How to Design Surveys that Uncover Customer Insights

Hey, innovators! Welcome back to "The Glass Shoe"—the channel where we turn the mysteries of product-market fit into clear cut paths to success. I’m Ashley, your entrepreneurial guide, and today we're uncovering the secrets of creating surveys that really talk back. Ready to ask the right questions and get truthful answers? Let’s dive in!

Real talk though, we’ve all taken surveys that feel like a slog through quicksand. But when done right, surveys are a sharp scalpel in your customer research toolkit, giving you precise cuts of data to examine. Today, we're focusing on making every question count.

Depending on the stage of your product, you’ll want to approach the survey differently. New ideas are delicate; they need nurturing. Your survey here is a discovery probe, digging into the bedrock of customer needs. Start broad, get specific gradually. Ask open-ended questions to uncover problems without bias. For instance, "Describe a recent experience you found frustrating with [specific problem area]". Let them tell their story—your job is to listen.

Launching a new product or feature? Your survey is now a spotlight. Shine it on your user's pain points and desires. Closed-ended questions help quantify interest and expectations, while Likert scales gauge excitement levels. "How likely are you to use a service that offers [specific feature]?" This gives you a pulse on potential adoption.

For established offerings, surveys transform into diagnostic tools. It's time for surgical questions that dissect usage patterns and satisfaction levels. Likert scales are your friends here, too, but pair them with behavioral questions: "After using [product/feature], what’s the next thing you typically do?" This will unravel the "after" of the customer journey.

Once you understand which stage you’re in, start with a clear objective to set up an effective survey. Say you're a coffee shop owner wanting to know why sales dip at noon. Your survey should zone in on the midday experience—ask about the atmosphere, service speed, even the playlist volume. Tailor your questions to fish out specifics, like asking respondents to rate their agreement with statements such as, "I can quickly find a seat during lunch hours."

A survey should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Begin with light, engaging questions that are easy to answer—like asking for a customer’s favorite coffee roast. This warms up your respondents for more detailed questions later on. A great survey balances closed-ended questions with open-ended questions. Multiple choice, binary options like yes or no, or scales from 1 to 5 gets you those clean stats, while free form questions offer the "why" behind the numbers. It’s the narrative that puts the stats in context.

Keep it short and sweet. A survey marathon won’t win you any fans. The industry giants like Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey agree — the best surveys respect the respondent's time and attention span. I like to set most questions as required, but sometimes will allow a couple open ended questions to be optional, so we don’t overwhelm respondents and allow them some flexibility for answers that aren’t mandatory for us to know, more like nice to have additional info.

Next up is clarity. Ensure your questions are crystal clear. Vague questions lead to vague answers, and you’re not trying to interpret abstract art here—you want data you can act on.

Experts like J.D. Power and Nielsen have spent decades perfecting the art of the survey. They tell us that to avoid bias, it’s crucial to maintain neutrality in your wording. For example, don't ask "How amazing is our new product?" Instead, go for "How satisfied are you with our new product?" See the difference?

You’ll also want to dodge double-barreled questions that tackle two topics at once—they split the focus and make things convoluted. Ask about one thing at a time to keep the data clean.

Let's look at another scenario: You have a music streaming service. You want to know why some users aren’t upgrading to premium. A closed-ended question would be: "On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with the current song selection?" Follow that with an open-ended question: "What additional features would motivate you to consider a premium subscription?" This one-two punch combo gives you actionable data peppered with personal insights.

And there you have it—a primer on survey success. But that’s just scratching the surface. Hit that "like" button if you’re eager for a deep dive into each question type, and don’t forget to "subscribe" for our upcoming videos on advanced techniques, tailoring questions, and finding respondents.

So, keep your question quivers ready, and let’s prepare to hit the bullseye with our next survey. Share your survey experiences below and join in the conversation. Until we decode more customer discovery gold, keep seeking, keep learning, and keep fitting that Shoe!