behavior and preferences. 

But what does it actually mean?

Let’s look at a sample from a market research survey report for mapping brand awareness:

From this simple Q&A report, you can:

• Visualize the proportions of demographic segments among your audience.
• Measure how your brand is performing in comparison to others.
• Pick the top preferred brand among the customers, explore what makes it stand out, and apply the same techniques to your brand.
• See how your target market perceives brand advertisements and promotional efforts.

Now imagine if this type of data set is available for different aspects of your business – product development, marketing campaigns, optimization plans, and more.

That’s what market research does for you.

With the evolution of customer interaction points and constantly changing market trends, more and more businesses are fueling efforts to do in-depth market research, as evidenced by the steady increase in the revenue of the market research industry worldwide.

Market research can help you develop essential business strategies and maintain a competitive advantage over other brands to increase conversions and customer base.

And it all starts with asking the right questions to the right audience.

That’s why we have created this collection of 100+ market research questions to ask your target market. Each question aims to uncover a specific attribute about your customers. You can use a combination of these customer research survey questions, interviews, and othe marketing questionnaires for customers.

We have also added key tips to help you write your own effective market analysis questions if the needed.

100+ Great Market Research Questions to Ask Your Customers

The main challenge while designing and conducting research is – “What questions should I ask in my customer research survey?

That’s why we have a carefully curated list of market research questions to help you get started.

To Explore New Product Opportunities

• What was your first reaction to the product?
• Would you purchase this product if it were available today?
• What feature would you like to see on the website/product?
• Which feature do you think will help improve the product experience for you?
• Of these four options, what’s the next thing you think we should build?
• What’s the one feature we can add that would make our product indispensable for you?
• Would implementing [this feature] increase the usability of the [product name]?
• Please let us know how we can further  improve this feature.
• What problem would you like to solve with our product?

To Collect Feedback on Existing Products

• Have you heard of [product name or category] before?
• How would you feel if [product name] was no longer available?
• How disappointed would you be if you could no longer use [Product/feature name?]
• How often do you use [product name]?
• How long have you been using [product name] for?
• When was the last time you used [product name]?
• Please rate the following product features according to their importance to you.
• According to you, In which area is this product/service lacking the most? Specify below.
• How does the product run after the update?
• Rate our product based on the following aspects:
• Have you faced any problems with the product? Specify below.
• What feature did you expect but not find?
• How are you planning to use [product or service]?
• How satisfied are you with the product?

To Segment the Target Market

Please specify your age.

• Please specify your gender.
• Select your highest level of education.
• What is your current occupation?
• What is your monthly household income?
• What is your current marital status?

• What is the name of your company?
• Where is your company’s headquarters located?
• Please specify the number of employees that work in your company.
• What is your job title?
• In which location do you work?
• Which activity do you prefer in your free time?
• Which other physical activities do you take part in?
• Where is your dream holiday destination?
• Please rate the following as per their priority in your life – Family, work, and social life?
• Are you happy with your current work-life balance?
• Do you describe yourself as an optimist or a pessimist?
• How often do you give to charity?
• How do you travel to work?
• How do you do your Holiday shopping?

To Conduct a Competition Analysis

• Which product/service would you consider as an alternative to ours?
• Rate our competitor based on the following:
• Have you seen any website/product/app with a similar feature?
• How would you compare our products to our competitors? 
• Why did you choose to use our [product] over other options?
• Compared to our competitors, is our product quality better, worse, or about the same?
• Which other options did you consider before choosing [product name]?
• Please list the top three things that persuaded you to use us rather than a competitor.
• According to you, which brand best fits each of the following traits.

To Gauge Brand Awareness

• [Your brand name] Have you heard of the brand before?
• How do you feel about this brand?
• How did you hear about us?
• Describe [brand name] in one sentence.
• If yes, please tell us what you like the most about [your brand name]?
• If no, please specify the reason.
• How likely are you to purchase a product from this company again?
• If yes, where have you seen or heard about our brand recently? (Select all that apply)
• Do you currently use the product of this brand?
• Have you purchased from this brand before?
• Of all the brands offering similar products, which do you feel is the best brand?
• Please specify what makes it the best brand for you in the category.
• Which of the following products have you tried? (Select all that apply)
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely would you recommend this brand to a friend or colleague?

To Map Customers’ Preferences

• Have you ever boycotted a brand? If so, which brand and why?
• What influences your purchase decision more – price or quality of the item?
• How many hours do you spend on social media like Facebook, Instagram, etc.?
• How do you do your monthly grocery shopping – online or through outlets?
• How do you search for the products you want to buy?
• Rate the factors that affect your buying decision for [product].
• What persuaded you to purchase from us?
• How likely are you to purchase a product from us again?
• Please rate the following aspects of our product based on their importance to you.
• What is the most important value our product offers to you?
• Which of the following features do you use least?
• How well does the product meet your needs?

To Map Customers’ Reservations

• Is there anything preventing you from purchasing at this point?
• What’s preventing you from starting a trial?
• Do you have any questions before you complete your purchase?
• What is the main reason you’re canceling your account?
• What are your main reasons for leaving?
• What was your biggest fear or concern about purchasing from us?
• What is the problem that the product/service helped to solve for you?
• What problems did you encounter while using our [product]?
• How easy did we make it to solve your problem?
• What is your greatest concern about [product]?
• Have you started using other similar products? If yes, what made you choose that product?

To Perform Pricing Analysis

• Would you purchase the product at [price]
• According to you, what should be the ideal price of the [product name]?
• Is our product pricing clear?
• According to you, what is the ideal price range for the product?

To Collect Feedback on Website Copy

• Please rate the website based on the following aspects:
• How well does the website meet your needs?
• Was the information easy to find?
• Was the information clearly presented?
• What other information should we provide on our website?
• How can we make the site easier to use?
• What could we do to make this site more useful?
• Is there anything on this site that doesn’t work the way you expected it to?
• How easy was it to find the information you were looking for?
• Have feedback or an idea? Leave it here!
• Help us make the product better. Please leave your feedback.

To Assess Website/Product Usability

• Are you satisfied with the website layout?
• What features do you think are missing on our website?
• What features do you not like on our website?
• Was our website navigation simple and user-friendly?
• How much time did it take to find what you were looking for on our website?
• Was it easy to find the products you are looking for?
• Was the payment process convenient?

To Uncover Market Trends and Industry Insights

• Did you purchase our product out of peer influence or individual preference?
• How do you form your opinion about our product?
• Do you follow trends of the product, or do you prefer to go with what you know?
• Do discounts or incentives impact your decision-making process?

Market Research Survey Templates

One of the easiest ways to conduct market research is to use survey templates. They can help you save time and effort in creating your own market research surveys.

There are many types of market research survey templates available, depending on your objectives and target audience. Some of the most popular ones are:

• Demographic Templates: These templates help you segment your customers based on their location. It can help you tailor your marketing strategies and offers to different customer groups.

• Consumer Behavior Templates: These templates help you keep your pulse on your target market.

Industry Insights Templates: These templates help you get detailed information about your target industry and business.

Breakdown of Different Market Research Questions

The answer choices in a market research survey question can significantly impact the quality and reliability of the response data you collect from the audience.

Some answer types help categorize the audience, while others measure their satisfaction or agreement. 

So, before listing the customer research survey questions to ask your target audience, let’s understand their types:

Multiple Choice

A multiple-choice question type lets users select more than one answer from the given options. These questions are great for collecting multiple data sets using the same question and gauging people’s preferences, opinions, and suggestions .

Single Choice

In a single-choice question, the respondent can select only one answer from the given options. This question type is great for:

• Segregating the users.
• Prioritizing product updates based on user consensus.
• Disqualifying irrelevant respondents by placing the question at the start of your customer research survey.

Matrix Match

A matrix matching grid can combine multiple market research questions into one to make the survey shorter . There is only one condition – the individual questions should have the same response anchors as shown in the image below:

The questions are arranged in rows while the answer options occupy the grid columns.

Ranking Question

A ranking question can help map customers’ preferences and set priorities for product development . This question type asks the respondent to arrange the given options in their decreasing/increasing preference.

Dichotomous

A dichotomous question poses a simple yes or no scenario to the respondent. These question types can help disqualify irrelevant people from the survey and categorize the users into two groups .

Likert Scale

Likert scale market research questions can help you measure the extent of respondents’ agreement/disagreement with the given statement . The answer options are arranged from positive to negative sentiments or vice-versa, with the neutral option in the middle.

There are two types of Likert scales: 5-point and 7-point .

Open-ended market questions let you explore the respondents’ minds without adding any restrictions to the answer . This question type is followed by a blank space for the respondent to add a free-text response.

You can add an open-ended question as a follow-up after the first question to explore the reasons for the customer’s previous answer. It also lets you collect more in-depth information about their issues, pain points, and delights.

Tools like Qualaroo offer tons of different question types for your surveys. Just pick the question and match its answer option type from the drop-down. To make it more effective, you can add branching to the survey.

How to Write Your Marketing Research Questions

It’s imperative to have a dedicated repository of market research questions for your surveys. But nothing’s better than crafting your questions.

For this, you need to sit with your team and discuss what information you require from the customers. It lets you analyze and document how much data you already have in your system, which can help set the market research scope.

We have listed some questions you need to ask yourself before asking market research questions to your potential customers or target market:

Audience Segmentation Questions

Audience segmentation questions help to size up your target market and provide a granular view of the audience . Not all customers are equal, and audience segmentation makes it possible to focus on each group individually to address their issues, fears, and expectations.

Here’s what you need to know before you start writing customer research survey questions to understand your audience:

• Do we understand the demographics of the new market we are trying to target? (Age, location, ethnicity, education, company, annual income, etc.)
• What are the locations that drive the most customers to our business? How are these locations different from others?
• What are the interests, preferences, and fears of people from our new target market? Have we addressed these situations for our current customer base?
• What are the psychographics attributes of the current customers and potential market? Are we targeting these in our campaigns?
• What are the most popular engagement channels for our customers? Which channels drive the most traffic to our website?
• Do we have enough data to perform value segmentation to separate high-value customers from low-value customers? 
• How often do these high-value customers make a purchase?

Product-Based Market Research Questions

Product-based market research questions can produce precious insights to channel into your product development and optimization strategies . You can see how changing technology affects customers’ behavior, what new features they want to see in your product, and how they perceive your products and services over the competition.

Start by gathering information about the following:

• How does our product compare to the competition based on the features?
• What products do our competitors offer?
• What new features do customers want to see in our products? Do we have a product roadmap to deliver these updates?
• What unique solutions do our products offer? What is the value proposition that reflects this offering?
• Does our product incorporate the latest technological advancements?
• What channels do we use to collect product feedback from our users?
• What are customers’ preferences while choosing our products over competitors?

Pricing Market Research Questions

Pricing analysis can help you make your product more affordable to different customer segments while maintaining the desired gross margin. It also lets you restructure the pricing tiers to provide features depending on the customers’ requirements and company size .

Watch: (1/5) Supercharge Your Revenue With Data-Driven Pricing

Your sales and marketing team can help you hone in on the market research questions to ask your customers for running pricing analysis:

• Do the customers ever complain about the difficulty in finding the pricing information?
• What is the pricing structure of our competitors for the same products? What features do they include for a specific price?
• How do customers find our pricing when compared to the competitors?
• Do our products provide value for money to the customers? Does the sales pitch reflect this point?
• Can we restructure the pricing, and how will it affect the revenue?
• Are there any customer segments that have high-value potential but find the current pricing unaffordable? What are the plans for such customers?
• Are we in a situation to offer a basic free plan to encourage customers to try our product before upgrading?
• What promotions can we run to attract more customers?
• Should we target customers based on income, company size, or type of solution to set our product prices?

Brand Reputation Market Research Questions

A brand reputation questionnaire for marketing research gives you information on how well your target market knows about your brand. You can uncover previously unidentified channels to increase brand awareness and find potential customers to promote your brand .

Start by gauging what customers are saying about your brand:

• Which channels receive mentions of our brand? Are these posts positive or negative?
• Do we have a system in place to analyze and monitor these reviews and posts?
• What are the reviews of our brand on different sites? What is the overall impression of our brand in the market?
• How are we currently addressing the negative reviews and complaints? What do our customers think about the handling process?
• What is the impression of our brand in our target market?
• What brand awareness campaigns are our competitors running?
• Is our brand among the top choices of our target customers?

Advertisement & Campaign-Based Questions

These customer research survey questions let you assess the effectiveness of your current value propositions and campaigns . You can channel the customer insights into your advertising strategies to design targeted campaigns for different customer segments to reduce the overall acquisition cost and increase conversions.

Ask the following questions to collect information about the different marketing campaigns that are performing:

• What are the best modes to run the advertisement campaigns to reach our target audience?
• What is the estimated lifetime value of customers acquired from current campaigns? Is it higher or lower than the acquisition costs?
• Which campaigns bring the most ROI and why?
• How well do our advertisements present our value proposition to the customers? Do they address customers’ fears and expectations to attract them?
• Are we running A/B tests to improve our online campaigns? How are we gathering data to build the A/B test hypotheses – surveys, heatmaps, eye tracking, etc.?
• What advertisement campaigns do our competitors run?

7 Question Types to Use in Market Research Surveys

We mentioned earlier that market research questions provide important data for different operations like product development, marketing campaigns, sales pipeline and more.

But to what extent?

Let’s break it down to individual processes and understand how insights from customer research surveys can impact them:

To Know Your Target Market

Understanding your target audience is the fundamental aspect of market research, be it a new target market or existing customers. If you know what marketing research survey questions to ask your target market, you can identify different customer types’ unique traits and preferences.

The data can help you segment the users based on demographic, psychographic, geographic, and other attributes. These include their behavior, purchase preferences, age, location, habits, delights, frustrations, and more.

You can then create various customer personas and fuel your sales strategies to maximize ROI.

Case study – How Avis increased its revenue per customer

Avis, a leading car rental company, was looking to enhance customer experience by offering useful car add-ons like navigation systems, child seats, insurance, etc., to customers with their booking. So, it reached out to AWA Digital to find a way to promote these products and increase their sales.

AWA digital implemented customer research campaigns using targeted surveys to determine which add-ons were popular among the customers and why. 

Using these insights, the team added an interstitial pop-up just before the booking page to show relevant add-ons to the customers.

This simple update dramatically increased the sales of add-on items and helped Avis generate more revenue per customer.

Read the entire case study here .

To Plan the Product Roadmap

A product roadmap is a visual representation of the current status of your product and planned updates over time. It shows a high-level summary of planned activities and priorities for different teams to take the product to the next level.

Steve Jobs famously said – “You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backward to the technology. You can’t start with the technology then try to figure out where to sell it.”

And market research helps to align your product strategies with the customer demand. Using targeted marketing survey questions, you can gauge what new features or functionality customers want to see in your products.

It helps to plan product development strategies based on customers’ consensus to prioritize the ideas that can have the most impact on customers and replace intuition-based approaches with data-backed decisions.

Customers’ demands change with market trends and technological advancements. That’s why your product map also needs to evolve constantly with time to reflect these changes in your product development cycle.

By designing targeted market research questions to ask the customers, you can uncover their expectations to deliver optimal product solutions. 

That’s what our next case study demonstrates.

Case study – How customer research drives Twilio’s operations  

Twilio, a cloud communications platform places customer discovery and research at the core of their product development strategies. It helps its teams to anticipate customer needs in a constantly changing market.

Lack of time and budget are the two biggest challenges that the company faces in its product development cycle. So, the team uses targeted market research questionnaires for a product to understand the challenges the customers face today and the ones they will face tomorrow. 

With an abundance of ideas and no time to test them all, the feedback data from surveys is used to prioritize the hypotheses to run the tests. It makes the process more efficient and effective in producing positive results. 

This data-backed approach is used across 18 different teams at Twilio to release new functionality every week and deliver optimal solutions to the clients.

Read the complete case study here .

To Reduce Acquisition Costs

Your customer base consists of multiple customer segments with different preferences and purchase potential. That’s why you cannot sell to everyone and need to find the right audience for your products.

If an acquired customer doesn’t bring in more revenue than it costs to acquire them, it will increase your acquisition costs over time.

We don’t want that, do we?

For example, let’s say you are targeting the entire market population using the same campaign. If your acquisition cost per customer is $300 and you acquire 20 customers from one campaign, you need to make more than $6000 to register profits.

The difficulty is you don’t know about these customers’ purchase behavior and capacity, so you cannot be sure if you will reach your goals. It adds unnecessary risks to your marketing ventures.

But, if you were targeting a specific segment with high income, regular shopping habits, or proven history of brand loyalty, You can obtain better results.

Now, the question is – 

How will you separate these potential long-term customers from one-time buyers and high-value targets from other segments?

One way to do this is by building customer personas using the data from the market research survey questions. A buyer persona defines different attributes of a particular customer segment so you can hone in on the right audience to funnel your marketing efforts.

Here’s what a typical persona includes:

• Target regions
• Target demographic (age, marital status, gender)
• Ideal psychographics (hobbies, social channels, activities they indulge in, goals)
• Preferred interaction channels
• Favorite brands and products
• Total revenue till date
• Estimated lifetime value

Once you have a clearer picture of different customers, you can find high-value prospects with the potential to be long-term customers looking for product solutions that your business offers. 

You can then design the correct pitch using the market research data to bring in these customers and control the overall acquisition costs.

For example:

• Plugin the demographic and psychographic data into CRM software like BIGContacts or Salesforce to convert high-value targets.
• Use your CRM to create segmented lists of prospects based on estimated value, location, current status, and more. Then target these groups individually with personalized value propositions to increase conversion rates.
• Identify their preferred mode of communication and technographic inclinations to find the right opportunities to pitch your product offering at the precise moment.

Even if acquiring and retaining such customers costs more, their overall revenue can balance the acquisition costs to deliver higher profits.

To Design Targeted Marketing Campaigns

By knowing how your target audience behaves and interacts with your business, you can find the exact opportunities to target them with personalized campaigns.

• You can use mail campaigns to target website users with app-exclusive offers to encourage them to download your app and improve app adoption.
• Add in-app broadcast messages about upcoming offers, exclusive membership benefits, and other incentives for new users to push them towards the end of the funnel.
• Create multiple landing pages to target different customer types.
• Design location-based ad campaigns with personalized value propositions based on audience preferences and problems at each location. 

Case Study – How Canon’s campaigns generated 700% ROI

AWA digital was tasked by Canon, one of the biggest electronics companies worldwide, to assess and increase the demand for their products in different geographies. So, the AWA team conducted customer research using target market survey questions and discovered the following attributes about customers’ purchase behavior and reservations:

• In some regions, people were reluctant to spend money on a Canon camera as they weren’t sure if Canon was an authoritative brand.
• In other regions, authority was not as important to the users.

Using these insights, AWA optimized the ads campaigns’ messaging for different locations to include what consumers deemed important purchase factors.

The results?

With in-depth customer feedback, Canon generated an overall ROI of 700% in all regions using personalized campaigns to target the audience.

To Improve Brand Awareness

Whether you are into soft drinks or not, You probably would have heard of Coca-Cola’s 2011 Share-A-Coke ad. This single campaign put the Coke brand back on the map and reversed the 10-year steady decline in sales in the US.  

Coke understood what motivates their customers and delivered a product offering that appealed to the masses to increase its brand equity- the excitement to get a Coca-Cola bottle with their name on it.

How did they do it?

In 2011, Coca-Cola rolled out its share-a-coke campaign in Australia. The company debranded the traditional Coke logo from the bottle and replaced it with the phrase “Share a Coke with” followed by a name.

The campaign used the list of the country’s most popular names (nicknames). The purpose was to make people go out and find the Coke bottle with their name on it and share it with their friends. The campaign was subsequently rolled out in 80 countries.

How did it impact Coca-Cola as a brand:

• In Australia, it’s estimated that the campaign increased Coke’s share by 4% and increased consumption among young adults by 7%.
• #ShareACoke became the top trending hashtag on Twitter globally and received over 1 billion impressions.
• In the USA, the campaign increased Coke’s market share by over 2% and brought 11% more sales compared to the previous year.

It’s not limited to big brands only.  

Understanding the customers and placing your product’s value offering along with their habits, lifestyle, and behavior can help you extend your brand’s reach.

Today, there are multiple touchpoints to connect with your customers and map their journey to uncover their issues, motivations, and fears to address in your campaigns.

• Monitor brand mentions on social media and engage with the users to cultivate an online community and promote your brand.
• Reach out to satisfied customers and turn them into your brand ambassadors.
• Use targeted ad campaigns that connect people’s emotions and general behavior to imprint your brand’s image in their minds.

Quick Tips for Writing Awesome Market Research Survey Questions

With the inter-team research complete, you are ready to write your own market research questions to ask your target audience. Keep these general dos and don’ts in mind to ensure that the market survey fulfills the purpose without affecting the data quality or response rate.

Use Mutually Exclusive Response Options

If you are using response anchors with specific ranges like age group or income, check that the options do not overlap . Otherwise, it will produce an irregular data set.

Please specify your age:

In the above example, the respondent lying on either extremity of the given age ranges may get confused on which option to choose. For example, a 28-year-old respondent can choose from both second or third options.

Plus, two different respondents of the same age may select different options, which will skew your demographic data.

You can avoid this confusion by creating mutually exclusive groups as shown below:

Always Add A “Not Applicable” Or “Rather Not Say” Option

Since market research questions extract personal information, some respondents may not want to share such details with you. These include questions about age, income, gender, hobbies, social activities, and more.

Forcing such questions on the customers without allowing them to skip can irate them and lead to survey abandonment .

That’s why you can also use Qualaroo’s skip and branching logic to create smart surveys that only ask relevant questions to your respondents based on their previous answers.

Calculate the Required Sample Size

Sample size plays a vital role in your market research questions to determine the reliability of your response data.

If the response volume is low, the results may not be conclusive to point towards customers’ consensus. On the other hand, a larger sample size than required means a waste of the company’s valuable resources and time.

That’s why it’s important to calculate the required sample size to estimate the number of responses you need for your market research survey questions.

You can use any survey sample size calculator available online to get started. Just fill in the required details to get the required sample size.

For example, to reach a statistical significance of 99%, you need at least 3145 responses to your market research questionnaire.

Consider Adding Incentives

Studies show that incentivized customer research surveys or questionnaires fetch higher response rates than general surveys.

The incentives encourage customers to invest their time in a survey and get something in return.

It means creating a gated questionnaire for market research can help you reach the required sample size quickly . The incentive can be a simple discount code, free shipping coupon, free ebook, or other freebies.

However, there is a possibility that irrelevant respondents may fill out the survey randomly just to get to the offer, which may skew the results. You can use screening questions to filter out unsuitable respondents.

Avoid Double-Barreled Market Research Questions

A double-barreled question poses two questions into one. The problem with such questions is that the respondent may have opposing views about the two statements in the questions. It makes it harder for them to choose one answer from the options .

“Please rate the [product name] on a scale of 1-10 based on overall quality and price?”

Here, the respondent may find the product quality appreciable while thinking it to be overpriced at the same time. In such a case, they may skip the question or select any option randomly.

You can easily sidestep this hurdle by breaking your double-barreled market research question into two to make it less confusing for the respondents.

Importance of Market Research

We mentioned earlier that market research questions provide important data for different operations like product development, marketing campaigns, sales pipeline, and more.

Understanding your target audience is the fundamental aspect of market research, be it a new target market or existing customers. If you know what customer research survey questions to ask your target market, you can identify different customer types’ unique traits and preferences.

AWA Digital implemented research campaigns using targeted customer research surveys to determine which add-ons were popular among the customers and why.

Steve Jobs famously said – “You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backward to the technology. You can’t start with the technology and then try to figure out where to sell it.”

And market research helps to align your product strategies with the customer demand. Using targeted customer research survey questions, you can gauge what new features or functionality customers want to see in your products.

Image Source: Slide Team

By designing targeted market research questions to ask the customers, you can uncover their expectations to deliver optimal product solutions.

Case study – How customer research drives Twilio’s operations

Twilio, a cloud communications platform, places customer discovery and research at the core of its product development strategies. It helps its teams to anticipate customer needs in a constantly changing market.

Lack of time and budget are the two biggest challenges that the company faces in its product development cycle. So, the team uses targeted market research questionnaires for a product to understand the challenges the customers face today and the ones they will face tomorrow.

With an abundance of ideas and no time to test them all, the feedback data from customer research surveys is used to prioritize the hypotheses to run the tests. It makes the process more efficient and effective in producing positive results.

Your customer base comprises multiple customer segments with different preferences and purchase potential. That’s why you cannot sell to everyone and need to find the right audience for your products.

For example, let’s say you target the entire market using the same campaign. If your acquisition cost per customer is $300 and you acquire 20 customers from one campaign, you must make over $6000 to register profits.

But, if you were targeting a specific segment with high income, regular shopping habits, or a proven history of brand loyalty, you could obtain better results.

Now, the question is –

Image Source: brightspark

• Plug the demographic and psychographic data into CRM software like BIGContacts or Salesforce to convert high-value targets.
• Use your CRM to create segmented lists of prospects based on estimated value, location, current status, and more. Then, target these groups individually with personalized value propositions to increase conversion rates.

• Add in-app broadcast messages about upcoming offers, exclusive membership benefits, and other incentives for new users to push them toward the end of the funnel.

AWA Digital was tasked by Canon, one of the biggest electronics companies worldwide, to assess and increase the demand for their products in different geographies. So, the AWA team conducted a customer research survey using target market questions and discovered the following attributes about customers’ purchase behavior and reservations:

• In other regions, authority was not so important to the users.

Whether you are into soft drinks or not, you probably would have heard of Coca-Cola’s 2011 Share-A-Coke ad. This single campaign put the Coke brand back on the map and reversed the 10-year steady decline in sales in the US.  

Coke understood what motivates its customers and delivered a product offering that appealed to the masses to increase its brand equity- the excitement to get a Coca-Cola bottle with its name on it.

• In Australia, it’s estimated that the campaign increased Coke’s share by 4% and consumption among young adults by 7%.

It’s not limited to big brands only. 

Market Research: A Key to Your Business’ Success

Market research is a vital process for any business wanting to understand its customers and market better. By asking the right questions and using the right tools like Qualaroo, you can gain valuable insights that can help you improve your products or services, enhance your customer experiences, and grow your business.

In this blog, we have shared some of the best market research questions to ask your customers, as well as some of the best customer research survey templates to find market trends and industry insights. We hope that this blog has helped you learn more about market research and how to conduct it effectively.

About the author

Dwayne charrington.

Dwayne Charrington is an expert in UX design and user research, showing a strong grasp of how to improve user interfaces and interactions. He explores a wide range of topics, including lead generation, feedback management, the importance of survey accessibility, and how new technologies like AI and VR are changing how users interact with products. He shares insights on creating clear navigation, using A/B testing to make smarter design choices, and the power of storytelling in UX. Dwayne also focuses on optimizing mobile experiences and champions privacy-by-design, ensuring users feel satisfied, secure, and valued.

Kate Bojkov

50 marketing survey questions and marketing surveys examples.

Free questionnaires and marketing survey examples that you can copy and create your own survey today.

Conducting a marketing survey is one of the most affordable and effective ways to do profound research and collect real customer feedback , which is considered to be one of the key elements of every successful business/product/service.

Long gone are the days when “ gut feelings ” and making assumptions were good enough. Nowadays, marketing based on data is the foundation to making important and effective decisions regardless of how big or small your business is.

Surveys and the use of all sorts of marketing forms are just part of any marketing team’s DNA. So, having them embedded in your marketing activities comes by default.

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Why Marketing Surveys Are Important?

Marketing surveys and marketing research in general, are rightfully considered to be an essential part of every business for a few reasons such as:

Help you identify opportunities and threats

Conducting a marketing survey helps businesses to know in which direction they should move and what to avoid along the road.

The perfect example: coming across unreached segments, meaning people who might not know your brand, opportunities such as business partnerships and collaborations, and various ways to improve your product/service, meaning upsells to more customers.

Minimize risks

Well-done marketing research will provide you with a variety of data that will help you make better decisions and therefore, reduce the risks of failure at any given time.

The perfect example: expanding to new markets – and trust us when we say knowledge is power. The data you’ll collect will help you predict how well your products will sell regionally and whether that expansion is worth it or not.

Stay ahead of your competition

Keeping your eyes wide open and researching your competitors will help you stay ahead in the game. You could look into what they are doing, how they are progressing, what channels they are using, and how they are going with paid advertisements.

The perfect example: when conveying a survey about your competitor’s product, you can gain valuable insights about its least and most valuable features and stay ahead of them by improving your solution based on this data.

? Here’s a list with the best marketing tools and software, both paid and free that will help you along the road.

Connect with your audience

Researching and understanding your customers means only one thing in today’s world – you will be able to connect with your audience better and more effectively. Instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach based on data, you will be able to customize your message.

The perfect example: while doing a buyer persona survey, you will find out the demographic details of your customers plus their interests. According to this information, you could customize the message across all social media platforms – more friendly and easy-going on your Instagram and TikTok, professional and awareness-increasing on your LinkedIn profile.

Survey 1: Market research survey

Researching your market in order to get valuable insights and understand it, is key to every phase of developing and launching your product/service.

Let’s cover some basics before getting into how to do your own market research survey.

According to HubSpot’s team :

“ Market research is the process of gathering information about your target market and customers ” .

Market research can be done in various ways, and in our case via conducting surveys, so we could say – a market research survey is a list of questions answered by your customers/ or potential customers regarding various subjects.

Why do it: conducting this type of survey will not only help you understand your customers and the market you are entering, but it will also help you reach a specific audience, make better decisions, measure brand awareness, help you understand how to position your price on the market, gain insights on your product or a future product, and help you with your content creation and distribution.

Market Research Survey Examples:

• What is your age? What is your gender?
• What is your education level?
• Where do you live?
• What is your profession? What do you do for a living?
• What’s your household income and household size?
• What are your biggest challenges?
• What are your hobbies/interests? What do you do in your free time?
• What is most important to you?
• How do you get your information? What’s your most valuable and reliable source of information?
• How do you like to make purchases? Do you feel comfortable shopping online?

Keep in mind though that market research is a broader term, meaning there are a lot of example questions related to various sub-topics. It’s up to you to choose what part you want to focus on.

For example, besides doing regular marketing surveys, a few years ago, Starbucks created another domain with the goal of doing market research, where people could submit their ideas and proposals. MyStarbucksIdea.com , which is currently not operational, accepted 100 ideas from thousands of people worldwide and implemented them into their business. Ideas like adding vegan options to their menu, etc.

An interesting way to engage the audience, collect data, and do market research on the wants and needs of your customers. Here is a full video of this initiative:

Survey 2: Competitor research survey

Getting to know your competition might feel scary and intimidating, but by looking at the bigger picture, you will gain power and valuable perspective that will definitely help you in the long run.

Why do it : conducting such a survey will help you understand who your competitors are, how people perceive them against your brand/product/service, and how is your offer and price in comparison to your competitors, and ultimately help you with targeting new customers.

Competitor research survey examples:

• Have you heard of our company/brand?
• Have you purchased something from our company?
• If you did, how satisfied were you with your purchase? How long have you been a customer?
• If not, what was the reason?
• How likely are you to recommend our company to a friend?
• Have you heard of #name of a competitor?
• Have you purchased from #name of a competitor?
• What made you choose us over a competitor/ and vice versa?
• What do you wish our product/service had that it currently does not?
• What do you like most/least? How does your product/service fits into your workflow/meet your daily needs?

For example, the Swedish brand Happy Socks with e-mail marketing’s help and surveys are researching their competitors and the overall experience people had with purchasing on their website. To make their survey even more successful they are offering 25% off + free shipping.

Other things worth looking into are: how are your competitors attracting customers, how well are their social media channels performing, how much website traffic do they have and from what type of sources, which keywords are they ranking for, and with what type of content. Helpful tools: Google Trends , Semrush , and AnswerThePublic .

Survey 3: Buyer persona / Customer analysis survey

In the marketing world, buyer personas are fictional individuals that represent your ideal customer.

It’s a Stock image next to an imaginary name, personal information and goals, life challenges and interests, work title, skills and experience, and most importantly, how you fit into their life ( how your product incorporates into their lifestyle/ what problem does it solve ).

Why do it : doing a detailed customer analysis with a marketing survey will help you understand your customers’ needs and problems and empathize with them; based on the data, you will be able to tailor your marketing efforts, understand purchasing decisions, get some behavioral insights, and create more targeted content for every channel.

“In my experience, creating buyer personas and getting to know our (potential) customers was a game-changer. It allowed us to strategically plan our entire content marketing strategy. Across all of our channels, we started personalising the message we wanted to convey, and the content that was being published. This helped us increase the engagement across all channels, increase our organic blog traffic with relevant visitors, and of most importantly increase our sales”.

Customer analysis survey examples:

• Demographic questions such as: What’s your age, gender, educational background, and career path?
• What are your interests and hobbies? What do you do in your spare time?
• What company do you work for/in which industry/ and a number of employees?
• What are your job title and main responsibilities? Whom do you report to, and who reports to you? How is your work measured?
• What are your biggest challenges (both professionally and personally)? What triggers you to find a solution?
• What tools do you use at your job?
• How are you using our product/service/software, and what are your main objectives with it?
• What is the most common reason you’re not buying a certain product?
• How do you learn about new information, and which blogs/publications do you read? What’s your favorite social network?
• How do you purchase things? How do you search for information? How would you describe your last purchase?

Helpful tools when it comes to creating Buyer Persona from your conducted survey: Make My Persona .

An effective marketing survey that will help you to understand customer behavior is to create a very detailed and in-depth feedback form. See the example by Chipotle:

Survey 4: Brand awareness survey

How memorable is your brand? How well do your customers know your brand? How do your customers perceive your brand?

If you are looking into answering these questions and more, it’s about time you conduct a brand awareness survey.

Brand awareness is a combination of four things:

• brand recognition – how recognizable is your brand
• brand recall – how memorable is your brand, and how does your brand come to your customer’s mind
• brand identity – how well are your brand’s mission and vision understood
• brand image – the overall feel and opinion of your brand

Why do it ? Getting to know how your customers perceive your brand will help you improve your positioning on the market and, therefore, help you grow your business and increase your brand awareness and sales.

Take, for example, the everlasting battle between Coke and Pepsi ? – it is no longer a who’s got a better taste kinda battle, but instead who’s got a more loyal community.

Brand awareness survey examples:

• Which brands do you most commonly purchase products from?
• Which of the following brands do you recognize?
• If #name of the brand was a person, how would you describe it? What’s your opinion on it?
• How did you find out about #name of the brand ? How likely are you to recommend it to a friend or family?
• You have #a certain problem – what brand/company do you turn to?
• Which of the following statements do you associate with #name of the brand ?
• How could we make you loyal to our brand? What’s crucial to you?
• What’s the first thing when you think of #name of the brand?
• When was the last time you used the #name of the brand?
• How familiar are you with our brand?

Here are more questions and a premade brand awareness survey template you can start using right now:

Survey 5: Product research survey

Launching a new product takes a lot of effort, money, and time but it also comes with a lot of uncertainty and fear of failure.

You never know whether the product will be a success or not, but there is something to do about your doubts – conduct a product research survey.

A product research survey can be both when launching a new product or when looking into improving an old one.

Why do it : it will help you evaluate your customer’s reaction and opinion regarding your new/improved product and, therefore, help you make better decisions about the product’s functionalities, features, and design.

Product research survey examples:

• How often do you use our product/service during the day/week/month?
• How long have you been using our product/service?
• How would you rate our product/service?
• What problems are you trying to solve with our product?
• What features are missing?
• Which features are most valuable to you?
• Which important features could be better/improved?
• How easy it is to use our product/rate on a scale from 0-10?
• How would you rate the value for money?
• Have you faced any problems while using our product/service?

For example, Alex Tooby wanted to make a pulse check of her audience to understand what kind of content (her type of product) they will want from her to create. It is a perfect marketing survey to see what her target audience needs so she can accommodate her services based on their actual needs.

Steps to conduct a marketing survey

Now that you are aware of the most important types of marketing surveys, it’s only fair to move on to a practical step-by-step of how to conduct a single survey.

Step 1: Set a clear goal

Before starting to write those questions, think about a clear goal of why you’re doing the marketing survey.

Are you looking into expanding to other markets? Are you looking into creating and launching a new product or improving an old one? What exactly are you looking to find out by doing the survey?

Setting clear goals and intentions for the marketing survey will help you get the answers you need.

Step 2: Map out a workflow for the task

This is more of a technical thing to do – but nonetheless, it’s important. Make sure you establish a budget, choose what markets you want to survey, decide whether you’ll hire a market research company to assist you, and, based on your goals – choose what you’ll investigate.

Step 3: Choose a tool in which you’ll create the survey

Make sure you also put a lot of thought into how the marketing survey would look. You don’t want to overwhelm your target group with too many questions at once or have a survey with an inconvenient design.

Step 4: Collect and analyze the data, and lastly

Step 5: take action.

Based on your research findings and the initial goals, you can make a safe decision and choose a direction in which you want to “move”.

Free Marketing Survey Tools

Now that we’ve gone over every how and why, the only thing remaining are the tools with which you can create these surveys, and here are some free options:

• Google Forms – free, fast, and it even automatically saves your results to a Google Spreadsheet so you can analyze your results. There are versatile options for long and short answers, multiple-choice selections, dropdown options, the ability to add both images and videos, create your form as a quiz, etc.
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• Open access
• Published: 03 April 2024

Perception, practice, and barriers toward research among pediatric undergraduates: a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey

• Canyang Zhan 1 &
• Yuanyuan Zhang 2  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  364 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Scientific research activities are crucial for the development of clinician-scientists. However, few people pay attention to the current situation of medical research in pediatric medical students in China. This study aims to assess the perceptions, practices and barriers toward medical research of pediatric undergraduates.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among third-year, fourth-year and fifth-year pediatric students from Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China via an anonymous online questionnaire. The questionnaires were also received from fifth-year students majoring in other medicine programs [clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) and clinical medicine (5-year)].

The response rate of pediatric undergraduates was 88.3% (68/77). The total sample of students enrolled in the study was 124, including 36 students majoring in clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) and 20 students majoring in clinical medicine (5-year). Most students from pediatrics (“5 + 3”) recognized that research was important. Practices in scientific research activities are not satisfactory. A total of 51.5%, 35.3% and 36.8% of the pediatric students participated in research training, research projects and scientific article writing, respectively. Only 4.4% of the pediatric students contributed to publishing a scientific article, and 14.7% had attended medical congresses. None of them had given a presentation at a congress. When compared with fifth-year students in the other medicine program, the frequency of practices toward research projects and training was lower in the pediatric fifth-year students. Lack of time, lack of guidance and lack of training were perceived as the main barriers to scientific work. Limited English was another obvious barrier for pediatric undergraduates. Pediatric undergraduates preferred to participate in clinical research (80.9%) rather than basic research.

Conclusions

Although pediatric undergraduates recognized the importance of medical research, interest and practices in research still require improvement. Lack of time, lack of guidance, lack of training and limited English were the common barriers to scientific work. Therefore, research training and English improvement were recommended for pediatric undergraduates.

Peer Review reports

Medical education includes the learning of basic clinical medical knowledge and the cultivation of scientific research abilities. Scientific research, an essential part of medical education, is increasingly important, as it can greatly improve medical care [ 1 , 2 ]. Scientific research activities are crucial for the development of clinician-scientists, who have key roles in clinical research and translational medicine. Therefore, medical education is increasingly emphasizing the cultivation of scientific research abilities. Strengthening scientific research training helps students to develop independent critical thinking, improve the ability of observation, and foster the problem-solving skills. It is suggested that developing undergraduate research benefits the students, the faculty mentors, the university or institution, and eventually society [ 2 , 3 ]. As a result, there is a growing trend to integrate scientific research training into undergraduate medical education. Early exposure to scientific research was recommended in undergraduate medical students [ 4 , 5 ]. In fact, an international questionnaire study showed that among 1625 responses collected from 38 countries, less than half (42.7%) agree/strongly agree that their medical schools provided “sufficient training in medical research” [ 6 ]. The training or practices about medical research in undergraduates is not universal. In China, few people pay attention to the current situation of medical research in undergraduates, especially for pediatric medical students.

Due to changes in China’s birth policy (two-child policy in 2016 and the three-child policy in 2021), child health needs are increasing [ 7 ]. The shortage of pediatricians is alarming in China. Therefore, numerous policies have been implemented to meet the challenges of the shortage of pediatricians, including reinstating pediatrics as an independent discipline in medical school enrollment and increasing the enrollment of pediatrics. The number of pediatricians has increased year by year. The number of pediatricians in China increased from 118,500 in 2015 (0.52 pediatricians per 1000 children under the age of 14) to 206,000 in 2021 (0.78 pediatricians per 1000 children under the age of 14). With the increase in pediatric enrollment, pediatric medical education is facing new challenges. It is urgent to study the current situation of cultivation of pediatric medical students, one of which is the scientific research abilities [ 8 , 9 ]. However, as the particular background of pediatrics, very little is known about the perception, practice and barriers toward medical research in pediatric undergraduates. The purpose of this study was to address the gap by assessing the practices, perceptions and barriers toward medical research of pediatric undergraduates at Zhejiang University. The results can help to improve the mode of cultivating scientific research abilities among pediatric medical students.

The study was conducted from March to April 2023. The study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of the Children’s Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine and was undertaken according to the Helsinki declaration. Participants provided written informed consent upon applying to participate in the study.

Study design and setting

This is a cross-sectional study conducted via an online questionnaire and the questionnaire was done simultaneously in all students. The study aimed to investigate the perception, practices and barriers toward research in pediatric undergraduates from Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and to investigate the differences in research among undergraduate students from clinical medicine (“5 + 3” integrated program, pediatrics) [pediatrics (“5 + 3”)], clinical medicine (“5 + 3” integrated program) [clinical medicine (“5 + 3”)] and clinical medicine (5-year).

The clinical medicine of Zhejiang University School of Medicine (ZUSM) includes a 5-year program, a “5 + 3” integrated program, and a 8-year MD. Program. The clinical medicine (5-year) program is the basis of clinical medicine education.Graduates need to complete 3 years of standardized residency training to become doctors. The clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) model combines the 5-year medical undergraduate education, 3-year standardized residency training and postgraduate education. Since 2015, 20 to 30 students who are interested in pediatrics were selected from second-year undergraduate students of clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) to continue studies as pediatrics (“5 + 3”) every year. Since 2019, ZUSM established pediatrics (“5 + 3”) program. 20–30 students have been enrolled independently every year.

Participants

All of the third-, fourth-, and fifth-year undergraduate students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) and some of the fifth-year undergraduate students from clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) and clinical medicine (5-year) who expressed an interest in participating in the study were enrolled.

Data collection

The questionnaire was self-designed after reviewing the literature and consulting senior faculty. For the purpose of testing its clarity and reliability, the questionnaire was pilot tested among 36 undergraduate students. Their feedback was mainly related to the structure of the questionnaire. To address these comments, the questionnaire was modified to reach the final draft, which was distributed to the student sample included in the study. The reliability coefficient was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, and the validity was evaluated by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO).

There are four sections of the questionnaire used in this study:

The first part covered 3 statements (gender, grade and major).

The second part examined the participants’ perceptions of medical research, including 5 statements (importance, enhancement of competitiveness, practising thinking ability, solving clinical problems, and being interesting).

The third part examined practices in medical research, including 6 statements (project, training, write paper, publish paper, attend academic conference and conference communication).

The barriers to medical research were assessed in the last part, including 7 statements.

Perception and barriers toward medical research were evaluated using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5 (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree, 3 = uncertain, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree).

Statistical analysis

Categorical data are represented as numbers and frequencies. For ease of reporting and analyzing data, the responses of “agree” and “strongly agree” were grouped and reported as agreements, and “disagree” and “strongly disagree” were grouped as disagreements. The chi-square test was used to test the difference in the frequency of participation in research practices. The student’s perception score based on grades was analyzed using Fisher’s exact test, and attitude between the year of study was analyzed by ANOVA or a nonparametric test (Kruskal-Wallis H test). The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 26. P  < 0.05 was considered significant.

The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha; it was 0.73 for perception and 0.78 for barriers. KMO was 0.80 for perception (Bartlett’s sphericity test: χ2 = 200.4, p  < 0.001) and 0.73 for barriers (Bartlett’s sphericity test: χ2 = 278.4, p  < 0.001), indicating the appropriateness of the factor analysis. The factor analysis was carried out using the principal component analysis with varimax rotation. For perception, one factor explains 58.2% of the variance. For barriers, two-factor solution explains 60.2% of the variance.

The response rate was 79.2% (19/24) in the third year, 88% (22/25) in the fourth year and 96.4% (27/28) in the fifth year students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”), and the total response rate was 88.3% (68/77). The number of fifth-year students majoring in clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) and clinical medicine (5-year) was 36 and 20, respectively. Thus, a total of 124 students participated in the questionnaire. Among the participants, approximately 46% were male and 54% were female.

Perception regarding scientific research among the students majoring in pediatrics (“5 + 3”)

The majority of students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) recognized that research was important (92.6%), such as increasing competitiveness, solving clinical problems and improving thinking (Fig.  1 ). Approximately half of the students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) were interested in the research.

Perception regarding scientific research among the students majoring in pediatrics

Among the third-, fourth-, and fifth-year students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”), there was a significant difference in the effect of research on thinking ability (Table  1 ). A stronger understanding of the importance of research for thinking abilities was found in students from the fifth year.

Comparing the perception of medical research among the fifth-year students from the different medicine programs, there was a significant difference in the interest in research (Table  2 ). The fifth-year undergraduates from clinical medicine (5-year) received the highest score for interest in scientific research, followed by pediatrics (“5 + 3”).

Practices regarding scientific research among students majoring in pediatrics (“5 + 3”)

More than half of the students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) participated in research training. Approximately 36.8% of them were involved in writing scientific articles, and 35.3% participated in research projects (Table  3 ). Only 4.4% of the students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) contributed to publishing a scientific article, and 14.7% of the students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) had attended medical congresses. However, none of the students had made a presentation at congresses.

A statistically significant difference was observed among different grades in the pediatrics (“5 + 3”) program, with fifth-year students having a much higher rate of participation in conferences. However, no significant differences were observed in other forms of medical research practices.

When compared with fifth-year students from other programs (clinical medicine “5 + 3” or 5-year), the students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) had a lower rate of participation in the projects (Table  4 ). The rate of participation in the research training of the pediatric students was lower than that of clinical medicine (5-year) (44.44% vs. 75%). There were no significant differences in other research practices, such as writing articles and attending congress.

Barriers regarding scientific research among the students majoring in pediatrics (“5 + 3”)

The most common barriers to research work for pediatric students were lack of training (85.3%), lack of time (83.9%), and lack of mentorship (82.4%).

However, the top three barriers to research work in fifth-year pediatric students were lack of training (96.3%), limited English (88.89%) and lack of time (88.89%). We found that the barrier of “lack of training” became increasingly apparent with grade, which was significantly obvious in fifth-year pediatric students compared with other grades (Table  5 ). The other barriers had no significant differences among the three grades from the pediatrics (“5 + 3”) program.

When compared with fifth-year students from other programs (clinical medicine “5 + 3” or 5-year), the rate of agreement about the barrier of “limited English” was significantly higher in fifth-year students from the pediatrics (“5 + 3”) program. There were no significant differences in other barriers among fifth-year students from different majors (Table  6 ).

The type of research activities willing to involve in the future among the students majoring in pediatrics (“5 + 3”)

A total of 88.2% of students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) wanted to participate in the training of scientific research activities. Furthermore, when asked about the type of future scientific research activities, 80.9% of students wanted to participate in clinical research, and only 19.1% of students wanted to be involved in basic research. There was no significant difference in the different grades of the students from the pediatrics (“5 + 3”) program (Fig.  2 A).

Types of research activities that students majoring in pediatrics are willing to be involved with in the future ( A ). Types of research activities that the students from different programs are willing to be involved with in the future ( B ). When compared with students in clinical medicine (“5 + 3”), fifth-year students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) were significantly less likely to participate in basic research (* P  = 0.001)

Compared with students in clinical medicine (“5 + 3”), fifth-year students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) were significantly less likely to participate in basic research (Fig.  2 B).

In China, to solve the shortage of pediatricians, pediatric programs have resumed in some medical schools, including Zhejiang University, in recent years. In this study, we focused on the perceptions, practices and barriers to scientific research in pediatric undergraduates from Zhejiang University.

With global progress, more research is required to advance knowledge and innovation in all fields. Likewise, at the present time, research activities are a highly important skill for medical practitioner. Medical students were encouraged to take active part in scientific research and prepare for today’s knowledge-driven world [ 2 ]. In the current study, we found an overall positive perception of scientific research in pediatric undergraduates. More than 90% of pediatric students agreed (“strongly agree” and “agree”) that scientific research was important, which could make them more competitive and improve their thinking.

Although the students had a positive perception of medical research, their practice of conducting research remained unsatisfactory. When compared with the fifth-year undergraduates from clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) (66.67%) and clinical medicine (5-year) (75%), only 33.33% of the fifth-year undergraduates in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) have participated in scientific research projects. The number of paper publications was very small (third-year of Pediatric (“5 + 3”) 0, fourth-year 4.5% and fifth-year 7.4%). It was significantly less than the publication rate of final-year students in the United States (46.5%) and Australia (roughly one-third) [ 10 , 11 ]. In another study in Romania, 31% of fifth-year students declared that they had prepared a scientific presentation for a medical congress at least once [ 12 ]. Moreover, none of the students in the study presented their paper in the scientific forum. A study in India also found that the undergraduate students’ experience of presenting paper in scientific forums was only 5% and publication 5.6% [ 13 ]. As part of the curriculum, some Indian universities require postgraduates to present papers and submit manuscripts for publication. Nevertheless, the practices regarding scientific research of undergraduates is still relatively poor. Lack of time, lack of guidance and lack of training for research careers were found to be the major obstacles in medical research for both pediatric students and others, which is consistent with previous reports [ 5 , 14 , 15 ]. The questionnaire in residents also found that lack of time was a critical problem for scientific research [ 16 ]. There is no common practice about how to solve this difficulty. In the literature, it was usually recommended that integration of scientific research training into the curricular requirements for undergraduates or residency programs for residents should be implemented [ 7 , 14 , 17 , 18 ]. An increasing number of medical schools have individual projects as a component of their curriculum or mandatory medical research projects to develop research competencies [ 19 , 20 ].

Interestingly, in fifth-year pediatric undergraduates (“5 + 3”), English limitations were found to be one of the most common barriers. The barrier of the limitation of English was increasingly better as the grades increased in pediatric students. We speculated that this was related to the increasing awareness of the importance of scientific research and participation in scientific research activities, increasing demand for reading English literature and writing English articles. Furthermore, the English limitation barrier for pediatric students was more obvious than that for students from clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) and clinical medicine (5-year). They are worried about academic English. Horwitz et al. first proposed “foreign language anxiety” [ 21 ]. Deng and Zhou explored medical students’ medical English anxiety in Sichuan, China. They found that 85.2% of the students surveyed suffered moderate above medical English anxiety [ 22 ]. In the questionnaire, 88.89% of the fifth-year pediatric students believed that limited English was one of the most important barriers for scientific research. Currently, English is the chief language of communication in the field of medical science, including correspondence, conferences, writing scientific articles, and reading literature. Ma Y noted that medical English should be the most important component of college English teaching for medical students [ 23 ]. At Zhejiang University, all of the students, including those majoring in pediatrics (“5 + 3”), clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) and clinical medicine (5-year), had a medical English course during the undergraduate period. Thus, the course could not satisfy the demands for scientific research, such as reading English literature, writing English paper and oral presentation in English. To solve this barrier, it was suggested to understand the requirements of pediatric students for medical English learning and offer more courses about medical English or English writing training for pediatric students. Furthermore, undergraduates should be encouraged to participate in local, regional or national conferences that are not in English but in Chinese language, which can increase the interest in participating in scientific research.

Most of the pediatric students tended to choose clinical research, while only 19.1% wanted to attend basic research. The proportion of fifth-year students in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) choosing basic research was much lower than the students from the clinical medicine (“5 + 3”) program. It is speculated that pediatrics usually have heavier clinical work with relative poor scientific practice in China, compare with doctors from other clinical department. They are likely to concern the clinical research. The students in pediatrics might not obtain sufficient scientific guidance from their clinician teachers compared with those from other medicine program. According to the data, the Pediatric College could conduct more scientific research training directed at clinical research, such as the design, conduct and administration of clinical trials. The simulation-based clinical research curriculum is considered to be a better approach training of clinician-scientists compared with traditional clinical research teaching [ 24 ]. On the other hand, we might need to do more to improve the interest in basic research for pediatric undergraduates.

The major limitation of the present study is the small sample size. Only 20 to 30 students have been enrolled in pediatrics (“5 + 3”) of ZUSM every year. Therefore, multicenter studies (multiple medical schools) might be better to understand the perception, practice, and barriers of medical research among pediatric undergraduates. Even so, the findings in this study indicate that lack of time, lack of guidance, lack of training and limited English might be the common barriers to scientific work for pediatric undergraduates. Furthermore, the questionnaire for teachers and administrators would be performed to offer some concrete solutions in future.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Zhejiang University School of Medicine

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the students who participated as volunteers for their contribution to the study.

This work was supported by grants from the “14th Five-Year Plan” teaching reform project of an ordinary undergraduate university in Zhejiang Province (jg20220041) and project of graduate education research in Zhejiang University (20210317).

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Department of Neonatology, Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China

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CZ designed and supervised the study progress. CZ and YZ wrote the manuscript and collected and analyzed the questionnaire data. All the authors have read and approved the manuscript prior to submission.

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Zhan, C., Zhang, Y. Perception, practice, and barriers toward research among pediatric undergraduates: a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey. BMC Med Educ 24 , 364 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05361-x

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05361-x

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