Short answer
- Pick the decision first, then choose 5–10 questions that inform it.
- Ask about past behavior ("How did you find us?"), not predictions ("Would you buy…?").
- Use open questions in interviews to discover reasons, and closed questions in surveys to count how common they are.
- Keep surveys under 5 minutes; most people abandon long ones.
Five rules for good research questions
- One question, one idea. "Was our service fast and friendly?" mixes two things; ask them separately.
- Past, not future. What people did is far more reliable than what they say they'd do.
- Neutral wording. "How was your experience?" not "How great was your experience?"
- Specific time frames. "In the last 12 months" gets better answers than "usually".
- Always leave room for "other". Your answer options reflect your assumptions; customers will surprise you.
Questions about how customers found and chose you
These are the most useful questions for marketing, because they show which channels and messages actually work.
- How did you first hear about us?
- What were you searching for, or what did you type, when you found us?
- What made you decide to contact us rather than someone else?
- Did you look at other businesses before choosing? Which ones?
- What, if anything, almost stopped you from contacting us?
- Did you read reviews before contacting us? Where?
- Which part of our website or Google profile was most useful?
- How long was it between first finding us and booking?
Gold for your marketing: the exact words customers use in "what were you searching for" and "what made you choose us" often make better headlines and ad copy than anything you'd write yourself.
Questions about needs and problems
- What problem were you trying to solve when you contacted us?
- What had you already tried before?
- What would have happened if you hadn't solved it?
- What's the most frustrating part of dealing with this kind of service?
- Is there anything you wish we offered that we don't?
- When during the year do you usually need this service?
Questions about price and value
Price questions are the easiest to get wrong. People rarely say "I'd pay more". Ask about value and comparison instead.
- How did our price compare with what you expected?
- What did you compare our price against?
- Which part of the service felt most worth paying for?
- Was anything about the price or quote unclear?
- If we offered a maintenance plan or package, what would it need to include to be useful to you?
Questions about competitors and alternatives
- Have you used another business for this before? What was that like?
- What do other businesses in this area do better than us?
- If we weren't available, what would you have done instead?
- What do you think most businesses like ours get wrong?
Questions for lost quotes
People who didn't buy are often the most valuable to ask, and the least asked. Keep it short and polite; many will answer if you make it easy.
- We noticed you didn't go ahead. Would you mind sharing the main reason?
- Did you choose another business, postpone, or decide not to do it?
- Was there anything we could have explained better?
- Was timing, price or something else the deciding factor?
A 5-question survey template
Here's a short survey you can send by email or text after a job. It takes about two minutes to answer:
| # | Question | Answer type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | How did you first hear about us? | Choices: Google search, Google Maps, Facebook/Instagram, a friend or neighbor, saw our van or sign, other (text) |
| 2 | What was the main reason you chose us? | Choices: reviews, price, speed, recommendation, website info, other (text) |
| 3 | How likely are you to recommend us to a friend? (0–10) | Scale |
| 4 | What's one thing we could do better? | Short text |
| 5 | Can we contact you about future offers? | Yes / No (only message people who say yes) |
Keep the review request separate from the survey. Asking for an honest public review is fine; filtering who gets asked based on their survey score is a practice Google's review policies warn against, so ask everyone or no one.
Questions to avoid
| Weak question | Problem | Better version |
|---|---|---|
| Would you buy our new service? | Hypothetical; people say yes to be polite | When did you last pay for something like this? |
| How much did you love our team? | Leading | How would you describe your experience with our team? |
| Was the price and timing OK? | Two questions in one | Ask about price and timing separately |
| Do you use social media? | Too vague to act on | Which apps did you use to look for local businesses in the last month? |
| What do you think of our brand? | Abstract | What three words would you use to describe us to a friend? |
Once you have answers, turn them into decisions with the steps in Marketing research process, and use what you learn about customers in Target audience. If you'd like help reading the results, book a free call.