Competitor Research Survey Template

Understand how buyers compare you with competitors before changing positioning, pricing, or messaging.

Choose this Competitor Research Survey Template when strategic decisions require evidence from real buyers, not assumptions. It helps teams understand how respondents compare alternatives, where your positioning is weak, and which changes can increase win rates.

Why this survey matters for positioning

Competitive pressure is not only about feature parity. Buyers also compare trust, onboarding effort, pricing confidence, and implementation risk. This survey gives you structured feedback on those dimensions so teams can improve messaging and go-to-market priorities.

Best timing and respondent mix

Run this survey after product evaluations, deal-loss reviews, onboarding milestones, or renewal conversations. Include:

active prospects evaluating alternatives
recently won customers
recently lost or churned accounts

This mix helps you separate perceived strengths from real reasons competitors win.

Question framework for competitor insights

Structure your survey around actionable dimensions:

Comparison trigger: why respondents considered alternatives
Selection criteria: price, usability, support, integration fit, trust
Perceived differentiation: what felt truly distinct
Decision blockers: what prevented choosing your offer
Switching likelihood: what could change future decisions

Use consistent rating scales and one open-text prompt for examples of competitor advantages.

Distribution and data quality setup

For multi-region research, enable multilingual surveys and use hidden variables to tag segment, channel, and lifecycle stage without adding respondent friction.

Use skip logic so prospects, customers, and churned users see relevant paths only.

How to interpret results and prioritize action

Pair quantitative scores with verbatim comments to identify high-impact changes:

low differentiation but high product fit suggests messaging weakness
high differentiation but low trust suggests proof and credibility gaps
repeated objections in one segment suggest sales enablement issues

Assign owners and deadlines across product marketing, sales enablement, and product teams.

Product marketing use case

A product marketing team may see flat pipeline conversion and assume pricing is the main issue. Competitor research survey data can show that the actual blocker is unclear differentiation in early-stage conversations.

For example, if prospects repeatedly rate onboarding confidence lower than competing tools, the best next move might be onboarding proof assets and revised positioning, not immediate pricing changes. That prevents costly roadmap or pricing decisions based on incomplete signals.

Mistakes to avoid

Asking about competitors without a decision framework
Mixing multiple comparison dimensions in one question
Changing response scales between rounds
Collecting insights without assigning post-survey owners

Competitive intelligence KPIs to track

Track these metrics after implementing changes:

perceived differentiation score vs top alternatives
objection frequency by competitor and segment
win/loss reason distribution by quarter
confidence in pricing and implementation value

These KPIs help validate whether survey-driven actions improve actual market positioning.

Internal links and resources

Helpful next reads: create and configure, matrix questions, survey data analysis, and connect workflows, plus market research survey tips, types, and templates and 10 best SurveyMonkey alternatives and competitors.

Frequently asked questions

Who should own a competitor research survey?

Product marketing usually owns survey design and insight synthesis, while product, sales, and customer success teams help validate findings and execute follow-up actions.

When should we run competitor research surveys?

Run them before messaging updates, pricing changes, major launches, or quarterly planning cycles when positioning decisions are still flexible.

How many competitors should we include?

Focus on three to five meaningful alternatives your audience actively compares. Too many options lowers response quality and makes prioritization harder.

Should we survey prospects, customers, or churned users?

Use all three groups when possible. Prospects reveal positioning gaps, customers confirm retained value, and churned users explain why competitors won.

What should happen after competitor survey analysis?

Turn insights into explicit actions: update messaging, refine sales objection handling, adjust feature roadmap priorities, and assign owners with timelines.

Customize template for your needs

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You can modify every question, delete or add more; there are 24 types of questions with options to select.
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Questions examples

What specific product of our brand are you using?

In which area is this product lacking the most? Specify below.

Which product/service would you consider as an alternative to ours?

Which of our competitors’ features do you find the most useful?

How can we improve to keep our customers? Explain briefly below.

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