customer research methods

Integrations

What's new?

In-Product Prompts

Participant Management

Interview Studies

Prototype Testing

Card Sorting

Tree Testing

Live Website Testing

Automated Reports

Templates Gallery

Choose from our library of pre-built mazes to copy, customize, and share with your own users

Browse all templates

Financial Services

Tech & Software

Product Designers

Product Managers

User Researchers

By use case

Concept & Idea Validation

Wireframe & Usability Test

Content & Copy Testing

Feedback & Satisfaction

Content Hub

Educational resources for product, research and design teams

Explore all resources

Question Bank

Maze Research Success Hub

Guides & Reports

Help Center

Future of User Research Report

The Optimal Path Podcast

User Research

May 24, 2024

Customer research: Methods for better products and happier customers

Learn key types of customer research, how it stands apart from UX and market research, and how to nail it in just five steps.

Armin Tanovic

Only by knowing your customers' pain points, values, and motivations inside and out can you create a product customers actually want to use. In fact, it’s a lack of proper research that former business owners cite as one of the main reasons for startup failure —highlighting just how important customer research is for success.

In this article, we look at exactly what’s meant by customer research, and why it’s vital for your organization’s success. We also run through five steps for conducting customer research, so you can start planning your research initiatives today.

Tap into customer insights today

Conduct customer research, analyze data instantly, and uncover insights to fuel your product development.

What’s the difference between customer research, customer experience research, and market research?

Customer research, customer experience research, and market research may all sound like the same thing, but while overlap exists, each of these terms has its own meaning.

This article’s focus, customer research, is the process of learning your customers’ pain points, motivations, preferences, and needs . It helps you develop an in-depth understanding of your customers—who they are, what their needs and struggles are—so you can create user personas for them, reflect on the customer journey, and tailor your product or user experience to their unique expectations.

Here’s how customer experience research and market research are different from customer research:

• Customer experience research: Looks at all the touchpoints throughout the buyer journey, and helps improve customer experience through insights and customer experience KPIs , such as customer satisfaction scores
• Market research: Collects information on the wider market landscape, including potential customers, industry trends, market needs, and product gaps

Customer research is specifically concerned with who your customers are , while customer experience research is about how they interact with your product. Market research is easier to differentiate, focusing on the market itself, rather than customers.

Why is customer research important?

Customer research is important as it gives your company the insights necessary to tailor your products and services to buyers’ preferences. By thoroughly understanding your customers, you can steer major product decision-making in the right direction, create better products, and fulfill business goals.

Customer research also helps your business attract new customers: over 80% of buyers state they're more inclined to do business with an organization that delivers tailored brand experiences. Alongside this, it helps your business get more referrals—with 70% of buyers more likely to recommend a brand that offers personalized experiences.

When should you conduct customer research?

Customer research is beneficial at various stages of product development . From planning new products and services to personalizing your marketing strategy, here’s some times to conduct customer research:

• When creating buyer personas: By thoroughly understanding buyers, you can create comprehensive user personas with demographics, brand perceptions, behaviors, and pain points
• When you aim to improve products or services: Understanding preferences means you can improve your products or services to match your customer’s expectations
• While crafting brand messaging and content that resonates: Customer research provides clarity on customer motivations and pain points, which you can use to personalize messaging and communicate effectively with your customers
• To identify new opportunities: Discovering new things about your audience opens up the chance to create products, services, and features your team hasn’t considered before
• For guiding your business decisions: Knowing what your customers want, and how they want it, serves as a signpost for making major business decisions—for example, positioning your brand, allocating resources, and signing off on major UX design and development changes

What are the types of customer research?

There’s more than one way to get the scoop on your customer’s deepest desires, expectations and motivations. You might be surprised to learn you can gather useful customer insights from what your users are already saying about your brand. All you need to do is tune in.

Here are the four types of customer research.

1. Primary research

Primary research is research that you conduct alone or with the help of your team. Here, you select your own research methods , design your project, and analyze data to gain specific insights on topics you’ve outlined beforehand.

Primary research is beneficial because it gathers the customer insights and knowledge you need. However, unless you’re conducting guerilla testing and meeting your customers in real-life situations, primary research can be resource-intensive.

This brings us to our second way to do customer research.

2. Secondary research

Secondary research entails investigating data provided by someone else. Yes—you can do that! All you need to do is find the forums, communities, and review sites where your customers hang out and discuss their needs, preferences, and satisfaction levels. You can use Voice of the Customer tools, or one of the easiest ways to get customer feedback is by linking up with your customer success and support teams—tune into client meetings, read up on feature requests, and follow Slack channels to hear on-the-ground feedback.

You can also conduct secondary research by revisiting data from previous research studies your product or UX research team may have conducted, or looking at industry trend studies done by other companies—for example, our Future of User Research Report . If your organization has an existing research operations team or central UX research repository , you can garner a lot of first-hand insights that already exist.

Secondary data can be a quick and easy way to conduct customer research. But since it's done by other parties, you have no control over the amount of data or the exact insights you’re getting. It’s also important to consider any confines of the data you’re looking at—for example, the research questions asked, or research objectives being pursued when the insights were collected.

But what about the different data types that result from customer research?

3. Quantitative research

Quantitative research uncovers numerical data, statistics and trends about your customers. The number-based insights work best for identifying patterns and gathering broad understandings of preferences, opinions, or how many people fall into a certain category.

Quantitative research is best done with UX research methods like heatmaps or UX surveys with Likert scales, close-ended questioning, and multiple-choice questions. It aims to answer ‘what’, ‘where’, and ‘when’ with objective metrics, collected indirectly—often through a UX research tool .

4. Qualitative research

Qualitative research entails collecting and analyzing descriptive, contextual, and interpretive data. This non-statistical data looks at the ‘why’, aiming to uncover customer opinions, viewpoints, and experiences.

Typically obtained through research methods like focus groups, user interviews , and open-ended question surveys, qualitative research helps you get deeper insight into your customers’ motivations and pain points. To give customers space and the opportunity to provide rich, descriptive feedback, qualitative research methods will typically have open-ended ‘why’ questions.

5 Customer research methods for uncovering insights

There are plenty of research methods that can uncover and collect the customer insights you’re looking for. Here’s our top five recommended methods for conducting customer research.

1. Customer interviews and focus groups

Nothing uncovers rich, descriptive, contextual insights better than sitting down with your customers and asking them the questions that matter. That’s exactly what customer interviews and focus groups do.

For interviews, you can prepare a list of open- and closed-ended questions, connect with customers one-on-one, and transcribe your answers with the help of a specialized research tool—like Maze Interview Studies .

With a focus group, you’re sitting down with no more than ten customers to gather a collective opinion of a market segment with representative sampling.

Both interviews and focus groups are especially helpful for uncovering customer:

• Experiences

While interviews and focus groups do go in-depth, conducting them can be time-consuming. If you’re short on time or resources, UX surveys and questionnaires can save you time and effort.

2. Research surveys and questionnaires

Customer experience surveys and questionnaires are a quick and easy way to gain insights with a list of open- and closed-ended questions . Instead of sitting down with your customers, you can send surveys through channels like email, social media or in-product pop-ups .

Surveys and questionnaires are especially versatile due to the many types of questions you can include; from open-ended questions to collect qualitative data, to close-ended questions, rating scales , and multiple choice for quantitative customer feedback.

3. Usability testing and product analytics

Both usability testing and product analytics are common customer research methods, and should form a big part of your customer experience strategy .

With usability testing , you give customers a task to complete and see how accomplish it with your digital product and service. Note down any friction points: where did customers find it difficult to progress during the digital experience? You can follow up usability testing with a quick survey or longer user interview to gather more context on their experience.

Identifying where customers struggle, and seeing this first-hand, gives you insight into their preferences and needs.

Product analytics show you how customers interact with your product by tracking metrics such as time spent on your product, success rates, heatmaps, and click rates. This analytical data helps you common problems and patterns, and identify which customer segments are having the hardest time using your product.

4. Social media and online review mining

Instead of meticulously creating tests to gather customer insights, social media and online review mining lets you collect already existing data from and about your customers. By finding reviews, comments, and ratings online and through social media, you can hear from customers in their own words, to identify where your product falls short, and where it matches their exact expectations.

So, where will you find this treasure trove of valuable insights? Look toward:

• Public review sites such as Capterra and G2Crowd
• Niche communities and forums where your customers gather such as Reddit, Slack, and Quora
• Comments and hashtags on your company’s social media channels such as LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook

5. Competitive analysis and market research

Customer research helps you understand who your customers are. Competitive product analysis and market research give insights into the space in which you and your customers exist, and provide you with more context on their preferences.

With competitive analysis, you’re not just looking at how customers react to your product but also to your competition . Look for which customer needs or expectations other companies fulfill; where they fall short, and how you can leverage data to understand your customers and create better products and services.

For example, maybe a competitor’s newest helpdesk offer tracks customer resolution times for airline services, but customers are complaining about the platform's lack of reporting options. This could indicate that your product’s major differentiator and competitive advantage should be extensive reporting options and in-depth analytics.

You can also apply your customer research strategy to the market and study bigger industry trends. Market research helps you better understand demand, what customers are willing to pay for a product or service, customer demographics, and segmentation.

How to do customer research: 5 steps for success

Understanding your customers will tell you almost everything you need to know about how to create a product or service that exceeds their needs. It’s the daunting task of collecting these insights that often stops organizations from investing in customer research —but it shouldn’t.

While conducting customer research can feel a lot like navigating a maze, having a solid UX research strategy sets you up for success.

We’ve put together five steps to guide your research process , to ensure you don’t spend valuable resources on dead ends.

1. Define your customer research objectives

As with any other initiative, effective customer research starts with defining the grounds for success. Your mantra to meditate on always starts with: “What do I want to accomplish with these customer insights?”

This question will help you set the course and choose the appropriate method for your customer research project.

Some example objectives:

• I want to create comprehensive customer personas to help us personalize our product
• I want to craft compelling brand content, copy, and communications based on our customers’ biggest pain points
• I want to introduce a new feature that I’m sure customers will want to upgrade their account to use

Once you’ve set your target, defined any specific customer experience metrics you want to track, and gained clarity on what you want to know, it’s time to decide who you’re going to ask.

2. Identify your customer segment

At first glance, it might seem obvious that you’re going to reach out to customers to recruit participants for your research . However, your customer segments may be widely different, each with a unique set of preferences and expectations. Before you conduct research, identify a single segment and tailor your research methodology and questions to them.

Your chosen segment should be large enough to be representative of most of your brand’s customer base. Consider key characteristics in current customer data. What demographic categories do your customers fall into? Are there any preferences and motivations that you already know of?

3. Select a customer research method

The customer research method you opt for should align with your overarching goals. Let’s say you want to understand customer motivations in order to create an empathy map and customer personas.

Such a goal warrants conducting customer interviews and focus groups for contextual, qualitative insights. Perhaps you want to know your customer segment’s single greatest pain point and target that in the next bug-fix sprint. A quick survey with Likert scales and closed-ended questioning may reveal that 87% of your customer segment struggles with inefficient workflows that lead to lost time.

Running low on resources for customer research? Guerilla research tactics are an informal and cost-effective way to gather insights by meeting your customers face-to-face where they’re likely to use your product, and asking them questions in short 5–15-minute sessions.

4. Conduct your customer research

Once you’ve settled on the appropriate testing method, you’re ready to contact customers and begin your research project.

If you’ve chosen surveys or questionnaires, you’ll need to choose a distribution channel such as email or social media. Consider offering customers incentives for completing interview—you can offer free upgrade trials, access to exclusive features, discounts, or brand merchandise.

While conducting research without a tool works, it can be time-consuming. A research tool like Maze lets you create surveys, interviews, and usability tests and automatically analyzes your data for actionable insights. Product analytics capabilities also provide you with heatmaps, click rates, and scroll analytics for an in-depth look at how customers interact with your product.

Using specialized AI tools can also help you streamline tasks throughout conducting research, such as ensuring you don’t ask leading questions.

5. Analyze your data and draw findings

Your customer research will return responses, transcripts, and customer feedback in the form of qualitative or quantitative data. But data by itself is unusable—you need to create UX reportings and conduct data analysis before you can get the insights you’ve been hoping for.

If you’ve done interviews or focus groups, perform thematic analysis or affinity mapping to make sense of these large amounts of qualitative data. For surveys and usability testing, conduct statistical analysis to arrive at insights.

Once you have your insights, highlight key findings, connect them back to your overarching customer research objective, and share with your team.

Get customer research insights with Maze

Customer research opens the door to better products, happier customers, and a more successful business. It may feel like a large task, but breaking it down into bitesize steps and enlisting an all-in-one research tool can turn this large task into part of your everyday workflow.

Not sure where to start?

Maze’s comprehensive suite of user research methods make collecting customer insights (qualitative or quantitative) simple. From Interview Studies to Feedback Surveys , Usability Testing to Card Sorting —it’s a holistic research platform for gathering decision-driving data.

Frequently asked questions about customer research

Who conducts customer research?

Customer research isn’t a strictly defined role for one professional or team. Market research teams most frequently conduct customer research, but it can also be conducted by product management, marketing, and user experience teams.

Why does customer research matter?

Customer research provides decision-makers and product teams with extensive information on customers’ pain points, expectations, desires, and motivations. You can leverage this information to create customer personas, personalize brand messaging, identify new opportunities, and tailor products and services to your customers.

What is consumer research?

Consumer research consists of gathering information on consumer needs and preferences in relation to a product or service. It’s similar to customer research, but a consumer is any person who uses a product or service, while a customer is the person who pays for the product or service.

Customer Research: Types of Customer Research, Methods, and Best Practices.

In the ever-evolving landscape of business, understanding your customers is the key to success. Customer research, a systematic process of gathering and analyzing information about customers, plays a pivotal role in making informed business decisions and developing effective strategies. In this comprehensive guide, we delve into the types of customer research, the methodologies involved, and best practices for optimal results.

Comprehensive Guide to Customer Research: Types, Methods, and Best Practices

What is customer research.

Customer research involves the systematic exploration of customer behaviors, needs, preferences, and experiences. It combines qualitative and quantitative studies to gain insights into the target audience, facilitating informed decision-making and the development of strategies to meet customer expectations. The essential components of customer research include:

1. Research Objectives

Clearly defining research objectives is paramount. It involves determining the specific information or insights the organization aims to gather, ensuring the collected data aligns with organizational needs.

2. Target Audience Definition

Identifying the target audience is crucial, representing the group the research focuses on. This audience should mirror the organization’s customer base or intended market.

3. Research Methodology

Choosing appropriate research methods is vital. Whether surveys, interviews, focus groups, or data analytics, the methods should align with objectives, providing desired depth and breadth of insights.

4. Data Collection

Conducting data collection activities is core to customer research. Proper techniques, such as surveys, interviews, or data analysis, ensure the accuracy and reliability of gathered information.

5. Data Analysis

Organizing, categorizing, and interpreting collected data is essential. From quantitative techniques to qualitative research, the goal is to derive actionable insights that inform decision-making.

6. Findings and Insights

Effectively communicating research findings involves summarizing and presenting results. Visualizations, reports, and dashboards convey information clearly and understandably.

7. Recommendations

Based on findings, practical and actionable recommendations guide business decisions, whether for product improvements, marketing strategies, or customer experience enhancements.

8. Iteration and Continuous Improvement

Customer research is an iterative process. Regularly incorporating insights into strategies ensures organizations remain responsive to customer expectations and market changes.

Types of Customer Research

Understanding the various types of customer research is crucial for tailoring approaches to specific objectives. Some common types include:

1. Customer Satisfaction Research

Definition:.

Customer satisfaction research revolves around measuring and analyzing how satisfied customers are with a product or service. It helps in identifying areas for improvement and gauges overall customer contentment.

Key Elements:

• Surveys and Feedback Forms: Use structured surveys or feedback forms to quantify satisfaction levels.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures the likelihood of customers recommending a product or service.

Implementation:

Regularly conduct surveys and analyze feedback to gauge customer sentiment, focusing on enhancing areas with lower satisfaction.

2. Customer Needs and Preferences Research

This type of research aims to uncover the underlying needs, desires, and preferences of customers. It provides insights into what customers are looking for in a product or service.

• In-depth Interviews: Engage in one-on-one interviews to delve into the motivations and preferences of customers.
• Observational Studies: Observe customer behavior in real-life scenarios to identify unmet needs.

Conduct qualitative research through interviews and observational studies to gain a deep understanding of customer needs, informing product development.

3. Customer Experience (CX) Research

CX research focuses on understanding and optimizing the overall customer journey, identifying pain points, and ensuring a seamless and satisfying experience.

• Customer Journey Mapping: Visualize the entire customer experience, from initial interaction to post-purchase.
• Usability Testing: Evaluate the ease with which customers navigate through products or services.

Create detailed customer journey maps, conduct usability tests, and analyze customer interactions to enhance overall experience.

4. Brand Perception Research

This research assesses how customers perceive a brand, including awareness, image, associations, and loyalty. It helps in shaping and maintaining a positive brand identity.

• Brand Surveys: Measure brand awareness, associations, and loyalty.
• Competitor Analysis: Understand how the brand compares to competitors.

Regularly conduct brand perception surveys and analyze competitor strategies to maintain a positive brand image.

5. Customer Segmentation Research

Customer segmentation involves categorizing customers based on shared characteristics, behaviors, or needs. It enables targeted marketing strategies.

• Demographic Segmentation: Grouping customers based on age, gender, income, etc.
• Behavioral Segmentation: Segmenting based on purchasing behavior or product usage.

Analyze customer data to identify commonalities, enabling personalized marketing strategies for different segments.

6. Competitive Research

Competitive research involves analyzing competitors’ strategies, products, and customer experiences to identify opportunities for differentiation.

• Competitor Product Analysis: Evaluate features, pricing, and positioning of competitors’ products.
• Social Media Monitoring: Track customer sentiments regarding competitors on social media.

Regularly monitor competitors, analyze product offerings, and gather customer feedback to identify areas for improvement and differentiation.

7. Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping visualizes the end-to-end customer experience, identifying touchpoints, emotions, and areas for improvement.

• Customer Touchpoints: Identify and analyze all the touchpoints a customer has with the brand.
• Emotion Analysis: Understand customer emotions at each stage of the journey.

Create detailed customer journey maps, incorporating feedback from various touchpoints to enhance the overall journey.

These types of customer research provide organizations with a holistic view of their customers, enabling them to make informed decisions, improve products and services, and stay ahead in a competitive market. Each type serves a unique purpose, and a combination of these approaches ensures a comprehensive understanding of customer behaviors and preferences.

How to Conduct Customer Research: 10 Key Steps

Conducting effective customer research involves a systematic approach:

1. Define Research Objectives

Clearly define specific objectives to guide the research process and focus on relevant questions.

2. Identify Target Audience

Determine the specific target audience or customer segment that aligns with research goals.

3. Choose Research Methods

Select appropriate research methods and techniques, considering advantages, limitations, and resource requirements.

4. Develop Research Instruments

Design clear, concise research instruments such as survey questionnaires or interview guides.

5. Recruit Participants

Recruit participants matching the target audience criteria through various channels, ensuring communication clarity.

6. Conduct Data Collection

Implement chosen research methods, maintaining ethical guidelines, privacy, and data confidentiality.

7. Analyze Data

Use appropriate analysis techniques, whether quantitative or qualitative, ensuring rigor and alignment with research objectives.

8. Interpret Findings

Analyze patterns, trends, and relationships in data to gain insights into customer behaviors, preferences, or needs.

9. Communicate Results

Present findings clearly through reports, presentations, or visualizations, tailored to the target audience.

10. Apply Insights

Apply insights to inform business decisions, enhancing product development, marketing, and customer experiences.

Customer research is iterative; monitor outcomes, conduct follow-up research, and stay responsive to evolving customer needs.

Examples of Customer Research Questions

Crafting effective customer research questions is essential. Examples include:

• What factors influenced your decision to purchase our product/service?
• How did you first hear about our company?
• What specific features or aspects of our product/service do you find most valuable?
• What improvements or enhancements would you like to see in our product/service?
• How likely are you to recommend our product/service to others? Why?
• What obstacles or challenges did you encounter when using our product/service?
• How does our product/service compare to competitors in the market?
• How satisfied are you with the level of customer support you received?
• What are your expectations for pricing and value in relation to our product/service?
• How frequently do you use our product/service, and for what purposes?

Tailoring questions to the industry or service being researched ensures gathering relevant information.

Best Practices for Customer Research

Following best practices is essential for accurate and valuable insights:

1. Clearly Define Research Objectives

Identify specific goals and objectives to guide research, focusing on relevant questions and areas of investigation.

2. Use a Mix of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

Combine qualitative and quantitative research methods for a comprehensive understanding of customers.

3. Identify Your Target Audience

Clearly define the characteristics and demographics of the target audience for accurate representation.

4. Create Unbiased and Neutral Questions

Formulate clear, unbiased, and neutral questions to avoid leading or influencing participant responses.

5. Use a Variety of Data Collection Methods

Explore various data collection methods, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and social media listening.

6. Engage With Customers at Different Touchpoints

Interact with customers at different stages, from pre-purchase to post-purchase, to understand the entire customer journey.

7. Maintain Confidentiality and Anonymity

Assure participants of confidentiality and anonymity to encourage honest and unbiased feedback.

8. Analyze and Interpret Data Systematically

Systematically analyze data using appropriate techniques, identifying patterns and key insights.

9. Continuously Iterate and Improve

Regularly revisit research objectives, update methods, and gather feedback for continuous improvement.

10. Communicate Findings and Take Action

Present research findings to stakeholders, using insights to inform strategic decisions, product development, and marketing.

By following these best practices, organizations can conduct effective customer research, gaining valuable insights into customer behaviors and preferences.

Enhance Your Research with IdeaScale

IdeaScale is an innovation management solution that inspires people to take action on their ideas. With features like community whiteboards, services for government and nonprofits, and extensive resources, IdeaScale elevates research and

Empowering Businesses Globally: A Comprehensive Guide to Customer Research by Arensic

Welcome to the realm of Arensic International , your strategic partner in unlocking the full potential of businesses on the global stage. As a leading international market research and management consulting firm, Arensic transcends boundaries to deliver strategic solutions that drive informed decisions and foster sustainable growth.

About Arensic International

At Arensic , we go beyond being a service provider; we are your visionary partner, committed to creating a dynamic and collaborative environment where innovative ideas flourish, decisions are informed, and business growth is realized. Our goal is to be the catalyst for your success in the competitive business landscape.

More Insights

Ai impact on society: ethical landscape of ai for a positive societal impact, types of market research: a deep dive into types of marketing research, marketing research in marketing: mastering marketing research in the dynamic world of marketing, market segmentation analysis: unveiling the power of market segmentation analysis.

Customer Research Methods: Key Strategies for Market Insights in 2024

• Customer surveys : Survey tools such as Survicate are essential for conducting quantitative and qualitative research across various customer touchpoints and improving digital CX
• Diverse research methods : Employ a mix of customer research methods like different types of surveys , interviews, focus groups, observational studies, and usability testing to gain comprehensive insights into customer behavior and product interaction.
• Importance of continuous feedback : Establishing feedback loop mechanisms is crucial for ongoing improvement, ensuring that products and services evolve in response to customer needs .
• Data analysis : Systematic data collection followed by thorough analysis using appropriate customer research tools is key to identifying trends and making informed decisions. ‍
• Actionable feedback : Prioritize and strategize based on research findings to create actionable insights that drive measurable improvements in customer experience management and business processes.

Cutting through the chatter to hear your customers' true opinions is no small feat.

Tailored for business owners and marketers, this article zeroes in on how to conduct customer research . We'll highlight the strategies that directly connect you to your audience's preferences and pain points. By tapping into these insights, you'll be equipped to make informed, impactful business decisions.

Dive in to transform customer feedback into a clear direction for your brand's growth and success.

What is customer research?

Customer research is an essential practice focused on collecting data about your customers to understand their characteristics, needs, and behaviors.

Why is customer research important?

• Informed Decision-Making: You gain actionable insights into customer preferences and satisfaction, empowering you to make data-driven decisions.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: Understanding what your customers value guides your efforts to improve their experiences with your product or service.
• Strategic Focus: Tailoring your business strategy becomes more focused as you identify key demographics and market segments.
• Product Development: Product features and improvements align better with customer expectations when informed by customer research.
• Competitive Edge: Detailed knowledge about your customers can give you a competitive advantage by identifying opportunities and gaps in the market.

Customer research vs. market research

Customer research and market research serve distinct purposes in understanding buyers and the competitive environment.

Customer research dives deep into your existing or potential customers' behaviors, needs, and preferences . It aims to create a detailed understanding of the customer journey , from awareness to purchase and is often qualitative in nature.

On the other hand, market research takes a broader approach, examining the market as a whole, including industry trends, competitor analysis, and market share.

While customer research is about the 'who' and 'why' behind purchasing decisions, conducting market research addresses the 'what' and 'how' of market conditions and opportunities.

Both types of research are crucial for informed decision-making but focus on different aspects of the business landscape. Customer research is about improving the customer experience and tailoring products or services to consumer needs. Market research is about understanding the market landscape to strategize and position offerings effectively.

Primary research vs. secondary research

In customer research, understanding the distinction between primary research and secondary research is crucial for choosing the right approach to obtain your insights.

Primary research

Primary research involves collecting data firsthand for your specific research goal. This data is original and gathered through methods directly controlled by you. Examples include:

• Surveys and questionnaires : Deploying custom surveys to collect customer feedback on a new product or service.
• Interviews : Conducting one-on-one dialogues to dive deep into customer opinions and experiences.
• Focus groups : Facilitated group discussions to obtain a range of perspectives on a particular topic.

Secondary research

Secondary research methods rely on data previously collected by others. It's an evaluation of existing information that may include:

• Industry Reports : Analyzing market research findings related to your sector.
• Academic Journals : Reviewing studies and papers for trends and outcomes that align with your interests.
• Market Analysis : Assessing competitor data and market summaries to inform your strategies.

Types of customer data

Before diving into specific categories, understand that customer data is essential to personalize your marketing strategies and enhance customer experiences. This data comes in two core types: qualitative and quantitative.

Qualitative data

Qualitative research gathers non-numeric information that captures your customers' opinions, motivations, and attitudes. This data often comes from:

• Interviews , direct conversations that provide in-depth insights.
• Open-ended survey responses allow customers to express their thoughts in their own words.

Quantitative data

Quantitative research collects numerical data and can be measured and analyzed statistically. Key sources include:

• Transaction records : Sales data showing purchasing patterns.
• Website analytics : Metrics like page views and click-through rates representing user behavior.

Best customer research methods

When conducting customer research, you need to select the right methodology to gain valuable insights. Various research methods cater to different needs, from understanding user behavior to gauging customer satisfaction.

Customer surveys and questionnaires

Deploy online surveys and questionnaires to quickly gather quantitative and qualitative data from a large audience. For example, a survey tool such as Survicate offers a variety of different distribution channels:

• surveys embedded in emails
• website pop-up surveys
• mobile app surveys
• link surveys
• in-product surveys

Surveys are a cost-effective way to gather market research insights from the entire customer digital journey . If you use them as a part of a feedback loop, they can help you improve the CX considerably.

widely via email, websites, or social media platforms. Ensure your questions are direct and easy to understand to maximize response rates.

Conduct interviews to collect in-depth qualitative data. One-on-one interviews allow for a deep dive into customer opinions, beliefs, and experiences. Record these sessions, if possible, to ensure that none of the details are lost.

Focus groups

Utilize focus groups to explore customer attitudes and behaviors in a group setting. This method sparks conversation and can uncover insights that might not surface in one-on-one interactions. Be wary of group dynamics such as conformity, which can influence individual responses.

Observational studies

Observational studies involve watching how users interact with your product in their natural environment. This method provides unfiltered, real-world user behavior that can be invaluable in understanding how your product is used.

Usability testing

Usability testing is imperative for evaluating the functionality and design of your product. Recruit participants to complete specific tasks while observers note where they encounter issues or experience confusion.

Field trials

Conduct field trials by providing users a prototype or beta version of your product for a certain period. This hands-on approach yields feedback on your product's performance in real-life scenarios.

Review mining

Lastly, review mining involves analyzing customer feedback found in online reviews and forums. This passive method is particularly useful for identifying common pain points and areas for improvement without the need for direct interaction.

Types of customer research

Customer research encompasses various methodologies aimed at understanding your market and clientele. Tailoring these approaches helps you stay informed and make data-driven decisions.

Competitive research

You analyze your competitors to benchmark your products, services, and customer satisfaction levels against them. This helps in identifying industry standards and areas for improvement.

Customer journey mapping

Journey mapping involves charting the steps your customers take, from discovering your brand to making a purchase and beyond. It's a strategic approach to understanding customer interactions with your brand.

Buyer persona research

You create detailed profiles of your typical customers based on demographic and psychographic data. These personas help in crafting targeted marketing strategies.

Customer experience research

You assess customers' overall experience with your brand, from the usability of your website to customer service interactions, to optimize every touchpoint.

Customer segmentation research

Market segmentation divides your customer base into distinct groups based on common characteristics to provide more personalized products and services.

Customer needs research

You investigate your customers' underlying needs and desires to develop products that solve specific problems or enhance their lives.

Customer satisfaction research

You measure how your products and services meet, exceed, or fall short of customer expectations, often using surveys, feedback forms, and follow-up interviews.

Pricing research

You evaluate customers' responses to pricing changes and their perception of your product's value to establish an optimal pricing strategy.

Brand perception research

You gauge how customers perceive your brand to ensure your messaging aligns with their beliefs and your company values.

Designing a research plan

Precision and structure are pivotal for gathering actionable insights in constructing a customer research plan. These steps will guide you through creating an effective framework for your research efforts.

Set objectives

Identify what you want to achieve with your research. For instance, you may aim to understand customer satisfaction , identify buying patterns, or test product concepts. These objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) to ensure clarity and focus.

Identify target audience

Determine who your customers are by segmenting the market. To accurately represent your overall market, include demographics, psychographics, and behaviors in your segmentation. Knowing your audience can tailor your research to yield more relevant data.

Recruit participants

Once you know who to target, select participants who best represent your customer base. Employ strategies such as customer databases, social media outreach, or third-party panels to gather a varied group that reflects your target audience's diversity.

Choose appropriate methods

Your objectives will dictate the methods you choose. Qualitative approaches like interviews afford depth, while quantitative methods like surveys provide breadth. Select the right blend of methods to gain a multidimensional view of customer sentiments.

Sampling techniques

Employ sampling techniques to generalize your findings. Random sampling ensures everyone has an equal chance of selection, while stratified sampling involves dividing your audience into subgroups and sampling from these categories to ensure all segments are represented.

Build a continuous process with feedback loops

Establish ongoing mechanisms to capture customer feedback regularly. This could involve periodic surveys or real-time feedback systems. Make sure you continuously iterate your product or service based on this input, creating a virtuous cycle of improvement.

Data collection and analysis

Effective customer research hinges on the systematic collection and meticulous analysis of data to decipher patterns, understand behaviors, and make informed decisions.

Gather data systematically and analyze it to uncover patterns and trends. Use analytical tools that can handle your data type and amount. Look for relationships between variables and compare these findings against your goals.

Quantitative data analysis

You'll handle numerical data that can be measured and compared in a straightforward manner. Quantitative analysis often employs statistical tools to interpret data sets and deduce meaningful insights. Common techniques include:

• Descriptive Statistics: Summarize your data through means, medians, and modes.
• Inferential Statistics: Make predictions and infer trends from your sample data.
• Regression Analysis: Determine the relationship between variables.

Qualitative data assessment

With qualitative data, your focus is on interpretative analysis of non-numerical information, such as customer interviews or open-ended survey responses. Key approaches involve:

• Thematic Analysis: Identify patterns or themes within qualitative data.
• Content Analysis: Categorize text to understand the frequency and relationships of words or concepts.
• Narrative Analysis: Explore the structure and content of stories to gain insights into customer perspectives.

Mixing methods

Combining quantitative and qualitative analysis can provide a holistic view of your customer research. Employ a 'mixed methods' strategy to:

• Validate findings across different data types.
• Gain a richer, more nuanced understanding of research questions.
• Balance the depth of qualitative assessment with the generalizability of quantitative analysis.

Interpreting and reporting results

Turn your data into action by using insights to inform business decisions. Whether it is refining product features or adjusting marketing strategies, use the research to create value for your customers and your business.

Drawing conclusions

When you are ready to draw conclusions from your customer research, begin by assessing the data's significance. Look for patterns and trends in the feedback and quantifiable data. Tabulate your findings when possible, as this makes comparisons clearer:

• Quantitative Data : Calculate averages, frequencies, and percentages. A table showing the response distribution for each question can clarify these statistics.
• Qualitative Data : Group feedback into themes. For instance, list common descriptors used by customers when discussing a product feature.

Conclusions should directly relate to the research objectives you set before the study.

Creating actionable insights

After drawing conclusions, it's crucial to translate them into actionable insights:

• Prioritize : Determine which findings substantially impact your objectives or pose the biggest challenge to your CX.
• Strategize : For each priority area, brainstorm potential strategies. This may involve a simple list or a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) for complex decisions.

Always ensure that your insights are actionable; they should inform decisions and lead to measurable improvement in consumer experience or business processes. Communicate these insights with clear, straightforward language to the relevant stakeholders in your organization.

Emerging trends in customer research

Conduct market research with ai.

Customer research is adapting to leverage cutting-edge technologies. You'll notice a significant shift towards harnessing data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to derive deeper insights into customer behavior.

You can leverage Survciate AI-powered features as well. Try the AI survey creator that will design your customer or market research survey in under a minute after you describe your needs and objectives.

After you collect feedback, you can use the AI Topics feature to speed up getting qualitative insights. It will automatically categorize and summarize answers to your open-ended questions. Worth trying, isn't it?

Social listening

Social listening tools are another trend on the rise. They enable you to monitor your brand's social media presence and gather direct feedback from conversations about your products or services. Mobile ethnography also offers a way to observe customer interactions in a natural setting, providing contextually rich data.

Predicting customer behavior

Lastly, as the emphasis on personalization grows, predictive analytics are being adopted to tailor customer experiences. These techniques analyze past behavior to anticipate future needs, enhancing your ability to meet customer expectations preemptively.

Remember, these methods involve collecting various forms of customer data, so being vigilant about privacy and ethical data use is crucial. Follow regulations and best practices to ethically manage the information you gather.

Survicate for your market and customer research

As we've explored, the key to thriving in the current market is to truly understand your customers. The challenge, however, lies in efficiently gathering and interpreting their feedback to inform your business strategies.

With its user-friendly interface, Survicate allows you to create targeted surveys, collect real-time feedback, and analyze the data with ease, ensuring that every customer voice is heard and accounted for.

Survicate's suite of features simplifies the process of connecting with customers and extracting the insights you need to make data-driven decisions. Whether it's through NPS , customer satisfaction surveys, or user experience research, Survicate provides the clarity and direction required to adapt and excel in a fast-paced market.

For those ready to elevate their customer research, consider giving Survicate a try. Start your journey to clearer insights today with a free 10-day trial of the Business Plan , and experience the full potential of focused customer feedback. Take the step today, and transform the way you connect with your audience.

We’re also there

Instant insights, infinite possibilities

• What is customer research?

Last updated

Reviewed by

Designing products that both delight customers and solve their problems is essential in a competitive landscape!

But how do you identify what your customers want and need, let alone who your customers really are?

Customer research enables you to learn more about your customers, understand their motivations, and get to grips with their behavior on a deeper level. You can use all this knowledge to create truly user-centric products.

Customer research is how you understand your customers—their needs, pain points, and demographics.

It also allows you to dive into key aspects of customers’ motivations and behaviors. It’s about learning how customers act and what will encourage them to take certain actions.

This is important when developing products. Deeply understanding your customers helps you deliver products that are easy to use, satisfying, and better at solving problems.

You’ll keep designing products that fall short if you don’t know your customers well and can’t see things from their point of view.

• What’s the difference between customer research, market research, and user research

You may have heard the terms customer research, market research, and user research. They might sound similar and have some related functions, but they are distinct types of research.

Market research is generally conducted in the early stages of product creation. Its role is to generate an understanding of the whole market, including what people need and want from products. This type of research typically identifies market readiness, size, competition, and demographics.

While market research is broad, customer research is more specific. It’s a process by which data and information collected during market research are analyzed, grouped, and evaluated. You can think of it as an extension of market research, though some organizations may perform these functions simultaneously.

The focus of user research is generally on understanding what is and isn’t working with current products and where helpful innovation can occur.

• Types of customer research

Primary and secondary research are some of the main types of customer research.

Quantitative and qualitative data are two types of data.

It’s helpful to know the difference between these groups to ensure you collect the right data and information for your project.

Primary vs. secondary research

Primary research is data collected directly by the organization from customers. It is obtained through research methods like surveys, focus groups, or analytics.

The advantage of primary research is having the power to obtain the data that’s most relevant for you. Knowing exactly what data has been collected and how to collate that information into meaningful insights is also more simple.

Secondary research is data collected by external sources, such as research groups, governments, and other companies. You can use it to discover more about customers.

Using data collected by other sources gives you less control, but it can save you money.

Ideally, a combination of both primary and secondary research will help you build a true picture of who your customers are.

Qualitative vs. quantitative data

You also need to understand which type of data will be most helpful for the relevant project.

Qualitative data is obtained directly from users, usually through methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, usability testing, and field studies.

This type of data can help designers understand why users do things and gain insights into how to solve their issues.

Quantitative data consists of numeral value measurements gained indirectly from users.

This type of data usually involves measurements like how much, how many, and how many times. Surveys, metrics, and user tests are some of the methods through which it can be collated.

• The best customer research methods

The best customer research method will be the one that’s most relevant and useful for your project. So, what works for one product may not be the best match for another. 

Before deciding on a customer research method, asking the following questions can be helpful:

What do we most need to know about our customers?

What do we not know about our customers?

Are we satisfied that our product has a market?

Do we truly understand our competitors?

Do we deeply understand our target market?

Is our product solving a real-world issue for people? Do we have data to back that up?

Is this product the best possible solution for our customers?

These questions can act as a starting point to discover knowledge gaps. They can also help your team choose the research methods that can plug any of these holes.

Customer surveys

Surveys involve asking customers a series of targeted questions. They’re a popular research method because they can be conducted in several ways, such as with an online questionnaire, phone call, or email.

Surveys can help organizations quickly discover large amounts of useful information. They are also relatively inexpensive, as many free templates are available online.

Keep in mind that a survey is only as good as its questions. Ensure that you’re asking questions that will help you discover the most relevant and helpful data about your customers.

Surveys that follow best practices include the following:

Open-ended questions to get the most information from customers

Consistent ranking scales to avoid ambiguity

Questions that are relevant to the team’s end goal

A short series of questions to avoid overwhelming participants

Customer interviews

Interviewing customers is one of the most straightforward and helpful ways to discover their views, wants, and needs.

Customer interviews include a team member or neutral party having a discussion with a customer. They offer the chance to discover new insights that might not otherwise have been uncovered.

This technique won’t enable you to gather quantitative data, but you will gain new insights into how your customers think and perceive products.

Here are some best practices to follow when conducting customer interviews:

Clarify answers. If there’s any ambiguity in what a customer said, make sure you follow up with further questions to aid true understanding.

Challenge your assumptions. Don’t bring any assumptions to the table. Instead, ask customers how they really think and feel. Having a neutral moderator can help remove any bias the team may bring.

Keep things open. Asking open-ended questions and offering a safe space to share answers are essential steps. Doing so will help you gain real thoughts, not hear what participants think they should say.

The benefit of real data should never be overlooked when it comes to customers. People might say they act in certain ways, but their behavior can show otherwise.

Analytics (in a product dashboard or other data collection method, for example) will reveal a great deal of information about customer behavior. It can help streamline your business, remove areas of friction, and improve the overall customer experience .

Metrics like heat maps, time spent, click tracking, and number of sessions can help you build a picture of your customer’s behavior.

Are customers failing to complete their payment information? Are people landing on your page and immediately clicking away? Is a particular aspect of your experience retaining your customers’ attention? These are just a few useful questions you can ask as you go through your analytics.

Focus groups

Focus groups are a well-known and popular research method. They help teams discover a large amount of information in a short time period.

In a focus group, a small number of people—usually eight or fewer—gather together to discuss products, pain points, preferences, and how they might engage with products.

Focus groups are run by a moderator or a person from the organization who can act neutrally. The moderator will set out a series of questions or topics for the group to discuss.

The benefits of focus groups include the following:

Gaining insights into how users perceive your product

Spontaneous responses you may not have discovered otherwise

Information about key problems and pain points

An understanding of what your users want from a solution

However, focus groups also present some challenges. Louder voices in a group may sway others to agree with the consensus rather than share their real opinions. To combat this, offer all members of the group a safe space to share their thoughts. Encourage varying responses.

Competitor analysis

Competitor analysis helps you dive into what the market is currently offering. It shows what competitors are doing well and what could be done better. This helps you create new products that solve your customers’ problems more effectively.

The following are best practices for conducting competitor analysis

Be clear on who your competitors are

Identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses

Clarify who holds the largest market share and why

Analyze online presence, reviews, and product information

Speak to competitors’ customers

Competitor analysis isn’t just about discovering information about your competitors; another goal is to turn information into action. You’ll ideally want to improve on what a competitor currently offers and provide a product that’s more satisfying for customers.

• How to conduct customer research

The following key steps will enable you to conduct useful customer research.

Set clear objectives

There’s a broad range of data and information that can be collected with customer research. However, not all of it will be relevant to your specific project. 

That’s why setting clear objectives from the outset is critical. All methods and data should lead back to these objectives.

Use multiple methods

One research method is unlikely to gather enough information for your project. And no one method is perfect.

Conducting multiple forms of research ensures you discover more about your customers and that your team gathers enough helpful data.

Find the right people

Your research won’t be effective if you’re talking to the wrong customer group. But how do you find the right people?

If you already have a product, it would be enormously beneficial to speak to your current customers . They have proven that they’re in your target audience.

Forums, advertising, local groups, and organizations are good ways to identify potential customers to participate.

Let’s say you’re designing a dog-sitting app. In this case, you’ll need to speak to dog owners who would like more flexibility to travel. You could find these people in online groups, through a local meeting, or even at a park that’s popular for dog walking.

Consider incentives

It’s also worth considering incentives. These can encourage the right people to get on board. For example, you might offer participants the chance to win a voucher or give them a small amount of cash to participate.

Ensure any incentives are meaningful for your target audience.

Develop meaningful insights

Collecting a range of data and information from multiple methods is helpful. However, it’s ultimately meaningless if that data isn’t collated into useful insights .

Ensure that data is accurately grouped and represented clearly and concisely so that the entire business can benefit from the learnings. You might need to hire a data analyst.

• Surprise and delight your customers

Keeping customers at the center of what you do is the only way to create products that are helpful for people.

All products should help customers, whether that’s by solving a problem, making their life a little bit easier, or entertaining them in some way. Customers should want to use your product and enjoy the process.

By researching your customers, you can truly understand how they feel , where their pain points are, how they behave in real-life situations, and what solutions would please them. Ultimately, all this helps you better serve your customers.

Should you be using a customer insights hub?

Do you want to discover previous customer research faster?

Do you share your customer research findings with others?

Do you analyze customer research data?

Start for free today, add your research, and get to key insights faster

Editor’s picks

Last updated: 30 April 2024

Last updated: 22 August 2024

Last updated: 15 May 2024

Last updated: 20 March 2024

Last updated: 21 March 2024

Last updated: 16 April 2023

Last updated: 13 May 2024

Last updated: 4 July 2024

Last updated: 23 March 2024

Last updated: 18 April 2024

Latest articles

Related topics, .css-je19u9{-webkit-align-items:flex-end;-webkit-box-align:flex-end;-ms-flex-align:flex-end;align-items:flex-end;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:wrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:wrap;-ms-flex-wrap:wrap;flex-wrap:wrap;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;row-gap:0;text-align:center;max-width:671px;}@media (max-width: 1079px){.css-je19u9{max-width:400px;}.css-je19u9>span{white-space:pre;}}@media (max-width: 799px){.css-je19u9{max-width:400px;}.css-je19u9>span{white-space:pre;}} decide what to .css-1kiodld{max-height:56px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;}@media (max-width: 1079px){.css-1kiodld{display:none;}} build next, decide what to build next, log in or sign up.

Get started for free

• Reviews / Why join our community?
• For companies
• Frequently asked questions

Customer Research

What is customer research.

Customer research is conducted so as to identify customer segments, needs, and behaviors. It can be carried out as part of market research, user research, or design research. Even so, it always focuses on researching current or potential customers of a specific brand or product in order to identify unmet customer needs and/or opportunities for business growth.

Customer research can focus on simple demographics of an existing or potential customer group (such as age, gender, and income level). Indeed, these considerations are vital determinants of a product’s target audience. However, such research also often seeks to understand various behaviors and motivators —factors which place a product’s use and potential on a higher level of study. Thus, the goal of such research is to expose clear details about who is—or will be—using a product as well as the reasons behind their doing so and how they go about using it (including the contextual areas of “where” and “when”). Customer research may be conducted via a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods such as interviews, surveys, focus groups, and ethnographic field studies. It also commonly involves doing desk research of online reviews, forums, and social media to explore what customers are saying about a product.

While customer research is usually conducted as part of a design project, it is also often conducted in other departments of an organization. In some cases, customer research is part of marketing—for instance, to ensure that marketing campaigns have the right focus. In other cases, it can be carried out as part of concept development or ideation so as to identify opportunities for future products, services, or features. In any case, such research is an essential ingredient in keeping the end users in clear sight long before the end of any design phase.

Literature on Customer Research

Here’s the entire UX literature on Customer Research by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about Customer Research

Take a deep dive into Customer Research with our course User Research – Methods and Best Practices .

How do you plan to design a product or service that your users will love , if you don't know what they want in the first place? As a user experience designer, you shouldn't leave it to chance to design something outstanding; you should make the effort to understand your users and build on that knowledge from the outset. User research is the way to do this, and it can therefore be thought of as the largest part of user experience design .

In fact, user research is often the first step of a UX design process—after all, you cannot begin to design a product or service without first understanding what your users want! As you gain the skills required, and learn about the best practices in user research, you’ll get first-hand knowledge of your users and be able to design the optimal product—one that’s truly relevant for your users and, subsequently, outperforms your competitors’ .

This course will give you insights into the most essential qualitative research methods around and will teach you how to put them into practice in your design work. You’ll also have the opportunity to embark on three practical projects where you can apply what you’ve learned to carry out user research in the real world . You’ll learn details about how to plan user research projects and fit them into your own work processes in a way that maximizes the impact your research can have on your designs. On top of that, you’ll gain practice with different methods that will help you analyze the results of your research and communicate your findings to your clients and stakeholders—workshops, user journeys and personas, just to name a few!

By the end of the course, you’ll have not only a Course Certificate but also three case studies to add to your portfolio. And remember, a portfolio with engaging case studies is invaluable if you are looking to break into a career in UX design or user research!

We believe you should learn from the best, so we’ve gathered a team of experts to help teach this course alongside our own course instructors. That means you’ll meet a new instructor in each of the lessons on research methods who is an expert in their field—we hope you enjoy what they have in store for you!

All open-source articles on Customer Research

Card sorting.

Before the Design Process Starts: It’s Time to Get Out Of the Building

Open access—link to us.

We believe in Open Access and the  democratization of knowledge . Unfortunately, world-class educational materials such as this page are normally hidden behind paywalls or in expensive textbooks.

If you want this to change , cite this page , link to us, or join us to help us democratize design knowledge !

Privacy Settings

Our digital services use necessary tracking technologies, including third-party cookies, for security, functionality, and to uphold user rights. Optional cookies offer enhanced features, and analytics.

Experience the full potential of our site that remembers your preferences and supports secure sign-in.

Governs the storage of data necessary for maintaining website security, user authentication, and fraud prevention mechanisms.

Enhanced Functionality

Saves your settings and preferences, like your location, for a more personalized experience.

Referral Program

We use cookies to enable our referral program, giving you and your friends discounts.

Error Reporting

We share user ID with Bugsnag and NewRelic to help us track errors and fix issues.

Optimize your experience by allowing us to monitor site usage. You’ll enjoy a smoother, more personalized journey without compromising your privacy.

Analytics Storage

Collects anonymous data on how you navigate and interact, helping us make informed improvements.

Differentiates real visitors from automated bots, ensuring accurate usage data and improving your website experience.

Lets us tailor your digital ads to match your interests, making them more relevant and useful to you.

Advertising Storage

Stores information for better-targeted advertising, enhancing your online ad experience.

Personalization Storage

Permits storing data to personalize content and ads across Google services based on user behavior, enhancing overall user experience.

Advertising Personalization

Allows for content and ad personalization across Google services based on user behavior. This consent enhances user experiences.

Enables personalizing ads based on user data and interactions, allowing for more relevant advertising experiences across Google services.

Receive more relevant advertisements by sharing your interests and behavior with our trusted advertising partners.

Enables better ad targeting and measurement on Meta platforms, making ads you see more relevant.

Allows for improved ad effectiveness and measurement through Meta’s Conversions API, ensuring privacy-compliant data sharing.

LinkedIn Insights

Tracks conversions, retargeting, and web analytics for LinkedIn ad campaigns, enhancing ad relevance and performance.

LinkedIn CAPI

Enhances LinkedIn advertising through server-side event tracking, offering more accurate measurement and personalization.

Google Ads Tag

Tracks ad performance and user engagement, helping deliver ads that are most useful to you.

Share Knowledge, Get Respect!

or copy link

Cite according to academic standards

Simply copy and paste the text below into your bibliographic reference list, onto your blog, or anywhere else. You can also just hyperlink to this page.

New to UX Design? We’re Giving You a Free ebook!

Download our free ebook The Basics of User Experience Design to learn about core concepts of UX design.

In 9 chapters, we’ll cover: conducting user interviews, design thinking, interaction design, mobile UX design, usability, UX research, and many more!

• Product management
• Collections: Customer research

A complete guide to customer research — with templates

What makes your product great? What problems does it solve? People will look to you — the product manager — as the expert on these questions. But you know that the answers are not based solely on your own opinions and experience. The most important input often comes from somewhere else: customers.

Understanding customers is integral to developing a lovable product . As a product manager, you will want to explore everything from your users' demographics to their inner motivations and struggles. This process of sussing out their needs and challenges is called customer research.

Conducting customer research is complex and dynamic work, where your curiosity is a tremendous asset. To plan, gather, and analyze feedback, product managers use a wide variety of methods — qualitative, quantitative, and a mix of both. You can take a highly sophisticated approach to this, but many times effective customer research entails talking to customers and using simple tools or templates to analyze their feedback.

In this guide, you will learn the fundamentals of conducting primary research so you can better understand the folks you are trying to help. You can try seven customer research templates to help you experiment with different methods and save time in the research process.

Engage a community and analyze feedback in Aha! Ideas. Start a free trial .

With Aha! Ideas , you can host live empathy sessions with your customers to learn more about their need and preferences.

Why should you do customer research?

Customer research is an essential component of product strategy — alongside competitor analysis , market research, and overall business needs. The insights you glean from meeting and surveying customers help to shape your strategic initiatives , ensuring that your team is poised to deliver what people really want from your product.

A key reason to perform customer research is to gain new perspectives on your product. Your customers may tell you things you never realized — hidden problems, unique ways of completing tasks, and even alternate use cases. What you believe matters most about your product may not even be on your customers' radar.

Let's say your product has a reporting feature with low usage . Your team decides to give the reporting interface a major upgrade. You spend the time and resources to build these updates — only to scratch your head when there is no uptick in usage. What went wrong?

If you breezed past talking to your customers, it is possible that the interface was not the factor keeping them from engaging. Maybe they prefer to use a separate reporting tool — in which case, an integration capability would have been a much more valuable feature to build.

Customer research helps you avoid spending time solving proble ms that do not exist — and highlights the ones that are real and deserving of your attention. This way, you know where to focus your efforts for the best chance of making your customers happy and meeting business goals.

How much customer feedback is the right amount?

The short answer? It depends. Your specific goals, the scope of your research, and the stage of your product's development all play a role. Here are some things to keep in mind when determining the right amount of customer feedback to collect:

Understand your goals Are you looking to validate a new product idea or improve an existing product? Do you need to better understand customer pain points or gather usability insights? These answers will shape your product development goals and dictate the depth and breadth of feedback required.

Define your sample size Consider the size of your target audience and customer base. In some cases, a smaller sample size can provide valuable insights, especially if you are conducting in-depth qualitative research . For quantitative research, a larger sample size might be necessary to ensure statistical relevancy.

Ensure diversity of perspective Aim for variety in your feedback pool. Different demographic groups, usage patterns, and customer segments can provide a more comprehensive understanding of customer needs and preferences.

Include a mix of feedback channels Analyzing feedback from different channels can provide unique perspectives and insights. Experiment with a variety of feedback methods and channels — such as releasing surveys, conducting interviews , and reviewing your social media and customer support interactions.

Consider resource constraints Think about the time, budget, and staff you have available for collecting and analyzing feedback. Balance the scope of your research with what you can realistically manage.

Remember, customer feedback is often collected in iterations. Start with a small group of users for early insights, then expand your feedback pool as you make improvements. Each iteration helps you refine your product and strategy.

And while quantity matters, the quality of feedback is crucial. Sometimes a few detailed, insightful responses can be more valuable than a large number of superficial ones.

Primary vs. secondary customer research

Product managers will use both primary and secondary customer research to gather information. Briefly, the difference is:

Primary customer research refers to gathering your own data and feedback firsthand via interviews, focus groups, surveys, and other methods.

Secondary customer research refers to findings gleaned from external sources like analyst reports and third-party surveys.

Both types can be valuable, but when it comes to your goals as a product manager, primary research is superior. While secondary research will help you understand demographics and broader trends, primary research allows you to drill down into the details of your specific product and target audience.

Your customers' own experiences are invaluable and one of the surest signals to creating a lovable product. For this guide, we will focus on the fundamentals of conducting primary research.

How do product managers gather customer feedback?

How do product managers come up with new ideas for a product?

How to conduct customer research

On a basic level, customer research entails reaching out to current or potential customers and gathering feedback from them via direct conversations or more indirect methods (like online surveys). Advanced tools such as product analytics and idea management software can certainly augment your approach — but are not necessary to get started.

Follow these steps to conduct your own primary customer research:

1. Define your objective Outline your research goals and determine what it is you really want to learn. For example, your objective could be to learn broadly about your customers' business goals or gain a deeper understanding of their experience with a specific feature set.

2. Decide which customers to contact Your objectives will help you decide who to speak with — especially if your product caters to a diverse group of customers. Think about current and potential customers and form a list of people to reach out to.

3. Prepare If you are leading an interview or focus group, meet with your product teammates to prepare your questions. Keep in mind you may need to coordinate with other team members who want to sit in on discussions. If you are conducting a survey, build it — then decide how and when to distribute it.

4. Start your research Conduct your interviews or hit "send" on your survey When talking directly with customers, remember to listen more than you speak. Ask meaningful follow-up questions to encourage deeper thinking and discussion.

5. Analyze, summarize, and share your findings Look for trends in the feedback you received. What did customers agree on? What were the most popular ideas or recurring pain points? Find common threads and share the findings with your team. Together, you can discuss and prioritize the customer ideas that support your overall goals — and promote those ideas to your product roadmap .

6. Repeat Customer research is an ongoing part of product management. You will need to collect feedback from many customers to make informed product decisions. And with every new product launch or major release, you may need to start fresh with a new objective and customer set.

Because it is ongoing, it helps to keep all of your customer research organized. You want to be clear on how your findings will inform the features you develop. For example, the Research tab in Aha! helps you collect whiteboards, interview notes, and ideas right on feature cards.

Editor's note: Although the video below still shows core functionality within Aha! software, some of the interface might be out of date. View our knowledge base for the most updated insights into Aha! software.

Related: 35+ customer questions for product innovation

Get started with customer research templates

Customer research templates offer a simple way to start discovering who your audience really is and what matters to them. Using templates helps you add much-needed structure to your customer research process. Below, you will find an assortment of templates to try — from planning to interviews, surveys, and summarizing your findings.

Aha! software customer interview template

Customer research planning template, customer interview notes template.

Customer survey template

Customer feedback poll template

Customer focus group discussion template, customer research presentation template.

This customer interview template is a great one to start with. It is a guided template with helpful prompts and instructions in each section. This makes it simple to plan your conversations with customers so you can get the most out of each interview. It is available in Aha! software — which gives you a central place to document and organize your findings.

Start using this template now

This planning template helps you define your objectives, identify which customers to talk to, and prepare for your research session. It includes sections for customer profiles (personas, segments, and companies) to add context to your research group.

An interview template will keep your notes organized during conversations with customers. It will also help you guide the flow of the interview and note any takeaways or action items to proceed with after the session ends. Feel free to customize the discussion questions to match your objective.

Customer research survey template

Customer surveys allow you to gather insights from more people in less time — with the added benefit of built-in reporting via online survey tools. This template will help you learn how to design an effective customer research survey and plan the demographic, use case, and customer satisfaction questions that you want to ask. It includes a blend of question types for both fixed and open-ended responses.

Polls offer a simple way to incorporate a quantitative component into your qualitative research. For example, you can quickly gauge the group's opinion on an idea by inserting a poll in an online focus group or empathy session . This template will help you jot down ideas for future polls.

Similar to the customer interview template, this focus group template will help you structure your session. It emphasizes a well-planned agenda over note-taking — encouraging you to be present in the discussion when you are facilitating a focus group. You can always record the focus group session to revisit later and take detailed notes.

After you have conducted your research, showcase your findings. Sharing results with your team makes customer research even more impactful — customer opinions matter at every level of the business and every stage of the product development process . This template will help you convey your top takeaways in a presentation.

Customer research has long been a core tenet of product management — and will continue to be. Templates like these will help you streamline your research process so you can focus on interacting with your audience and distilling insights from what they share.

When you are ready for a more comprehensive solution beyond simple templates, give idea management software like Aha! Ideas a try. With Aha! Ideas, you can crowdsource feedback via ideas portals, engage your community with empathy sessions, and analyze trends at the individual, organization, and segment levels. This helps you prioritize customer feedback with ease and promote the ideas that support your business goals directly to your product roadmap. (Note that you can use Aha! Ideas as a standalone tool, but many of its features are also available on Aha! Roadmaps . This makes it a great choice for teams seeking an all-encompassing product development solution.)

Discover exactly what your customers want. Start a free Aha! Ideas trial today.

• The Aha! Framework for product development
• The activities in The Aha! Framework
• The Aha! Framework vs. other product development methodologies
• How to adopt The Aha! Framework
• What is a business model?
• What is customer experience?
• What is the Complete Product Experience (CPE)?
• What is a customer journey map?
• What is product-led growth?
• What are the types of business transformation?
• What is enterprise transformation?
• What is digital transformation?
• What is the role of product management in enterprise transformation?
• What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
• What is a Minimum Lovable Product (MLP)?
• What is product vision?
• How to set product strategy
• What is product-market fit?
• What is product differentiation?
• How to position your product
• How to price your product
• What are product goals and initiatives?
• How to set product goals
• How to set product initiatives
• What is product value?
• What is value-based product development?
• Introduction to marketing strategy
• Introduction to marketing templates
• What is a marketing strategy?
• How to set marketing goals
• Marketing vs. advertising
• What is a creative brief?
• How to define buyer personas
• Understanding the buyer's journey
• What is competitive differentiation?
• 10Ps marketing matrix
• 2x2 prioritization matrix
• Business model
• Customer journey map
• Decision log
• Decision tree
• Fit gap analysis
• Gap analysis
• Lean canvas
• Marketing strategy
• MoSCoW model
• Opportunity canvas
• Porter's 5 forces
• Pricing and packaging research
• Pricing plan chart
• Pricing strategies (Kotler)
• Product positioning
• Product vision
• SAFe® framework
• Scrum framework
• Segment profile
• SMART goals
• Strategic roadmap
• Strategy mountain
• SWOT analysis
• The Aha! Framework
• Value proposition
• VMOST analysis
• Working backwards
• Collections: Business model
• Collections: SWOT
• Collections: Objectives and key results (OKR)
• Collections: Product positioning
• Collections: Market positioning
• Collections: Marketing strategy
• Collections: Marketing messaging
• What is product discovery?
• How to do market research
• How to define customer personas
• How to research competitors
• How to gather customer feedback
• Asking the right questions to drive innovation
• Approaches table
• Competitive analysis
• Customer empathy map
• Customer interview
• Customer research plan
• PESTLE analysis
• Problem framing
• Product comparison chart
• Pros and cons
• Target audience
• Collections: Competitor analysis
• Collections: Marketing competitor analysis
• How to brainstorm product ideas
• Brainstorming techniques for product builders
• Why product teams need knowledge base software
• Why product teams need virtual whiteboard software
• How to use an online whiteboard in product management
• What is idea management?
• 4 steps for product ideation
• How to estimate the value of new product ideas
• How to prioritize product ideas
• What is idea management software?
• Introduction to marketing idea management
• How to gather marketing feedback from teammates
• Brainstorming new marketing ideas
• How to estimate the value of new marketing ideas
• Brainstorming meeting
• Brainstorming session
• Concept map
• Data flow diagram
• Fishbone diagram
• Ideas portal guide
• Jobs to be done
• Process flow diagram
• Proof of concept
• Sticky note pack
• User story map
• Workflow diagram
• Roadmapping: Your starter guide
• Agile roadmap
• Business roadmap
• Features roadmap
• Innovation roadmap
• Marketing roadmap
• Product roadmap
• Product portfolio roadmap
• Project roadmap
• Strategy roadmap
• Technology roadmap
• How to choose and use a product roadmap tool
• How to build a brilliant roadmap
• What to include on your product roadmap
• How to visualize data on your product roadmap
• What milestones should be included on a roadmap?
• How often should roadmap planning happen?
• How to build a roadmap for a new product
• 3 starter roadmap examples on a whiteboard
• How to build an annual product roadmap
• How to customize the right roadmap for your audience
• Product roadmap examples
• How to report on progress against your roadmap
• How to communicate your product roadmap to customers
• What is a content marketing roadmap?
• What is a digital marketing roadmap?
• What is an integrated marketing roadmap?
• What is a go-to-market roadmap?
• What is a portfolio marketing roadmap?
• How to choose a marketing roadmap tool
• Epics roadmap
• Now, Next, Later roadmap
• Portfolio roadmap
• Release roadmap
• Collections: Product roadmap
• Collections: Product roadmap presentation
• Collections: Marketing roadmap
• What is product planning?
• How to diagram product use cases
• How product managers use Gantt charts
• How to use a digital whiteboard for product planning
• Introduction to release management
• How to plan product releases across teams
• What is a product backlog?
• Product backlog vs. release backlog vs. sprint backlog
• How to refine the product backlog
• Capacity planning for product managers
• What is requirements management?
• What is a market requirements document (MRD)?
• How to manage your product requirements document (PRD)
• What is a product feature?
• What is user story mapping?
• How to prioritize product features
• Common product prioritization frameworks
• JTBD prioritization framework
• Introduction to marketing plans
• What is a marketing plan?
• How to create a marketing plan
• What is a digital marketing plan?
• What is a content marketing plan?
• Why is content marketing important?
• What is a social media plan?
• How to create a marketing budget
• 2023 monthly calendar
• 2024 monthly calendar
• Feature requirement
• Kanban board
• Market requirements document
• Problem statement
• Product requirements document
• SAFe® Program board
• Stakeholder analysis
• Stakeholder map
• Timeline diagram
• Collections: Product development process
• Collections: MRD
• Collections: PRD
• Collections: Gantt chart
• Collections: User story
• Collections: User story mapping
• Collections: Feature definition checklist
• Collections: Feature prioritization templates
• Collections: Marketing plan templates
• Collections: Marketing calendar templates
• Product design basics
• What is user experience design?
• What is the role of a UX designer?
• What is the role of a UX manager?
• How to use a wireframe in product management
• Wireframe vs. mockup vs. prototype
• 18 expert tips for wireframing
• Analytics dashboard wireframe
• Product homepage wireframe
• Signup wireframe
• Collections: Creative brief
• Common product development methodologies
• Common agile development methodologies
• What is agile product management?
• What is agile software development?
• What is agile project management?
• What is the role of a software engineer?
• What is waterfall product management?
• What is agile transformation?
• Agile vs. lean
• Agile vs. waterfall
• What is an agile roadmap?
• What is an agile retrospective?
• Best practices of agile development teams
• What is a burndown chart?
• What is issue tracking?
• What is unit testing?
• Introduction to agile metrics
• Agile dictionary
• What is kanban?
• How development teams implement kanban
• How is kanban used by product managers?
• How to set up a kanban board
• Kanban vs. scrum
• What is scrum?
• What are scrum roles?
• What is a scrum master?
• What is the role of a product manager in scrum?
• What is a sprint?
• What is a sprint planning meeting?
• What is a daily standup?
• What is a sprint review?
• Product release vs. sprint in scrum
• Themes, epics, stories, and tasks
• How to implement scrum
• How to choose a scrum certification
• What is the Scaled Agile Framework®?
• What is the role of a SAFe® product manager?
• What is PI planning?
• PI planning vs. release planning
• How to run a PI planning event
• SAFe® PI planning
• SAFe® PI retrospective
• SAFe® Sprint planning
• Sprint planning
• Sprint retrospective
• Sprint retrospective meeting
• UML class diagram
• Collections: Sprint retrospective
• How to test your product before launch
• What is a go-to-market strategy?
• How to write excellent release notes
• How to plan a marketing launch
• Knowledge base article
• Product launch plan
• Product updates
• Release notes
• Collections: Product launch checklist
• Collections: Marketing launch checklist
• How to make data-driven product decisions
• How to measure product value
• What is product analytics?
• What are product metrics?
• What is a product?
• What is a product portfolio?
• What is product development?
• What is product management?
• What is the role of a product manager?
• What is portfolio product management?
• What is program management?
• What is product operations?
• What are the stages of product development?
• What is the product lifecycle?
• What is a product management maturity model?
• What is product development software?
• How to build a product knowledge base
• What to include in an internal product documentation hub
• What is product documentation?
• How to build a customer support knowledge base
• Use cases for knowledge base software
• Knowledge sharing best practices for product teams
• How to keep your product documentation up to date
• Introduction to marketing methods
• What is agile marketing?
• What is digital marketing?
• What is product marketing?
• What is social media marketing?
• What is B2B marketing?
• Collections: Product management
• How to structure your product team meeting
• 15 tips for running effective product team meetings
• Daily standup meeting
• Meeting agenda
• Meeting notes
• Product backlog refinement meeting
• Product feature kickoff meeting
• Product operations meeting
• Product strategy meeting
• Sprint planning meeting
• What are the types of product managers?
• 10 skills to succeed as a product manager
• Common product management job titles
• What does a product manager do each day?
• What is the role of a product operations manager?
• What is the role of a program manager?
• Templates for program and portfolio management
• How to become a product manager
• How to prepare for a product manager interview
• Interview questions for product managers
• Typical salary for product managers
• Tips for new product managers
• How to choose a product management certification
• Introduction to marketing
• What are some marketing job titles?
• What is the role of a marketing manager?
• What is the role of a product marketing manager?
• How are marketing teams organized?
• Which tools do marketers use?
• Interview questions for marketing managers
• Typical salary for marketing managers
• How to make a career switch into marketing
• Job interview
• Negotiating an offer
• Product manager resume
• Collections: Product manager resume
• How to structure your product development team
• Best practices for managing a product development team
• Which tools do product managers use?
• How to streamline your product management tools
• Tips for effective collaboration between product managers and engineers
• How do product managers work with other teams?
• How product managers achieve stakeholder alignment
• How to complete a stakeholder mapping exercise
• Aha! record map
• Creative brief
• Marketing calendar
• Organizational chart
• Presentation slides
• Process improvement
• Collections: Product management meeting
• Collections: Diagrams, flowcharts for product teams
• Collections: Whiteboarding
• Collections: Templates to run product meetings
• Product development definitions
• Marketing definitions
• Privacy policy
• Terms of service

How to conduct customer research: the best tools and methods

Let’s talk about what customer research actually is, why it’s valuable to a company, and the best research methods.

What is customer research, why is customer research important, different types of customer research, benefits of surveys:.

• Wide reach with a low-cost
• Quantifiable, trackable data
• Quick to start

Drawbacks of surveys:

• Lacking nuance and detail of more personal approaches
• Fees for incentives to overcome low response rates
• May not be taken as seriously by customers

Potential cost:

• Free/cost of mailing your database, plus an incentive

Focus groups

Benefits of focus groups:.

• Instant feedback
• Deep understanding
• Varied viewpoints

Drawbacks of focus groups:

• Ability to be led by the researcher (bias)
• Cost and time needed
• Disparity between reality and ideals
• High, with room hire, refreshments, researchers, and recruiters. Expect to pay more than £1,000

Customer feedback forms

Benefits of feedback forms:.

• Direct insights
• Appreciated by customers
• Quick and easy to run

Drawbacks of feedback forms:

• Bias: Can be influenced heavily by current use/appreciation of product or service
• Limited structure: May not capture useful insights or ideas
• Analysis complexity: Time-consuming to analyse and unpick responses
• Low-medium, although expenses can scale based on the systems needed to facilitate feedback, as well as costs to encourage responses such as incentives, prizes, pop-up volumes, or additional display channels

Tips for conducting customer research

• Ensure customers feel able to respond in any way, good or bad.
• Have a standardised, approved list of questions to ask, but let them reflect and elaborate.
• Ask one thing at a time, and clarify later on.
• Ask open-ended questions, and let them reflect and elaborate.
• Avoid leading questions such as: ‘What do you think about a helpful chat box here?’
• Start with high-level questions first. Discover their role, challenges, and interests, and get them more comfortable answering before you ask questions related to you and your product.

Customer research: which method is right for you?

Our tip start with a survey, and go from there.

5 surveys every successful company should use

Creating an engaging product survey: the 12-step guide

How to create the most engaging market research survey