5 Market Research Mistakes

If you want usable, actionable, and insightful data, from your market research initiatives, your survey questions need to set you up for success. You often only get one shot to get it right, so make sure you don’t make these common survey mistakes.

1.       Response bias: Survey respondents and consumers think about ratings in terms of worst to best (i.e. one star to five stars), so make sure your scales reflect that. Don’t start a scale rating question with the best option first.

2.       Confusing response options: Make sure your response options are clear and reflect actual answers to the question you’re asking.

3.       Single select versus multiple select: If there’s more than one option in a survey question that may apply, use check boxes instead of radio buttons to allow the respondent to select more than once answer. If you want to force one response, make sure to reflect that in the question (i.e. Where do you most commonly shop?).

4.       Overlapping response options: Make sure your options do not overlap. If I’m a 30-year-old, how do I answer this question?

5.       Not giving respondents an “out”: If you’re asking a personal or sensitive question, make sure to include a “prefer not to answer” option.

Ask the right people the right questions at the right time and you’ll set yourself up for success every time.
Questions? Email: ayala@harkresearch.com