MARKETING
Message testing (MaxDiff) survey template
Compare a short set of messages with a best/worst choice task, relevance ratings, and comprehension feedback.
10 questions · 3 pages · 5 answer formats · About 3 min
Time is estimated from all questions, including matrix rows. Branching can shorten a path; reading, consent and longer written answers can add time. Confirm it with a pilot.
- Best / worst choice
Free to use within your plan's response allowance. Edit the wording and options before publishing.
Use this template opens an editable draft after sign-in. Questions, answer options and configured logic carry over; nothing is published until you choose to publish.
Try the questionnaire
Answer it before you use it.
Try the actual questions, follow-ups and endings. Preview answers stay in this tab and disappear when you close or restart it. Nothing is submitted.
Who this is for
Marketers comparing a short set of value propositions with a relevant audience.
Before you send it
Replace the message and audience placeholders with concrete alternatives. Keep messages comparable in length. This template uses one best/worst choice set; it is not a full experimental MaxDiff design.
Questionnaire preview
These are the questions and answer options copied into your draft. Bracketed text is a prompt to customize. Matrix questions contain several statements, so allow time for each row.
Page 1
1. Which best describes you? (required)
Choose one
[Target segment A][Target segment B]Neither2. Of these statements about [product], which is MOST and which is LEAST compelling? (required)
Pick the most and least important
[Message 1 — the speed claim][Message 2 — the price claim][Message 3 — the trust claim][Message 4 — the simplicity claim][Message 5 — the outcome claim]Page 2
3. In your own words, what would [product] do for you?
Long text
4. How likely would you be to click an ad with your MOST compelling message?
0–10 scale (Not at all → Very likely)
5. Was anything in those statements confusing or hard to believe?
Choose one
NothingOne of themSeveral of them6. If you picked one or several — which, and why?
Long text
Page 3: Context and next steps
7. How relevant is the product category to a current need?
1–7 scale (Not relevant → Very relevant)
8. What evidence would make the strongest message more believable?
Long text
9. What would you want to do after reading these messages?
Choose one
Learn moreCompare alternativesTry the productNothing for now10. Which phrase or idea from the messages was most memorable?
Short text
Use the builder link to retain logic, piping, consent, scoring, and randomization. Plain text copies wording only; piped answers become editable placeholders.
How to read the results
Count most/least selections and read the explanations alongside them. One choice set does not yield calibrated utility scores or a complete preference ranking; use a designed series of tasks for that purpose.
Preview your edited survey on desktop and mobile, run a small pilot, and review an export before inviting the full audience. Adding questions is optional: keep the ones that support your decision.
Keep building your study
Measure unaided recall, aided recognition, consideration, and familiarity in a defined market category.
Explore needs, behavior, attitudes, and purchasing context for a market segmentation analysis.
Use a fixed 100-point allocation to explore improvement priorities, purchasing context, and trade-offs.
Count the questions and reading load before confirming timing with a pilot.
Start
Start with this template.
Make it your own.
Free to use within your plan's response allowance. 100 responses a month on Free, and no credit card.