How to Create a Survey on Consumer Behavior

Did you know that 75% of consumers expect a consistent experience across every channel they choose to engage in?

This highlights how crucial it is to understand your audience’s preferences and habits.

Making a good consumer behavior survey is one of the best ways to learn about preferences and habits.

In this guide, we will show you how to create a survey for analyzing consumer behavior. This survey can help improve business decisions.

If you’re new to surveys checkout this guide on how to create a form or a survey.

Understanding Consumer Behavior

Before diving into your survey, it’s essential to understand what consumer behavior really means. Consumer behavior refers to how people make decisions about what to buy, use, and how they interact with brands. It includes factors like emotions, social influences, and past experiences.

Studying consumer behavior is crucial because it helps you:

• Predict buying patterns

• Improve your marketing strategies

• Tailor your products or services to meet customer needs

By understanding consumer behavior, you can create a survey that digs deep into what matters to your audience. If you're looking for some great consumer behaviour survey questions, you can explore the Best Survey Questions for inspiration.

Set Clear Objectives for Your Survey

Your survey needs a clear goal. Are you trying to understand how customers make purchasing decisions?

Or perhaps you want to know more about their preferences and needs? Whatever your goal, defining it is the first step.

Tips to set clear survey objectives:

• Focus on one or two key areas, such as buying habits or product preferences.

• Avoid asking too many broad questions. Narrow your focus to get specific insights.

Remember, a focused survey will yield more actionable results!

Design Your Survey Questions

Now comes the fun part, crafting the questions! There are different types of survey questions you can use to gather insights into consumer behaviour:

• Multiple-choice questions: Great for understanding preferences.

• Rating scales: Helps you measure how much people like or dislike something.

• Open-ended questions: Perfect for gathering detailed opinions.

Examples of consumer behaviour survey questions:

• “What influences your purchasing decisions?”

• “How often do you buy products online?”

• “Why do you prefer certain brands over others?”

Tips for clear, unbiased questions:

• Keep questions short and to the point.

• Avoid leading questions (e.g., “Don’t you love our product?”).

• Use neutral language to avoid influencing responses.

If you're unsure about how to structure your questions for maximum effect, check out the Customer Experience Survey: Definition to Design + 90 Sample Survey Questions.

10 + Consumer Behavior Survey Questions

Below are 10+ essential questions to add to your consumer behavior survey:

• What motivates you to purchase a product or service?

• How often do you shop for [specific product/service]?

• What is your preferred way to discover new products?

• What factors influence your decision to buy online or in-store?

• How important are discounts or promotions when deciding to buy?

• What payment method do you prefer when shopping?

• Have you ever stopped using a product or service? Why?

• How likely are you to recommend [specific brand/product] to others?

• What improvements would you like to see in [specific product/service]?

• What types of products or services would you like us to offer in the future?

• How do you prefer to provide feedback in the future?

Free Consumer Behavior Survey Template

To make things easier, we’ve prepared a free consumer behavior survey template that you can use right away.

This ready-made template has questions that help you learn about your audience. It shows their preferences, buying habits, and what influences their decisions.

Choose the Right Survey Tool

Selecting the right survey tool is just as important as crafting the perfect questions. Popular survey maker like Formester, SurveyMonkey, and Google Forms offer various features that can make your survey process easier.

• Formester: Known for customization options, ease of use, and powerful analytics.

• SurveyMonkey: Offers templates and a variety of question formats.

• Google Forms: Simple and free, but lacks advanced analytics.

Each tool has its strengths. Choose one based on your specific needs and budget. If you’re looking for great options for customer feedback, be sure to check out the 5 Best Tools for Customer Feedback Survey.

Structure the Survey

A well-structured survey keeps respondents engaged and makes it easier for you to analyze the results.

Start with broad, general questions and gradually move to more specific ones. This way, people won’t feel overwhelmed from the start.

Best practices for structuring your survey:

• Keep your survey length between 5 to 10 minutes.

• Group similar questions together.

• Use clear headings for different sections.

Make it Accurate

You don’t want your results to be skewed or unreliable. To ensure accuracy:

• Pre-test your survey on a small group to spot any confusing questions.

• Avoid questions that suggest a particular answer.

• Offer a balanced range of responses (e.g., “Strongly Agree,” “Agree,” “Neutral,” etc.).

Testing your survey beforehand is a great way to ensure you get valid and reliable results.

Distribute Your Survey

Once your survey is ready, it’s time to send it out. The key is to reach your target audience—those who fit your consumer profile. You can distribute your survey through:

• Email (targeting your existing customers)

• Social media (to reach a broader audience)

• Your website (embedding the survey for easy access)

The goal is to get as many relevant responses as possible. Remember to make it easy for your audience to respond!

Analyze Survey Results

After collecting the data, it’s time to analyze it. Look for patterns and trends in the responses to understand your customers better. Tools like Formester provide strong survey analysis features. They help you find important insights from your survey data quickly.

Some analysis tips:

• Focus on the most common responses.

• Look for differences between different demographic groups.

• Use charts or graphs to visualize data for easier interpretation.

Actionable Insights and Next Steps

Now that you have your results, it’s time to take action! Here’s how you can turn survey data into actionable insights:

• Use insights for product development: Are there features customers want that you don’t offer yet?

• Tailor your marketing campaigns: What messaging resonates most with your audience?

• Improve customer service: Are there areas where customers feel dissatisfied?

By interpreting your results effectively, you can make informed decisions that benefit your business.

Conclusion

Creating a survey on consumer behaviour is a powerful way to understand your audience better. Follow the steps outlined above to design a survey that delivers valuable insights.

By asking the right questions and using the best tools, you can find new ways to improve your business strategies.

Start creating your consumer behaviour survey today and gain the insights you need to make smarter business decisions!