A market research questionnaire is a list of questions presented orally or in writing. Generally, questionnaires contain closed-ended and open-ended questions addressed to members of the target population.

Businesses use questionnaires to make well-informed decisions. For example, a business questionnaire may be used to survey existing or prospective customers and employees for gaining key insights into customer needs and preferences.

Keep reading for an in-depth analysis of a market research questionnaire.

A Market Research Questionnaire Explained

A market research questionnaire is a market research technique that aims to gain a quantitative assessment to complement the qualitative view offered by other techniques, such as focus groups or individual interviews.

Also known as “structured questions,” closed-ended questions in a questionnaire are simple and require only a short phrase or word as an answer without elaboration. On the other hand, open-ended questions (also known as “unstructured questions”) need in-depth answers and allow participants to answer in their own words and provide personal opinions.

An example of a closed-ended question:

“What is your age?” (Needs a word as an answer)

An example of an open-ended question:

“Why did you choose to live in this city?” (Needs specific details to answer the question)

How to Design a Market Research Questionnaire

Here are some of the best practices for designing market research questionnaires:

• Select the interview method
• Determine question composition
• Determine individual question content
• Develop question order, form, and layout
• Pilot test the questionnaire

Why Do You Need a Market Research Questionnaire?

A questionnaire helps in gathering large amounts of information (primary data) from sizeable sample volumes. As a popular research method, it is especially effective for measuring a research participant’s attitude, behavior, intentions, preferences, and opinions.

Here are major benefits of using a market research questionnaire (listed alphabetically):

• Check your position against your competitors
• Create authentic and fresh content
• Gain insights into an existing or a future product
• Identify customer demographics
• Measure brand awareness
• Prioritize ad spend and resources
• Reach a specific audience
• Segment, research, and analyze your target market
• Test branding, naming, and positioning
• Understand consumer sentiment

Types of Market Research Questions

Examples of common market research questions (listed alphabetically)

• How likely are you to recommend us to your family and friends?
• How old are you?
• How would you rate your experience with us?
• What is the maximum you would pay for ‘X’ product?
• Where do you live?

Examples of new product survey questions (listed alphabetically)

• How can we improve the product?
• How frequently do you use the product?
• Is the product simple to use?
• Please rank the product features from the most to least important.
• What do you like the most about the product?

Wrapping Up

A market research questionnaire helps businesses reach people quickly for gaining meaningful insights and making well-informed decisions.

Without using a questionnaire, it would be difficult to identify potential threats and opportunities and learn more about the target audience.

A market research questionnaire is a powerful research tool to gain customer insights and improve customer experience.