Surveys are a great form of market research before you start a business, write a book, or if you want to find out if your money-making idea is profitable.

I would say no more than ten questions should be in your survey. Any more than that and it might be too much for the person filling it in.

Since we have a limited amount of questions to ask, it’s essential to know exactly what to ask to get the most conclusive results.

Feel free to follow my steps below to get your business or product off to a great start!

 Why do I need a survey?

I recently wrote an article about how to write an e-book that sells and you can find that article here!

Before selling anything, surveys are an essential tool we can use to get to know our audience. Or in fact, if we have one.

They answer the critical questions for us so that when it comes to selling and making ads, we already know where our target market is in the world, how to best sell to them and where they are online.

Never fling a product out into the world without being 100% sure that it’s needed and who needs it.

What questions should I ask in my survey?

As I mentioned previously, we have a limited amount of questions we can ask, so it’s vital that we know which ones to ask and why.

Ask what age range your potential customer is

Asking what age rage a customer is lets us see if there is more substantial amount of people at a certain age who need your product.

After everyone is finished filling in your survey, the first thing you would do is collect all your evidence together.

You’ll notice that there are more people at a specific age range that are interested in your product.

This will help you target the right people and not waste your time trying to sell to people who don’t need your product.

Knowing what age your potential clients are also helps you to discover where to find them. For example, people of different ages are likely to hang out in different places across the web.

You also don’t need to worry about having a “prefer not to say” section as it is usually optional whether they do or do not fill in your questions.

Why don’t I need to ask my customer what gender they are? 

This is simply so that you have extra space for more questions. You’ll likely be able to tell what gender they are through their email and social media accounts anyway.

Ask your potential customer what challenges they are experiencing

Say I want to create a nappy rash cream for babies. I have asked a group of Mothers to fill in my survey. For this question, I will ask them what they dislike about current nappy rash creams.

Once I know what customers are disliking about nappy rash crams, then I will know what not to use within my product and use this as a selling point.

Ask what they enjoy about a product

Simple question, I know but I wouldn’t leave this one out!

If I’m trying to sell my nappy rash cream then this question will give me clues as to what Mothers are liking about creams that are already on the market.

Once I know what customers are not enjoying about a product and what they are, I will now know how to make a product that is different from the rest.

Once you overcome a customers challenge’s and repeat the good stuff, you have a product.

Ask what would be their dream product in your niche and why

To really sell, you’ll want to captivate customers’ imaginations. If I’m selling a car to someone who has money, do you think they are going to go for the safe plain option or something sleek, shiny and with all the bells and whistles?

Adding more to a product (without going crazy) increases its likelihood to sell.

Ask what blogs and books they love in your niche and why

Say you want to make a blog and write a book about running a business. You’ll want to find out why people are not enjoying existing products so that you don’t make the same mistake.

You’ll also find out what styles, fonts and writing styles are selling more here and this is something to use in your product.

Ask for their email

Some people will leave this part out, but that’s okay. Collecting emails is excellent to build up your contact list.

Ask how often they buy a particular product

This can work with books and blogs too. Asking how often your potential customer purchases or reads articles and stories in your niche can give you an idea of what is selling so that you can sell.

Ask where they hang out online/ multiple choice question

Okay so you have a product, now you need to figure out where to sell it online. It would be a waste of time if you push the sale of your product on one social media platform if they don’t use it much.

By figuring out where people are spending their time is great too. The more you know about your customers the better.

 Ask where they buy products

Finding out where your potential customers are buying products in your niche gives you an idea of where to sell so that you will sell more.

Last question, always thank people for filling in your survey!

Since they have taken the time and all to fill in your survey, it’s the least you can do!

Now that I have given you 10 example questions to use, I wonder if you can do something for me?

Either like or comment below (or both if you want to be on my favourites list!)

Blogging is a lot of hard work and we essentially give away value for free so showing your appreciation makes it worth it! Or perhaps we share a love for dogs, was it obvious?

In case you missed it, here is the link to my article

The secret to writing an e-book that sells