A market survey asks people outside your business about their needs, habits and choices, so you can decide on a product, price or message. It works only when the first question screens for people who make or influence that choice, and every later question is neutral and tied to the decision. Read the results with the sample source and the number of responses next to every figure, because a tidy percentage from the wrong people says little about your market.
Market survey: 480 average monthly searches.Google Ads Keyword Planner · 2026-10-09 · United States
Within a five-term comparison, interest in market research survey peaks in the week of June 7, 2026 and is lowest in the week of August 16, 2026.Google Trends · 2026-10-09 · United States
This is the screener. It shows whether the rest of the answers describe a buyer, a user or someone outside the market you are studying.
Frequency separates people with a live need from people answering from memory or from general opinion.
The list should come from people you have already spoken with. A list drawn only from your product features turns the question into a pitch.
A forward-looking measure of interest in the market. Read it with the reasons people give, not on its own.
Captures the criteria people use. Their wording often differs from the wording inside your company, and that difference is useful.
Asked last, after the topic questions, so it cannot shape the earlier answers. Ask it only if you will compare results by size.
| Field | Type | Required | Why you ask it |
|---|---|---|---|
Screening | Section header | Marks the questions that decide whether the rest of the answers count. | |
Your part in the decisionI make the decisionI influence the decisionI use it, but I do not choose itI do not work with this kind of product | Single choice | Required | Separates people who make or influence the choice from everyone else. The form does not skip the remaining questions for anyone, so you will exclude the other answers when you read the results. |
How often do you handle this task?DailyWeeklyMonthlyA few times a yearNever | Single choice | Required | Shows whether the respondent has a live need or is describing a need they rarely face. |
Your needs | Section header | Starts the topic section after the screener, so people know the earlier questions were about their role. | |
Which problems take the most time? Choose up to three.Keeping records up to dateFinding information when it is neededCoordinating work across peopleReporting results to othersSomething else | Multiple choice | Optional | Ranks the problems you tested in interviews. If the list contains problems no one has raised, the answers reflect your assumptions. |
How likely are you to look for a new option in the next 12 months? | Rating | Optional | A forward-looking measure of interest. Read the full spread of answers, not only the average. |
What would make you choose one option over another? | Long text | Optional | Captures decision criteria in the respondent's own words. Keep it optional, since a short answer still helps. |
About your organization | Section header | Groups the demographic questions at the end, after the topic answers are complete. | |
Organization size1-10 people11-50 people51-200 people201 or morePrefer not to say | Dropdown | Optional | Lets you compare answers across company sizes. Leave it out if you will not analyze by size. |
IndustryRetailProfessional servicesHealthcareConstructionEducationOther | Dropdown | Optional | Shows whether the need differs between sectors. Keep the list to sectors you actually plan to compare. |
Email for a summary of results (optional)Leave this blank if you do not want a summary. | Optional | Collects an address only from people who want a summary. Keep it apart from the answers in your analysis unless you have a stated reason to link them. |
Estimate based on question types; actual completion time varies.
Report how many people passed the screener and how many were set aside. Put that base beside every result, because a percentage without its base cannot be compared with anything.
Write where respondents came from: your mailing list, a social channel, a panel service or a referral. A survey of current customers describes current customers, even when the question is about the wider market.
An average of 3.4 can come from many people answering 3, or from a split between very high and very low answers. Show the share at each point on the scale before you draw a conclusion.
Group the written answers by theme, quote a few in the respondent's own words, and state how many people raised each theme. Do not present a theme mentioned by two people as a trend.
A question such as Would you use our new scheduling tool? measures reaction to one product, not the need behind it. Ask about the task first, and describe options neutrally, if at all, after the need is clear.
Write the decision and the two or three outcomes that would lead to different choices before you draft any question. A survey without that list collects opinions that nobody can act on.
Search volume counts people looking for help with research, not the size of your market or how much anyone wants your product. Use it to find wording that people recognize, and keep it out of your sizing.
Saying you might look for an option in the next year is a signal to test further, not a promise to buy. Confirm interest with a follow-up question about current behavior or a real next step.
A customer survey asks people who already buy from you about their experience. Market research asks a screened group about needs, choices and alternatives, including people who do not buy from you yet. The screener and the sample source matter more for market research, because the answers are only as wide as the people you reached.
A template is a starting list of questions. Before you copy one, write the decision the survey must inform, the screener and the sample source. The field list above can be copied into a document or a form tool, then adapted to your market.
Strong examples start with a screener, move to current behavior, ask about the criteria people use, and finish with demographic questions. Adapt the wording to the task your product or service supports, and cut any question you would not analyze.
No. This guide covers a survey your business designs and runs. Panels that pay respondents are a separate service with their own screening and consent arrangements, so record the panel source in your results whenever you use one.
Choose a category and a form type in the wizard. Answer three Atty Suggestions questions, then give the form a title. Atty builds the fields in the background. Edit the fields and ask Atty to refine them, then publish and share the /f/ link.
