70+ market research questions that lead to better business decisions

Market research helps brands move past guesswork. It’s the process of gathering real-world data about your audience to understand what they buy, how they shop and why they make certain choices.

This information helps you make smarter business decisions based on evidence, instead of making assumptions.

Whether you’re exploring a new market, testing a product idea or trying to understand changing customer habits, market research gives you the insights to act with confidence.

Gathering good insights starts with asking the right questions, but it’s hard to know where to start. To make it easier, we’ve grouped market research survey questions by type, so you can quickly find examples that match your goals.

TL;DR

Market research helps brands move beyond guesswork by showing what consumers buy, how they shop, what they value, and why they make certain decisions. Those insights make it easier to shape products, messaging, pricing, and strategy with more confidence.

In this guide, we’ve grouped 78 market research questions into key research types, including:

• consumer profiling and demographics
• market analysis and competitor research
• product development and concept testing
• brand tracking
• pricing research

You’ll also find practical tips on how to write better market research questions, from keeping questions clear and specific to choosing the right formats and avoiding bias. The result is a stronger survey and more useful insights.

What is the business value of market research?

Market research helps organizations understand the people they serve and the markets they operate in. At its core, it is about gathering evidence directly from consumers so teams can make better decisions about products, pricing, positioning and strategy.

Without research, many business decisions rely on assumptions. That can lead to missed opportunities, ineffective marketing or expensive product decisions that don’t reflect what customers actually want.

According to Nicholas White, our Head of Strategic Research, market research plays a critical role in reducing uncertainty:

“Market research protects organizations from costly mistakes. By testing ideas, validating customer demand, and refining product, pricing and brand strategy before major investment, businesses reduce risk and avoid wasted time and budget.”

But market research is not only about avoiding risk. Strong customer insights help organizations identify unmet needs, uncover new market opportunities and improve how they communicate with their audiences.

In fast-moving markets, timely insights also help teams move from questions to action quickly, align stakeholders around evidence and adapt strategy ahead of competitors. 

In that sense, market research turns assumptions into informed decisions that help businesses grow with greater confidence.

Types of market research survey questions

Now you know what you want to learn and who you want to hear from, the next step is choosing the right survey questions.

In the sections below, we’ve grouped common questions by purpose so you can quickly find the ones that match your research goals and get started building your market research survey.

Consumer profiling and demographics

These questions help you understand who your audience is, how they behave, and what matters to them across demographic, psychographic, and behavioral dimensions.

Consumer profiling helps you understand who your audience is and how different groups of consumers think, behave and buy.

This type of research is often one of the first steps in a research program. Consumer profiling can draw on both quantitative and qualitative research to help you understand who your audience is, how they behave and what matters to them. That might include demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral insights. 

Below are some common consumer profiling and demographic survey questions you can use to start building a clearer picture of your audience.

Demographic questions

Demographic survey questions help you capture the basic traits used to segment an audience, such as age, gender, income, education, marital status and location.

• What gender do you identify as? (single select)
• What’s your main source of income? (single select)
• How much do you earn on average, on a monthly basis, before taxes? (single select)
• What’s your highest degree or education completed? (single select)
• What’s your marital status? (single select)
• What is your current employment status? (single select)

Psychographic questions

Psychographic questions help you go beyond basic demographics to understand how your audience thinks. 

They can reveal what consumers like and dislike, what they value most and what motivates their decisions. 

That makes them useful when you want to understand not just who your audience is, but why they behave the way they do. Here are a few examples of psychographic survey questions: 

➡️ To understand likes and dislikes

• Which of the following product styles do you prefer most? (single select)
• What do you like most about the brands you currently buy from in this category? (open-ended)

➡️ To understand what people value and prioritize

• Which activity do you do most often when you have free time? (multiple choice)
• Thinking about [CATEGORY], which of the following matters most when choosing a product? (single select)

➡️ To understand what motivates decisions

• Which of the following big-ticket items, if any, was the last you bought? (multiple choice)
• Which of these statements best describes what usually influences your purchase decisions? (single select)

Behavioral questions

Behavioral questions help you understand what people do, from how they shop and research products to how often they buy, use or engage with a particular brand.

• Where do you tend to go for advice on which products to buy? (single select)
• Thinking about the following, how often do you use, listen to, or watch each of these types of media? Frequency scale (matrix/rating)
• Where do you go to keep up to date with the news? (multiple choice)
• Which social media platforms do you use daily? (multiple choice)
• In a typical week, how many hours do you spend watching live or streamed TV? (multiple choice)
• What mobile phone do you currently own? (single select)

Market analysis and competitor research

These questions reveal how consumers behave within a specific category, covering purchase habits, brand awareness, spending patterns, and competitive dynamics.

Once you understand who your audience is, the next step is understanding the market they operate in.

Competitive market analysis helps you explore how consumers behave within a category. This type of research looks at things like purchase habits, brand awareness, spending patterns and how people compare different products or services.

Some of these questions might sound similar to the consumer profiling questions above because there’s often some crossover between these types of research. 

Consumer profiling gives you a broader view of your audience, while market analysis focuses on how that audience behaves in a specific market or category.

These insights can reveal what influences buying decisions, where competitors are winning and where there may be opportunities to stand out.

Below are some example survey questions you can use to explore competitor behavior, category demand and brand awareness: 

• Which of these products have you purchased in the last 3 months? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• Which of the following types of [CATEGORY] do you buy at least once a month? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• Approximately, how much would you say you spend on [CATEGORY] per month? (numeric open-ended)
• What is stopping you from buying more of [CATEGORY]? (open-ended)
• When was the last time you tried a new [CATEGORY]? (single select)
• Please rank the following on how important or unimportant they are when deciding which [CATEGORY] to buy. (ranking scale)
• Which of these brands are you aware of? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• Which of these brands have you purchased from in the last 3 months? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• How do you prefer to shop for [CATEGORY]? (single select)
• Why do you prefer to shop online? (open-ended)
• Why do you prefer to shop in-store? (open-ended)

Market research questions for product development and concept testing 

These questions help you test product ideas, validate features, understand usage patterns, and refine concepts before launch, using real consumer feedback. 

By involving consumers in the product development process, you can make sure that your products are designed to meet — and ideally exceed — their needs.

You can use this kind of research at different stages of the process. You’ll ask potential customers in your target market questions about existing products (yours or competitors’), prototypes, or just your own early-stage product ideas.

You can dive into the customer experience, specific product features or simply find out if the product quality matches the value proposition you’re putting out there.

Sometimes you even get surprising nuggets of information like customers using your product in a different way than you intended. This could open you up to new target markets and different product types in the future.

These questions could be helpful here:

• How often do you use products in the [CATEGORY]? (frequency scale)
• What problem are you trying to solve when you use a product like this? (open-ended)
• Which of the following features would be most valuable to you in a [CATEGORY] product? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• Which of the following features do you use most often in products like this? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• How satisfied are you with the products you currently use in this category? (rating scale)
• What do you like most about the product you currently use? (open-ended)
• What do you find frustrating about products in this category? (open-ended)
• How likely would you be to try a new product in this category? (likelihood scale)
• How useful would you find the following product features? (rating scale)
• Which of the following improvements would most increase the value of this product for you? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• How well does this product idea solve your needs? (rating scale)
• If this product were available today, how likely would you be to purchase it? (slider scale)

Concept testing

And when you’re cooking up your brand’s next product, you’ll want to go through a concept testing phase.

This is where you ask consumers what they think about your idea and find out whether it’s likely to be a success. Here are some of the questions you could ask in your concept testing research: 

• To what extent do you like or dislike this idea or product? [Attach image] (Likert scale)
• What do you like about this idea or product? (open-ended)
• What do you dislike about this idea or product? (open-ended)
• Based on the image and description, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about this idea or product? [Attach image] (Likert matrix)
• How likely or unlikely would you be to do any of the following? [Attach image] (Likert matrix)
• What other products does this idea or product remind you of? Please provide as much detail as possible, including the product name. (open-ended)
• What features, if any, do you feel are missing from this product? (open-ended)
• How would you improve this idea or product? Be as descriptive as possible. (open-ended)
• What issues do you solve through the use of this product? (open-ended)
• When can you see yourself using this product? Please select all that apply. (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• The price for this product is $25.00 per item. How likely or unlikely would you be to buy this product at this price? (Likert scale)

Market research questions for brand tracking

These questions measure brand awareness, perception, and loyalty over time, helping you understand how customer attitudes shift and how you compare with competitors.

It’s not enough to understand how people feel about a product. You also need to understand how they feel about your brand.

Brand tracking helps you measure things like awareness, perception and loyalty over time. It shows you whether customer attitudes are changing, how you compare with competitors and what may help your brand become the preferred choice in your category.

These insights can help you improve more than the product itself. They can strengthen the overall customer experience, shape brand positioning and highlight opportunities to turn satisfied customers into brand ambassadors.

Here are some key questions to ask in your brand tracking research.

• Which of the following, if any, have you purchased in the past 12 months? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• Thinking about [CATEGORY], what brands, if any, are you aware of? Please type in all that you can think of. (open-ended)
• Which of these brands, if any, are you aware of? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• Which of these brands, if any, have you ever purchased? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• Which of these brands, if any, would you consider purchasing in the next 6 months? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• Which of these statements do you associate with each brand? (matrix scale)
• When did you last use [INSERT YOUR BRAND]? (single select)
• What do you like most about [INSERT YOUR BRAND]? (open-ended)
• What do you like least about [INSERT YOUR BRAND]? (open-ended)
• How likely would you be to recommend [INSERT YOUR BRAND] to a friend, family member, or colleague? (NPS scale 0–10)
• Why did you give that score? Please include as much detail as possible. (open-ended)
• Have you seen or heard about [INSERT YOUR BRAND] in any of the following ways? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• When did you last use [INSERT MAIN COMPETITOR BRAND]? (single select)
• How likely would you be to recommend [INSERT MAIN COMPETITOR BRAND] to a friend, family member or colleague? (NPS scale 0–10)

Pricing survey questions for market research

These questions help you identify optimal price points, understand willingness to pay, and position pricing relative to perceived value and competitors.

Lastly, when it comes to pricing your product, there’s no need to wing it. A pricing survey can give you the insights you need to arrive at the perfect price point.

By asking customers questions about their willingness to pay for your product, you can get a realistic sense of what price point will be most attractive to them and, importantly, why.

Here are some questions you could use in your pricing research:

• Which of the following product categories have you bought in the last 12 months? (multiple choice — select all that apply)
• How often do you currently purchase [INSERT YOUR CATEGORY]? (frequency scale)
• At what price would you consider this [INSERT PRODUCT CATEGORY] to be so expensive that you would not consider buying it? (open-ended)
• At what price would you consider this [INSERT PRODUCT CATEGORY] to be starting to get expensive, so that it is not out of the question, but you have to give some thought to buying it? (open-ended)
• At what price would you consider this [INSERT PRODUCT CATEGORY] to be a bargain / a great buy for the money? (open-ended)
• At what price would you consider this [INSERT PRODUCT CATEGORY] to be priced so low that you would feel the quality could not be very good? (open-ended)
• How much do you currently pay for [INSERT PRODUCT CATEGORY]? Please type in below. (numeric open-ended)
• Thinking about this product, please rank the following aspects based on how much value they add, where 1 = adds the most value and 10 = adds the least value. (ranking scale)
• Thinking about the product category as a whole, please rank the following brands in order of value, where 1 is the most expensive and 10 is the least. (ranking scale)

When to use different types of research

Different research types answer different questions. Choose the method that matches what you need to learn:

Consumer profiling works when you need to understand who your audience is and how they segment. Use it before entering new markets, refining targeting, or identifying which customer groups to prioritize.

Market analysis works when you need to understand category dynamics and competitive positioning. Use it to benchmark your brand against competitors, identify white space opportunities, or track shifts in consumer behavior within your category.

Product development research works when you need to validate ideas, prioritize features, or refine concepts before launch. Use it early to test demand, and late to optimize specific product attributes based on user feedback.

Brand tracking helps monitor perception, awareness, and loyalty over time. Use it to measure the impact of campaigns, spot shifts in brand health, or understand why customers choose competitors.

Pricing research works when you need to set or adjust price points. Use it to understand willingness to pay, test price sensitivity, or position your pricing relative to perceived value and competitive offerings.

Most research programs combine multiple methods. Start with what decision you need to make, then choose the research type that delivers the evidence to support it.

How to write your own market research questions

Writing useful market research questions is tricky. You need to be clear enough to get useful answers, without making questions so complex or vague that respondents lose interest or interpret them differently.

Below, we’ll help you get started with a list of steps to take when formulating your own market research questions, and putting them together in a survey that makes sense.

1. Expert tip: Before you start, have a clear goal

Nick notes that market research can help you answer a lot of different questions, which is why it’s critical to start with a clear goal.

“A defined goal makes the rest of the process easier. It helps you ask better questions, survey the right people, and collect insights you can use. Without that focus, it is easy to end up with a lot of noise.” 

So, start by identifying the specific challenge or opportunity in front of you. Are you trying to understand a drop in market share, test a new idea or learn what matters most to a particular audience segment?

Once you’re clear on that, it becomes much easier to choose the right market research method. 

The sections above group questions by goal, so you can find the ones that best match what you want to learn.

2. Figure out who you’re surveying 

Once you know what you want to learn, the next step is deciding who you need to hear from.

You should not only survey your current customers. To get a fuller picture, include former customers and potential customers too.

• Current customers can help you understand what’s working, what value people see in your product, and why they chose you over other options. 
• Former customers can show you where expectations changed or where competitors may be winning. 
• Non-customers can help you understand what’s stopping people from buying in the first place.

According to Nick, this is why it helps to define your audience upfront. He notes, “Creating a clear research brief helps teams identify what they already know, where the gaps are, and who they need to hear from.”

For example, an acquisition study might start with a nationally representative sample to identify people who are aware of or interested in your brand, then narrow in from there. 

If you’re researching your existing customers, your CRM or third-party data can help you build a clearer picture of who to target in your market research surveys.

3. Keep it simple, and break things into smaller pieces

Once you know your goal and who you want to survey, it’s time to start drafting your questions. The first step is to not make your questions too complicated. Stick to straightforward questions that can be easily understood by your target audience.

The more complex your questions are, the more likely it is that respondents will get confused and provide inaccurate answers.

If you feel a question is too difficult, see if you can break it up into smaller pieces and add follow-up questions on top.

And don’t ever load two questions into one! This falls into Consumer Research 101, but it’s amazing how often it happens.

Instead of “How do you like to have fun and relax?” ask two separate questions: 

1. “How do you like to have fun?”
2. “What activities do you do to relax?”

4. Be super specific

Make sure your questions are specific enough to get the information you need. Vague questions will only lead to vague answers.

For example, instead of asking “What do you think of this product?”, ask “What did you think of the taste of this product?” or “What did you think of the packaging of this product?”.

5. Avoid leading questions

Leading questions are those that suggest a particular answer or course of action.

For example, instead of asking “Do you like our new product?”, which suggests that the respondent should like the product, try asking “What are your thoughts on this product?”

This question is neutral and allows the respondent to answer freely without feeling pressured in any particular direction.

It’s also brand-neutral: people answering this question will have less of an idea of who’s asking, and their opinion won’t be biased as a result.

6. Make sure your question is clear

It’s important that your question is clear and concise so that respondents understand exactly what they’re being asked.

If there is any ambiguity in your question, respondents may interpret it in different ways and provide inaccurate answers.

Always test your questions on a few people before sending them to a larger group to make sure they understand what they’re being asked.

7. Avoid loaded words

Loaded words are those with positive or negative connotations that could influence the way respondents answer the question.

For example, instead of asking “Do you love this product?”, which has a positive connotation, try asking “What are your thoughts on this product?”

This question is neutral and allows the respondent to answer freely without feeling pressured in any particular direction

8. Make sure the question is answerable

Before you include a question in your market research survey, make sure it’s actually answerable.

There’s no point in asking a question if there’s no way for respondents to answer it properly.

If a question isn’t answerable, either revise the question or remove it from your survey altogether.

9. Use an appropriate question type

When designing your market research survey, be sure to use an appropriate question type for each question you include.

Using the wrong question type can lead to inaccurate or unusable results, so it’s important to choose wisely.

Some common question types used in market research surveys include multiple choice, Likert scales and open-ended questions.

10. Pay attention to question order

The order of the questions in your survey can also impact the results you get from your research.

In general, it’s best to start with more general questions and then move on to more specific ones later on in the survey.

This will help ensure that respondents are properly warmed up and able to provide detailed answers by the time they reach the end of the survey.

Common market research mistakes to avoid

Even well-intentioned research can fail if you make these mistakes:

Asking leading questions. Questions like “Do you love our product?” push respondents toward a specific answer. Ask neutral questions: “What are your thoughts on this product?”

Loading two questions into one. “How do you like to have fun and relax?” is actually two questions. Split them: “How do you like to have fun?” and “What activities do you do to relax?”

Using loaded or vague language. Words with strong connotations (“love,” “hate,” “revolutionary”) bias responses. Vague terms (“sometimes,” “often”) mean different things to different people. Be specific and neutral.

Asking unanswerable questions. If respondents can’t reasonably answer a question, don’t ask it. Test your survey with a small group first to catch confusing or impossible questions.

Ignoring question order. Start with broad, easy questions. Move to specific or sensitive topics later. Poor ordering can bias responses or cause people to drop out early.

Surveying the wrong people. Asking current customers why non-customers don’t buy won’t give you useful answers. Match your audience to your research goal.

Test your survey before launch. A few trial runs can catch most of these issues before they compromise your data.

How market research is evolving in 2026

Market research is faster and more accessible than it used to be. AI-assisted survey design tools now help teams turn research briefs into draft surveys in minutes, suggesting questions, explaining rationale, and recommending initial targeting.

Analysis has also accelerated. Platforms can surface key findings, summarize results, and identify patterns without hours of manual work. That means teams move from data to decision faster.

Real-time insights are becoming the expectation. Brands no longer wait weeks for results. They launch surveys, gather responses, and act on findings within days, sometimes hours. Speed matters when markets shift quickly.

Automation handles repetitive tasks like audience targeting, survey logic, and data cleaning. That frees researchers to focus on strategy: what to ask, who to ask, and what to do with the answers.

The fundamentals haven’t changed. Good research still starts with a clear goal, the right audience, and well-designed questions. But the tools that support that process are now faster, smarter, and more efficient than ever.

Ready to gather better insights?

Good market research starts with clear goals, the right audience, and questions that match what you want to learn. But just as important is having a platform that makes the process easier from start to finish.

Attest is built to help teams move from brief to insight faster. With Compass, Attest’s AI Copilot, you can turn a research brief or a list of questions into a draft survey in minutes. 

It can suggest questions, explain the rationale behind them, recommend initial targeting and help refine your survey based on follow-up prompts.

Attest also helps speed up analysis. Teams can use Compass to surface the story in the data, summarize key findings quickly and get to useful insights without spending hours pulling results apart manually.

On top of that, Attest gives you access to a customer research team that can help refine your survey, challenge your brief and flag issues before launch. Combined with flexible question types, including MaxDiff, that makes it easier to run research that’s both fast and robust.If you’re ready to compare platforms, take a look at our guide to the best market research tools to find the right fit for your research needs.

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