Ever had a brilliant idea about a new product you’re sure will take over Africa? You’ve invested blood, sweat, and tears in the design of that product, so before you go all in, it is critical that you first get insight into what your customers want and need.
This is where market research steps in, and not just for big companies! Asking the right market research questions for a new product can make all the difference, no matter if you’re an experienced entrepreneur or a fresh startup.
Helping you in this regard, this article provides over 100 market research questions for new products in the African market that are tailor-made for you to get important insights from potential customers.
Understanding these new products’ market research questions and customers’ needs, frustration, and purchasing habits would help you modify your product, identify the target audience, and help you launch something that strikes a chord with the African market.
So, get ready to mold your thoughts into a product loved by Africa, by knowing these new products’ market research questions! Let us, therefore, embark on an essential market research question in Africa.
What are Market Research Questions?
Market research questions outline inquiries into the setup of the target market or audience. That information leads to an understanding of consumer preferences, opinions, and general behavior in a set market. There are various types of market research questions, based on what is sought:
- Understanding your target market: Such questions will define your ideal customer in terms of demographics, buying habits, and what needs are met by your good or service.
- Product research: Such a question helps you understand how potential and current customers perceive your product or service. It can be about features, pricing, and how it stacks up against competitors.
- Customer satisfaction: Such questions may ask how customers feel concerning your brand, including questions on experience and what they like and dislike about you.
- Market trends: These questions are around unveiling larger trends in the given market. They could cut across fresh technology, altering consumer habits, or rising competition.
These questions are asked to get information about the target market or audience. This type of information helps one understand consumer preferences, opinions, and behavior in a particular market.
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Types of Questions to Use in Market Research Questions for a New Product
Market research questions can be created using a variety of advanced questions kinds like Closed-ended and Open-ended questions:
1. Ranking Question Type (Closed-ended)
With the Ranking question type, survey respondents can arrange the responses depending on their choices and priorities. This means that customers rank what they believe is most or least important.
An example of a market research question with the Ranking question type is as follows: Ranking smartphone factors in order of relevance, such as battery life, pricing, camera quality, and so on.
2. Linear/Likert Scale Question Type (Closed-ended)
The linear Scale Question Type provides a scale to assess survey participants’ attitudes and satisfaction levels. A good example of a Linear Scale Question Type is a scale of up to 5. This will measure the level of satisfaction with the survey taker with the product/service.
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3. Yes or No Question Type (Closed-ended)
As the name implies, the purpose of this question type is to elicit direct responses from survey participants. This style of question is useful for swiftly gathering data from consumers.
A market research survey question of the Yes or No type could be whether or not the client has previously purchased any of the products.
4. Open-ended Questions
Open-ended questions require survey respondents to provide thorough responses. Users must submit text-based responses and opinions. You can ask open-ended questions using the Short Text and Paragraph (Text) inquiry types.
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What are the Market Research Questions for a New Product to Ask Your Customers
The hardest thing in planning and carrying out research is coming up with the exact questions you are going to ask. This is quite a challenge because the right question must be posed in the correct format.
Here is a well-prepared list with grouped new product research questions to help you kickstart your research.
Here are 100+ new product research questions you can ask your customers to find out more about your customer needs and preferences:
General Demographics
- How old are you?
- What is your gender?
- How far did you go in your education?
- What is your line of work?
- How much is your household take-home per month in salary?
- Which country do you reside in?
- Where in the country do you live?
- What is your marital status?
- How many people live in your house?
- Which languages can you speak?
Consumer Behavior
- How many similar products do you usually buy per month?
- Where do you usually buy such products?
- How do you hear about it when a new product is introduced in the market?
- How much time do you, on average, spend on similar products?
- What are your main criteria for choosing a product (price, quality, brand, etc.)?
- Do you prefer local or international brands?
- How often do you purchase things online?
- What payment form would you prefer to use when shopping?
- How many times do you usually research a product before buying it?
- Which social media sites do you frequently visit?
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Product-Specific Questions
- What are your first impressions about this newly developed product?
- Which features would you like to have most in a product of this type?
- What are your major concerns about the presented product?
- Would you recommend this product to someone else?
- How does this product compare with similar ones you have used?
- What areas would you suggest for improvement in this product?
- What do you like best about this product?
- What do you dislike most about this product?
- How would you rate the quality of this product on a scale of 1-10?
- How would you rate the price of this product on a scale of 1-10?
- How user-friendly is the product?
- What is the preferred style of packaging for products of this kind?
- Would you be willing to pay a higher purchase price for product quality improvements?
- How does this product fit into your daily routine?
- What would make you more likely to buy this product on a more regular basis?
Cultural and Contextual Fit
- Is the product suitable for culture or tradition?
- Does the product resonate with your values?
- Are there cultural barriers that might limit the usage of this product?
- How important is it that products are associated with positive environmental consequences?
- How important is it to you that a product is ethically sourced?
- Is this product something you would buy automatically if it helped local communities?
- How does religious belief influence your purchasing decisions?
- What is your view on the importance of this product being produced locally?
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Brand Perception
- How strong is your familiarity with our brand?
- What’s your view on our brand?
- How trustworthy do you feel our brand is?
- What is your perception of our brand’s reputation?
- Compared to other brands, how does ours rate?
- How important to you is brand loyalty?
- If your friend asked you to describe our brand, what would you say?
- What other brands in this category are you currently buying or have you bought?
- What else could our brand be doing to suit your needs?
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Marketing and Communication
- What is the ideal way that you want to discover new products?
- How often would you like to be notified about our brand?
- From whom do you like hearing in advertisements?
- How important to you, if at all, is the role of social media influencers in the making of purchase decisions?
- What sort of a promotion is it that will motivate you to purchase this product?
- How do you feel about customer reviews when deciding to buy a product?
- What content do you find the most interesting on social media?
- How do you feel about promotional emails?
- How would you rate our current advertising approaches?
- Do you have any other comments regarding the marketing strategy?
Customer Experience
- How would you rank your overall experience using our product?
- How would you rate your level of satisfaction with the product?
- How easy was it for you to get the information you needed regarding our product?
- What difficulties did you encounter during the product purchase process?
- How soon after the purchase did you receive this product?
- How easy was it to set up or start using our product?
- How likely are you to make another purchase from us?
- What can we do to enhance your customer experience?
Competitor Analysis
- Which competitors’ products do you use?
- How do our products compare to our competitors’?
- What do you like about competitors’ products that ours doesn’t offer?
- What made you choose our product over competitors’?
- What would make you switch to a competitor’s product?
- How would you rate the value of our product compared to competitors?
Product Usability
- How often do you use this product?
- How easy is it to integrate this product into your lifestyle?
- How would you rate the performance of this product?
- Have you encountered any issues with this product?
- How easy is it to maintain this product?
- How durable do you find this product?
- What specific scenarios or contexts do you use this product in?
- How does this product meet your needs?
Future Purchase Intentions
- How likely are you to buy this product again?
- What would encourage you to buy this product again?
- How likely are you to try other products from our brand?
- What other types of products would you like us to offer?
- How would you like to be informed about new product launches?
Feedback and Suggestions
- What changes would you suggest for our product?
- How can we improve our service to you?
- What new features would you like to see in our product?
- What other products or services do you wish we offered?
- How can we better address your needs?
- How satisfied are you with the value for money of our product?
- What additional support or resources would be helpful?
- How can we make our product more accessible to you?
- What would make our product stand out more to you?
- How can we improve our product to better suit your lifestyle?
- Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about your experience with our product?
All of these questions can be used to derive broad insights from your African consumers, considering the different and unique contexts that the continent provides.
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Tips to Create Effective New Product Market Research Questions
Below are some tips on how to construct new product market research questions.
- Clearly Define Your Research Objectives
Before brainstorming questions, first confirm what you aim to glean from the research. Are you trying to understand the needs of the customer, gauge the level of interest in a product idea, or size up the competitive landscape? This is what will dictate the type of questions.
- Define Your Target Audience
Who is your ideal customer? Use the demographics, interests, and online behavior of this ideal customer as a guide in coming up with questions.
- Focus on Open-ended Questions
Open questions shine a light on valuable insights; they seek for links of what’s not just a yes/no. Include”why” and “how” questions to learn about the reasoning behind their choices and behaviors.
- Mix it Up
Use question types from a range of different sources, as this will help with round data collection. You will need closed questions if you intend to measure data regarding multiple-choice options, Likert-type scales in gauging preference, and open-ended questions in trying to gather in-depth information.
- Use Neutral Language
Avoid leading questions. Leading questions indicate a desired answer. Word your questions in a neutral disposition, which could avoid bias in your results.
- Ask for Actionable Insights
Ask questions that can lead to something you can act based on in product development, e.g., how can a function make them feel better? Not if they like it, but how it could make their experience better.
- Test Your Questions
Before going live with a full-scale survey, always do a small test with a pilot group to test if the questions are understandable and not complicated for a target group.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It is important to ask questions because it helps you understand the needs and preferences of customers, and you can then conceptualize a product to make them believe in it, and hence increase its success.
Keep it short! Aim for around 10-15 core questions that bring out valuable feedback without burdening respondents.
Use a mix of open-ended questions to obtain details for deep insights. Closed-ended questions can often be used for straightening in demographic data and, in a few cases, for preference data.
The earlier, the better. Get feedback throughout the development process, from the very beginning when ideas are still being hewn to after the fine-tuning of features.
Use the existing customer list you have, online survey platforms, or the relevant social media groups you are targeting.
Final Thoughts
Understanding your customers’ needs is key to a successful product launch in Africa. All these will drive innovative efforts that rely on the right market research questions.
Questions like what features they value most, how much they are willing to pay, and where they prefer to shop are important. You can gather insights from these questions to tailor a product for maximum demand effect.
Do not hesitate to resonate with us on social media! Leave a comment and follow us on Facebook at Silicon Africa, Instagram at Siliconafricatech, and Twitter at @siliconafritech for more insights on the questions you should undertake for market research on new products.
Reference
- www.proprofssurvey.com – 90+ Market Research Questions to Ask Your Customers
- www.questionpro.com – 20 Market Research Questions To Ask In Your Customer Survey
