Market Research Questions to Ask Your Audience

So many business owners get sales copy wrong because they’re straight up guessing what their ideal client wants rather than going to them directly. If you want to understand what your audience really wants, you’ve gotta go right to the source and ask. Market research is a crucial part of writing effective sales copy. Want to know how we approach market research at Acorn Digital–and why the heck it’s so important if you want to write copy that sells? Keep reading. 

Go to The Source

The easiest way to get key information is to ask your existing or previous ideal clients (it tends to be easier to get people who already know/like you to answer some Qs rather than asking strangers on the internet). Through interviewing your ideal clients, you’ll gather tons of insights into how your product or service feels for the user.

Hint: If you’re new to the game or switching niches, you can always find ways to interview strangers who are your target demographic. We’ve noticed that business owners are generally down to help fellow business owners when approached the right way. Instagram voice notes can be a quick and easy way to get good nuggets! 

What To Do With The Info You Gain 

Once you’ve gotten some details on several ideal clients’ experiences with you, pick out specific words and phrases that each of your clients used. Highlight the exact words they used to describe their current stage or to explain their end goal. Use this wording in your sales copy to help your audience identify with it.

Oftentimes business owners want to overcomplicate language in sales copy. But using clear, simple, and specific language will always land better than the fancy adjectives and run-on sentences ChatGPT pumps out. 

Questions to Ask Your Audience

When you’re doing market research, you’ll first want to listen to what your ideal client is going through. Ask them questions about their current state vs. their desired state, and what they think will get them to the next stage. Pay attention to their goals, dreams, and pain points so you can write a sales page that targets them directly. 

Building an ideal client avatar is great, but you need to make sure this person actually exists and is willing to pay for the product or service you’re selling (get clear on if they’re willing to pay their way out of their problem(s), and what price is right). Get specific with your questions to narrow down who you want to reach and make sure your messaging is compelling enough to make them want to hand over their hard-earned money to you to solve their pain point. 

To get the most data possible, do your research with both previous clients and leads. There are different questions to ask each, so take a look below for the most relevant ones.

Here are some questions to ask previous clients:

1. What are some of the things you’ve previously tried to help you with [topic]? 
2. Why do you think the above didn’t work?
3. What was going on in your life that made you purchase [name of your product/service]?
4. Did you consider other solutions? Which ones?
5. What were your hesitations before purchasing? 
6. How has finding this solution impacted your life? 
7. Was this the solution you wanted? What can you do now that you couldn’t before?
8. What would have happened if you hadn’t made this investment?
9. What has been the most valuable part of [your service]? 
10. Who do you think this [service] is great for? (psst getting other members to describe your ideal client in their eyes is super powerful!)

When you’re doing market research with non-clients, here are some questions you can ask:

1. What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to [topic]?
2. Why is overcoming this struggle/pain point important to you? What does it feel like when you’re on the other side of success? 
3. What are some of the things you’ve already tried to help you with [topic]? Why do you think these things haven’t worked?
4. Who are some people in your industry you admire? What do you admire about them? This will help you see the future state they see for themselves. 
5. If you were to invest in [your service] what would you expect to pay?

For even more data on your ideal client, you can beta-test your offer. This could look like giving a free or discounted trial to a group of people to understand their experience. Then, you can them a survey or schedule a call after the trial is over. It’s a great way to collect data from real users. 

Whatever your method, make sure to do your market research before you start writing – there are valuable insights out there for the taking! You can download our full list of questions to ask your ICA for even more guidance.