Market research survey
'Would you use this?' gets a polite yes every time. This survey follows the Mom Test instead. It asks how people deal with the problem today, what they've paid to fix it, and how often and how badly it bites. You learn whether the problem is real from what people do, not from what they guess they'd do.
Best for: Product teams and anyone testing a problem or a market before they build.
Use this template freeHow do you handle this problem today?
A live preview of this template. Click through it. Nothing gets sent.
The questions
- 1How do you handle this problem today?Long textThe current workaround. A named routine means a real problem. 'I don't, really' means it may not be worth solving.
- 2What's the hardest part of doing it that way?Long textThe pain inside the workaround. A new product earns its place here, not in the problem in general.
- 3Have you paid for anything to help with this?Single selectYes / No. Money already spent is stronger proof of demand than any amount of interest.
- 4If yes, what did you use and what did it cost?Short textNames who you'd really compete with and the price people already accept.
- 5How often does this problem come up?Single selectDaily / Weekly / Monthly / Rarely. How often it happens tells a must-have from a nice-to-have.
- 6How much does it set you back when it happens?Opinion scaleHow bad it is. Often plus bad is the problem worth building for.
- 7What would have to be true for you to switch to a new solution?Long textShows the real cost of switching and the bar a new product has to clear.
Sample replies, counted
These replies are made up to show the method.
Asked: How do you handle this problem today?
Google Sheet with every invoice, I check it Fridays and email anyone who's late
Spreadsheet and remindersI pay $19 a month for an invoicing app that sends the reminders for me.
Paid toolI don't really. I just wait and hope.
Doesn't handle itMy calendar has a reminder for the 1st and 15th, I go through my sent folder and nudge people by hand
Spreadsheet and remindersmy partner does the bookkeeping so I'm not sure
Someone else does itSpreadsheet, color coded. Red means over 30 days. There's a lot of red.
Spreadsheet and remindersAccountant chases them, costs me about $150 a quarter.
Paid tool
| Label | Replies |
|---|---|
| Spreadsheet and reminders | 3 |
| Paid tool | 2 |
| Doesn't handle it | 1 |
| Someone else does it | 1 |
Three of seven run a manual spreadsheet routine and two already pay for help. That's a real problem with money behind it. Talk to the spreadsheet people next about what the routine costs them each week.
How to run it well
- Ask about the past, not the future. 'Would you use this?' is the classic Mom Test trap. 'What have you done about it?' gets the truth.
- Give 'have you paid' more weight than any excitement. People who already spent money on a workaround are your real market.
- Plot how often against how bad. Frequent and painful is a business. Rare or mild is a feature at best.
- Read the workaround answers as your list of rivals. The spreadsheet someone named counts.
- Don't describe your idea anywhere in the survey. Once people know what you hope to hear, they start being nice.
When not to use this: If you already have a specific idea and want to know whether people understand it and want it, run a concept test survey instead.
FAQ
Why ask about current behavior instead of whether they'd buy?
How do I know if the problem is worth building for?
How many responses do I need before I trust the results?
Where the method comes from
Related templates
- Exit interview surveyHear the real reason someone left, not the resignation-letter version.
- Concept test surveyCheck people understand the idea, then whether they want it, before you build.
- Website feedback surveyAsk what visitors came to do and whether they managed it. Skip 'rate our design'.
- Support ticket satisfaction surveyRate one closed ticket: was it fixed, how hard was it, how did the agent do.