100 great survey questions to uncover powerful consumer insights

Writing great survey questions is probably the most important step when running a consumer insights project. We’ve listed 100 of our favourite, tried-and-tested survey questions and categorised them for you.

You’ve spent considerable hours deciding on a scope, goal and process for gathering insights but this will all be for nothing if respondents aren’t asked the right questions to reveal actionable intelligence.

Long, rambling, confusing, jargon-filled or biased questions will bore respondents, and your data will suffer as a result. 

Each and every question you write should either give you actionable data or qualify respondents so they can go on to give you usable information. A question that serves neither of these purposes increases costs and decreases quality — in other words, it’s a really bad idea!

7 types of survey question examples 

Before writing your survey, it’s important to understand the different types of questions you can use. Each one serves a different purpose. Some help you collect rich qualitative feedback, others make it easy to quantify results.

Here are the most common survey question types, plus examples and when to use them.

1. Open-ended questions

Open-ended questions allow respondents to answer in their own words, typically in a text box.

ℹ️ Example: What do you like most about our product?

Use open-ended questions when you want to collect detailed insights, uncover new ideas or hear how users describe something in their own terms. They’re great for qualitative feedback. But because they require more effort to answer, too many in one survey can lead to lower completion rates.

2. Closed-ended questions

These present a fixed set of answers for respondents to choose from.

ℹ️ Example: Do you use our product daily?

☐ Yes

☐ No

Closed-ended questions are quick to answer, easy to analyse and ideal for collecting quantitative data. This makes them perfect for most large-scale surveys.

3. Single-choice questions

Single-choice questions ask users to select one option from a list.

ℹ️ Example: 

What’s your primary reason for using our platform?

☐ To save time

☐ To reduce costs

☐ To improve team collaboration

☐ To access better data insights

These are useful when you want to understand user motivations, rank priorities or simplify decision-making for respondents.

4. Rating scale questions

These ask respondents to rate something on a numerical scale, usually from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. 

ℹ️ Example:

How satisfied are you with our customer service?

1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfied

Rating scale questions are best for measuring satisfaction, sentiment or performance. They’re often used to calculate a customer satisfaction score like CSAT or Net Promoter Score (NPS).

5. Likert scale questions

These measure agreement or disagreement across a standardised scale.

ℹ️ Example:

I find the product easy to use.

☐ Strongly agree

☐ Agree

☐ Neutral

☐ Disagree

☐ Strongly disagree

Likert questions are ideal for gauging opinions, attitudes or beliefs about a specific topic, especially when you want to capture nuance.

6. Multiple-answer questions

These allow respondents to select more than one option from a list.

ℹ️ Example:

Which of the following channels do you use to learn about new products?

☐ Social media

☐ Email newsletters

☐ Online reviews

☐ Word of mouth

☐ Webinars

Multiple-answer questions are helpful when the options aren’t mutually exclusive — like when you’re exploring behaviours, habits or touchpoints in a customer journey.

Examples of great survey questions

To help you get it right the first time, We’ve pulled together 100 of our most effective, field-tested questionnaire and survey questions — all neatly categorised to help you build a better survey, faster. 

Questions for understanding your current customers

Questions to learn about your current customers and how they engage with your brand.

• Closed-ended: Have you ever purchased a product in this category? (Yes/no)
• Closed-ended: Have you ever purchased a product from [your brand]? (Yes/no) 
• Single choice: How often do you purchase from [your brand]? (Weekly, monthly, occasionally, rarely) 
• Multiple answer: Where have you purchased from [your brand] before? (Select all that apply: online, brand store, concession, marketplace, other) 
• Open-ended or multiple answer: Which other brands do you regularly buy [product category] from? 
• Open-ended: What are your main reasons for choosing [your brand] over others? 
• Closed-ended: On a scale of 1–10, how loyal do you feel to [your brand]? 
• Closed-ended: Do you feel rewarded for your loyalty to [your brand]? (Yes/no) 
• Multiple answer: Which services related to [product category] do you use or subscribe to? Select all that apply (e.g. delivery, subscriptions) 

Questions for attracting new customers

Questions to understand potential customers and what’s stopping them from buying.

• Single choice: How often do you shop for [product category]? (Daily/weekly/monthly/yearly) 
• Open-ended or dropdown: Where do you most frequently shop for [product category]? 
• Open-ended: Which retailer do you wish stocked [product category]?
• Multiple answer: Where would you go to find out about [your category/products]?
• Open-ended or numeric input: Approximately how much do you spend on [product category] each [month/quarter/year]? 
• Closed-ended: Do you recognise this logo? (Yes/no + logo image) 
• Multiple answer: Which of the following brand logos do you recognise? (Image choices) 
• Open-ended: What factors have discouraged you from buying from [your brand]? 
• Open-ended: What could [your brand] do to encourage you to purchase? 
• Open-ended: What concerns do you have about [your brand]? 
• Open-ended: What excites you most about [your brand]?

Questions for discovering when and how your product is used

Market research questions to explore usage habits, context and unmet needs.

• Open-ended: What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in achieving [goal] today? 
• Open-ended: What problem does [product category] help you solve? 
• Open-ended or multiple choice: What’s the most important factor when buying [product category]?  or multiple choice 
• Multiple answer: Which [product category] products do you currently use?  
• Open-ended: In what ways does [your brand] improve your daily life?
• Open-ended: If [your brand] no longer existed, what would you use instead?  
• Open-ended: How could [your brand] better meet your needs? 
• Open-ended: What were you using before [your brand]?

💡 Pro tip: Looking to understand why people really use your product? Try our jobs to be done survey template. Just add a few details and get a fully pre-designed, optimised survey — ready to send to consumers right away.

Questions for gathering product and brand feedback

Questions to understand what people think about your product.

• Open-ended: What do you like most about [your brand]? 
• Open-ended: What do you like least about [your brand]?
• Open-ended: What’s the one thing [your brand] should never stop doing? 
• Open-ended: How has [your brand] exceeded your expectations in the past [time frame]?
• Open-ended: How has [your brand] failed to meet your expectations in the past [time frame]? 
• Open-ended: What’s your biggest frustration, if any, with [your brand]?  
• Open-ended: What do you like about this product?
• Open-ended: What do you dislike about this product?
• Closed-ended: Would you want to work for [your brand]? (Yes/no) 
• Open-ended or multiple choice: What values do you associate with [your brand]? 
• Closed-ended: Do you believe [your brand] makes a positive impact in the world? (Yes/no) 
• Closed-ended: Would people notice if [your brand] was no longer available? (Yes/no) 
• Closed-ended: Are you proud to use [your brand]? (Yes/no) 
• Single choice: How would you describe media coverage of [your brand] in the last year? (Positive/negative/neutral) 
• Scale (0–10): How likely are you to recommend [your brand] to a friend or colleague?

Questions for analysing competitors

Questions to see how you compare to other brands in the market.

• Open-ended: When thinking of brands that offer [product category], which ones come to mind? 
• Open-ended: Which brand comes to mind first for [product category]? 
• Multiple answer: Which companies have you purchased [product category] from in the past [time frame]? 
• Open-ended: What’s one word you’d use to describe [competitor brand]? 
• Open-ended: What’s your main reason for choosing [your brand] over [competitor brand]? 
• Open-ended: What other features/services would you like [your brand] to offer? 
• Open-ended: What do other providers do better than [your brand]? 
• Multiple answer: Which of the following brands do you recognise? 
• Multiple answer or rating: Which of the following brands make you happiest? 
• Single choice: Is [your brand] more of a leader or a follower in this space? (Leader/follower/not sure)

💡 Pro tip: Want a sharper edge on the competition? Use our Competitor Intelligence or Market Analysis templates. They include key questions to help you uncover how your brand stacks up.

Questions for testing price sensitivity

Questions to explore How much people are willing to pay for your product or service.

• Open-ended or numeric scale: At what price would [product category] feel too expensive to consider? 
• Open-ended or numeric scale: At what price would [product category] feel too cheap to be good quality? 
• Open-ended or numeric scale: At what price would [product category] feel like a considered but acceptable expense? 
• Open-ended or numeric scale: At what price would [product category] feel like a bargain? 
• Open-ended or numeric scale: Which products do you feel do the same job as [your brand], just as well? 
• Open-ended or single choice: Who do you think offers the best value for money in [product category]? 
• Open-ended: What doubts or concerns did you have before purchasing [your brand]? 

Questions for evaluating marketing and creative

Questions to test the creative impact, emotional response and relevance of your ads.

• Closed-ended: Which statement best describes your initial reaction to the creative you just saw? (I love it; I like it; I neither like or dislike it; I dislike it; I hate it)
• Open-ended: Please explain why you had this reaction.
• Closed-ended: Do you feel like this ad was aimed at you? (Yes/no) 
• Closed-ended: Do the characters in this ad reflect real people well? (Yes/no) 
• Open-ended: How could this ad better represent people like you? 
• Open-ended: Which brand/product do you think this creative was for?
• Open-ended: What would you ask [your brand] after seeing this ad? 
• Open-ended: If you could change one thing about the ad, what would it be? 
• Open-ended or emotion scale: What emotion did this ad make you feel? 
• Closed-ended: Did this ad grab your attention? (Yes/no) 
• Image-based multiple choice: Which of these images do you enjoy most? 
• Open-ended or multiple choice: Which of the following messages do you think the ad was trying to send? 
• Single choice: How has this ad changed how you feel about [brand]? (More positive/more negative/no change) 
• Open-ended: What action do you think this ad wants you to take? 
• Rating scale: On a scale of 0–10, how likely are you to take that action? 
• Closed-ended or single choice: Which of the following best describes what you’re most likely to do after seeing this ad? (e.g. Search for more information about the product; Tell friends and family about the product; Purchase the product…)

Questions for measuring brand perception

Questions to assess how your customers perceive your brand.

• Multiple answer: Which of the following brands are you aware of? 
• Ranking scale: Please rank the following factors by importance when choosing a brand. 
• Ranking scale: Rank these brands by how likely you are to consider them. 
• Open-ended: Thinking about [your brand], name all the products/services it sells. 
• Open-ended: What three words would you use to describe [your brand]?
• Open-ended: What do you think is [your brand]’s core message? 
• Multiple choice: Which of the following statements do you associate with [your brand]? 
• Open-ended: If you could sum up [your brand] in one word, what would it be? 
• Multiple choice: Do you generally feel positive or negative about [your brand]? (Positive/neutral/negative)
• Net Promoter Score (0–10): How likely are you to recommend [your brand] to a friend or colleague?

💡 Pro tip: Want deeper insights into your brand strategy? Try Attest’s Brand Tracker — a powerful way to measure awareness, associations and perception over time. It’s connected to over 150+ million consumers across 59 countries, and with the ready-made survey template, you can start tracking performance in just three steps.

Questions for identifying referral potential

Questions to measure whether people would recommend you.  

• Open-ended: How would you describe [your brand] to a friend? 
• Open-ended: What type of person would you recommend [your brand] to? 
• Rating scale: How likely are you to recommend [your brand] to a friend or colleague? (Net Promoter Score: 0–10) 
• Open-ended: What are the main reasons for the score you gave? 
• Closed-ended: Do you think [your brand] fits your needs well? (Yes/no or scale)

Questions for finding the best advertising channels

Questions to find out where your audience spends time and how they want to hear from you.

• Single choice: How often do you [e.g. listen to podcasts, use smart speakers, commute via train]? 
• Open-ended: What ads do you recall seeing or hearing during that activity? 
• Open-ended or dropdown: Where would you prefer to hear from brands in [product category]? 
• Open-ended or sentiment scale: How do you feel about ads that are personalised (name, location, weather, etc.)? 
• Open-ended: How would you search for a brand like [your brand] on Google? 
• Open-ended or single choice: Where did you first hear about [your brand]? 
• Open-ended: Where would you go to find new [product category] products or services?
• Open-ended: What’s the best ad you’ve seen recently? 
• Open-ended: Where did you see or hear that ad?

Questions for collecting demographic insights

Demographic questions help you to get to know your audience’s background.

• Single choice: What is your age group? (Under 18, 18–24, 25–34, etc.)
• Single choice: What is your gender identity? (Man, woman, non-binary, prefer not to say, other) 
• Single choice: What is your current employment status? (Employed, self-employed, student, unemployed, retired)
• Single choice: What is your household income range? (Ranges in local currency)
• Single choice: What is your highest level of education completed?
• Open-ended or dropdown: Where do you currently live? (City, country)
• Single choice: What languages do you speak? 
• Single choice: What device do you most often use to browse [your brand]? (Mobile, desktop, tablet)

💡Pro-tip: If you’re looking for research that delves deeper into your target customers, take a look at our 13 demographic survey questions for some pointers.

Questions for measuring customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction survey questions to help you identify areas for improvement.

• Rating scale: How satisfied are you with your overall experience with [your brand]? (1–5)
• Rating scale: How satisfied are you with the most recent purchase or interaction? (1–5)
• Closed-ended: Did [your brand] meet your expectations? (Yes/no)
• Open-ended: What’s one thing we could improve to serve you better? 
• Rating scale: How likely are you to continue using [your brand] in the next 6 months? 
• Rating scale: How easy was it to complete your task or purchase? (Customer effort score)
• Closed-ended: Were you able to find what you were looking for? (Yes/no) 
• Rating scale: How quickly did [brand] resolve your issue? (Very quickly to not at all)
• Closed-ended: Would you return to [your brand] in the future? (Yes/no) 
• Open-ended: What stopped you from rating [your brand] higher?

Tips for writing surveys

Before you hit send on your next survey, take a moment to review these best practices. Writing good survey questions isn’t just about what you ask, it’s about how you ask it. 

These tips will help you avoid common pitfalls, keep respondents engaged and collect clearer, more useful data.

✔️Use clear and simple language 

Avoid jargon and overly complex wording. Your online survey questions should be easily understood by a wide range of respondents.

ℹ️ Example: Instead of “To what extent do you find our customer service satisfactory?”, use “How satisfied are you with our customer service?”

✔️Be specific and direct

Vague terms can confuse respondents. Define what you mean by words like “frequently,” “regularly,” or “recently.”

ℹ️ Example: Instead of “Do you shop often?”, try “How many times have you shopped with us in the past month?”

✔️Avoid double-barreled questions

Each question should ask one thing only. Combining topics makes it unclear what the respondent is answering.

ℹ️ Example: Instead of “How satisfied are you with your job and work environment?”, split it into two separate questions.

✔️Make response options mutually exclusive and exhaustive

Ensure there is no overlap between options and that all possible answers are included. Add an “Other” option if needed. 

ℹ️ Example: For age ranges: 18–24, 25–34, 35–44… (avoid overlap like 24–35, 35–45).

✔️Avoid leading questions 

Phrase questions neutrally so you don’t influence the respondent.

ℹ️ Example: Instead of “Don’t you think our app is easy to use?”, ask “How easy or difficult is it to use our app?”

✔️Be mindful of question order

The order of your questions can influence answers. Start with general, easy questions to ease respondents in, and save sensitive or complex questions for later.

✔️Pretest your survey

Run your survey with small focus groups first – even share it with your team internally. This will help uncover any confusing questions or logic issues before a full launch. 

✔️Choose the right question type

Open-ended questions prompt respondents for deeper insights, but closed-ended questions are easier to analyse. Use a mix to balance quality and scalability.

✔️Avoid absolutes and assumptions

Avoid using terms like “always” or “never.” Also, don’t assume that someone has used a product or service.

ℹ️ Example: Instead of “What do you like most about our premium plan?”, ask “Have you used our premium plan?” followed by a conditional question.

✔️Design for mobile

Most people complete surveys on mobile devices. Keep layouts clean, avoid long lists and use simple navigation.

✔️Add a comment box after rating questions

Additional comments help gather context about a survey respondent’s answer.

ℹ️ Example: After a CSAT question, add: “What’s the main reason for your score?”

✔️Use logic to skip irrelevant questions

Use branching logic to skip over questions that don’t apply based on previous answers. This keeps surveys short and relevant so respondents can complete them in a timely manner.

✔️Be transparent with respondents

Tell users how long the survey will take, why you’re asking and how their responses will be used. This builds trust and encourages honest participation.

💡Pro tip: For more advice on writing great survey questions and a guide to the rest of the survey creation process, check out our guide to survey creation.

Ready to get better answers?

The right questions unlock the insights that drive better decisions — whether you’re launching a new product, testing creative or tracking brand health. By choosing the right question types and following survey best practices, you’ll collect more accurate, actionable data every time.

And remember: a well-crafted survey isn’t just a tool for gathering data — it’s your direct line to what consumers truly think, feel and do.

FAQs

What are the top 5 survey questions to ask?

It depends on your goal, but here are five solid all-rounders:

1. On a scale of 1–5, how satisfied are you with [your brand]?
2. What’s the main reason for your score?
3. How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?
4. What’s one thing we could do better?
5. What problem does our product help you solve?

What makes a good survey question?

A good survey question is clear, specific and unbiased. It should focus on one idea at a time and offer answer options that are easy for your target audience to understand and complete.

How do you write good survey questions?

Start by defining what you want to learn. Then:

• Use simple, conversational language
• Avoid assumptions or leading language
• Keep questions focused and answerable
• Test your survey with a few people first

What question types should I use?

Use a mix of question types and choose these based on what kind of data you need:

• Closed-ended for easy analysis (e.g. yes/no, multiple choice)
• Open-ended for deeper insights 
• Rating scales for measuring satisfaction or customer sentiment

How many questions should I include in a survey?

Keep it as short as possible — ideally under 10 minutes to complete. For most use cases, that’s around 5–12 questions. Drop anything that doesn’t directly support your goals.