To turn a business idea into a viable, successful product, you need to know what potential customers are thinking. That means you should always conduct a product research survey before you launch a new product. Genuine user feedback is one of the building blocks of a successful business. Our customizable product research survey template will allow you to gather the information you need.
What Is a Product Research Survey?
In short, a product research survey is a tool you use to discover what your target audience thinks about your product. You conduct it for one of two reasons: 1. to test the viability of a new product or 2. to test the user experience for an existing product.
You can survey in person, but an online survey is the easiest method and reaches the widest audience. Even if you are 99% sure what the answers will be, you should always get confirmation. It’s super easy to conduct and analyze, so why skip it?
How To Make a Good Product Research Survey?
Before you create a survey you need to be clear on your target market and survey sample. For example, if your target market is millennial gamers, they will be the focus of your analysis. This is true for any group or subgroup that is your target audience.
When it comes to your sample group, two factors are important – how many and who you include. First off, the bigger the size of the sample, the better. When you survey larger groups, outliers will have less of an impact on the results. Your data will be more accurate as will your ability to determine your users’ general opinions.
Regarding the people you include in the survey, random sampling is your best bet. You want to get honest and genuine feedback. So, don’t survey your family, friends, or acquaintances. Their personal feelings towards you can impact the answers they give. People who don’t know you will give honest answers, which is what you are looking for with a product research survey.
What Questions to Include?
Your product research survey should generally include three types of questions:
Demographic Questions
Start with a few demographic questions to determine whether the participant is part of your targeted audience. The most common demographic questions are related to age, ethnicity, occupation, and income. Ask the questions that separate your target users from other groups.
Behavioral Questions
Then, ask questions to determine the behavioral patterns of your target customers and the general demand for your type of product.
You can ask the following types of survey questions in your product research:
-
How often do you use our products?
-
Do you use other similar products? If yes, how often?
With these two questions, you gather information about the viability of your type of product on the market.
Product-Related Questions
Once you determine that there is a demand for your type of product, you can start asking more specific questions about the product itself. Your goal here is to figure out what works about your product, the pain points that your users' experience, and how you compare to the competition.
So, ask your version of the following questions:
-
What do you use our product for?
-
What features of our product do you like the most?
-
How does it compare to other similar products?
-
What product features would you like to see included in the future?
These questions will help you gather information about your target group’s general opinion of your product.
You can also gather some valuable data about client satisfaction by adding these questions:
-
How would you rate our product?
-
Would you recommend our product to others?
And get some insight into the effectiveness of your marketing strategy with this simple question:
-
How did you hear about our product?
If you get positive responses to the first two questions, you know that your product is viable. Otherwise, you must make improvements. You should go back to the previous questions and see what you can do to make your product better.
A Few More Words of Advice
Customize your product research survey questions according to what interests you most. For instance, if you are not launching a new product but only adding new features, focus on that.
And don’t make the survey overly long or complex. You are asking people to participate and they won’t do it if it takes them an hour to finish the survey.
For more product feedback forms and marketing research surveys you can use and adjust, check out our template library.
