Businesses use a variety of tried and true methods to learn more about their clients and customers but none give better results than simple market research and the best way to conduct market research is by speaking with potential clients themselves. This can be done through survey interviewing.

It may sound like a simple task, but a lot goes into developing market research surveys. There are goals that need to be achieved in order to get accurate results to work with. When it comes to Common Survey Questions, most surveys start with the most important ones; the demographic questions. In order to get a sample of the population at large, you will need to interview various groups and that means getting an equal amount of men and women, a variety of respondents in different age groups and income brackets and a variety of unemployed, employed and self-employed individuals. We do this because different groups of people have different preferences and buying habits.

Depending on your reasons for conducting a survey and what services and products you offer, the rest of the questions will likely be to learn more about the participants’ past, present and future buying habits, what products they currently use and whether they like the ideas you are putting forward. Common survey questions, for example, could ask the respondent to rate the products they currently use and then ask them to rate your idea in terms of what they think so the answers can be matched to the product they are already using.

There are three ways to administer a market research survey; in person, over the phone or online. The method you choose to use will determine how the questions will be asked. When conducting these surveys, it’s a good idea to have a third party do the actual research to omit biases and it’s also a good idea to keep the client confidential when interviewing so no biases are introduced to the respondent.

Once the survey questions are decided on and the layout of the survey is done and everything is ready to go, it’s time to test it to ensure it runs at the time expected and that there are no errors or glitches.

Doing this research will provide valuable insight into the market and into your potential customers. With this newfound information, you will be able to design and market your product or service to suit the needs of the people most likely to use it.