When testing brand messages or product claims early in the development process, speed, cost-efficiency, and adaptability matter. That’s exactly why tools like SurveyMonkey are increasingly popular among marketing and consumer insights teams. They offer a streamlined way to gather feedback directly from consumers – often in a matter of days – helping teams iterate faster and build stronger messaging from the start.

Accessible and Easy to Use

SurveyMonkey and similar platforms are designed to be approachable. Teams without formal research training can quickly draft a survey, distribute it, and collect results. This accessibility makes them valuable for limited-resource insights teams or cross-functional groups like innovation, marketing, or product development who just need timely input to keep things moving.

Affordable Compared to Traditional Research

Compared to the cost of full-service market research, DIY survey tools are a fraction of the budget. This makes them an attractive choice for early-stage testing, when hypotheses are still forming and claims may not yet be validated enough for large-scale investment.

Supports Iterative Development

Early claims testing often involves refining language, gauging believability, and identifying emotional triggers. With SurveyMonkey surveys, teams can test small differences in wording or positioning across multiple rounds without having to start over each time. This iterative testing approach fits well into agile workflows and fast-paced pipelines.

Great for Initial Consumer Signals

At this stage, you’re not always looking for highly polished, statistically weighted data. Often, it’s more about getting an initial read – what stands out, what confuses people, what ideas feel sticky. For that purpose, these platforms can be valuable tools in the research toolbox.

When DIY Still Needs Expertise

That said, the simplicity of the platform can be deceiving. Even the best survey platform won’t protect teams from poor question design, unclear objectives, or misinterpreted results. That’s where having access to skilled consumer insights professionals – like those in SIVO’s On Demand Talent network – can elevate outcomes. They bridge the gap between fast DIY execution and the strategic thinking that ensures research adds real value.

While DIY platforms like SurveyMonkey simplify the process of conducting consumer research, they don’t eliminate the need for good research practices. In fact, without guidance from experienced professionals, it’s all too easy to misstep. These common mistakes can make or break the outcomes of early claims testing – from flawed messaging feedback to wasted time and unreliable data.

1. Asking the Wrong Questions

One of the most frequent mistakes in early claims testing is not having a clear objective – and this shows up in the questions. Teams often jump straight into testing claim language without understanding what they’re really hoping to learn. Are you testing for emotional appeal? Believability? Uniqueness? If the questions don’t align to a specific goal, the feedback gathered can be vague and hard to act on.

2. Overloading the Survey with Complex Stimuli

It’s tempting to give respondents a lot of context – background, subtext, extra claims, visuals – but too much input creates confusion. Especially in early claims testing, simplicity is critical. When respondents are overwhelmed, their answers become less reliable. Focus on isolating the message you’re testing to keep the results clean and focused.

3. Misreading Emotional Response Data

Early-stage concept and message testing often includes emotional response questions. But interpreting those results requires expertise. Just because a claim elicits a strong emotion doesn’t necessarily mean it’s effective. Some emotional responses (e.g., surprise or confusion) could signal risk rather than potential. Without a practiced eye, emotional response testing can be misleading.

4. Testing Too Early – or Too Late

Teams sometimes launch surveys before internally aligning on what “success” looks like. Other times, they wait too long to test, after the claim is already approved. In both cases, feedback has limited utility. Early survey testing should take place when the team is still willing to evolve the direction but focused enough to know what they’re aiming to learn.

5. Poor Survey Design

From leading questions to confusing scales, even small issues can skew results. Common issues include:

• Failing to randomize claim order, which introduces bias
• Using inconsistent answer scales (e.g., mixing 5-point and 7-point scales)
• Lack of clear instructions, making it hard for respondents to evaluate messages accurately

6. Lack of Internal Expertise

Perhaps the biggest risk with DIY market research tools is assuming anyone can run a great study. The platform may be intuitive, but designing a survey that drives actionable insights requires skill. Without internal research guidance, teams may miss flags in the data or make decisions based on weak conclusions.

Help Is Available – Without Slowing You Down

You don’t need a full agency engagement to avoid these risks. Experienced researchers from SIVO’s On Demand Talent network can step in quickly to guide survey flow, ensure clarity, and help make sense of the results – all without stalling timelines. This kind of fractional support allows insights teams to stay nimble while upholding quality, making sure your early testing delivers insights you can act on confidently.

Capturing how consumers emotionally respond to claims is a powerful part of early claims testing, but only if it's interpreted in the right context. SurveyMonkey surveys make it easy to ask questions about believability, interest or uniqueness. However, many teams struggle with turning raw feedback into actionable insights – especially when testing multiple claims at once.

Getting Clear on What You’re Testing

When using SurveyMonkey or similar DIY market research tools, it's tempting to evaluate too many claims at once without organizing them into meaningful groups or 'message clusters.' This can lead to conflicting feedback or unhelpful results. Instead, begin by grouping your claims into better-defined themes or value pillars (e.g., health benefits, performance, sustainability, etc.). This allows respondents to compare apples to apples, and helps your team discern which territories resonate most.

Recognizing the Layers of Emotional Response

Emotional response testing can uncover deep consumer motivations – but it needs careful setup. A common mistake in SurveyMonkey surveys is using vague or leading emotional terms. For instance, asking “How much do you love this claim?” may generate inflated scores without revealing what’s driving the sentiment. Or worse, emotional words baked into the claim may bias the answers entirely.

Instead, keep emotional response questions clear and specific. Explore reactions with neutral metrics, such as:

• “How believable is this claim?”
• “Which words/phrases sparked a reaction, either positive or negative?”
• “What emotion do you associate with this message?” (paired with a visual emotion scale or word list)

Evaluate Patterns – Not Just Individual Claim Scores

Ratings alone don’t tell the full story. Focus on patterns across your message clusters – do several high-performing claims share specific language, tone, or benefits? Are emotional cues consistent across messages consumers prefer? These trends often point to which brand territories are strong contenders for further refinement in your claims development work.

When to Bring in Help

If you're feeling stuck interpreting inconsistent or inconclusive responses, expert perspectives can make a big difference. On Demand Talent – SIVO’s network of seasoned consumer insights professionals – can guide your survey design or help analyze results clearly and effectively. Whether you're testing messages for a launch product or optimizing existing positioning, having experienced eyes on your emotional response data can unlock value that might otherwise be missed.

One of the most common missteps in early-stage message testing is trying to make your claims look too polished, too soon. When you're using DIY tools like SurveyMonkey, it’s tempting to dress up your stimuli – designing flashy visuals, layering in logos, or embedding finished product context. But in early claims testing, over-engineering the stimuli can limit honest feedback and mask the core message.

Why Simplicity Wins in Early Tests

In the earliest research phases, the goal isn't to assess final creative execution – it's to understand whether the underlying idea or promise resonates. Overloading your survey with design elements or context can distract users, confuse results, or even bias responses if emotional cues are baked into the visual styling.

Instead, focus your claims testing on raw but clear copy that allows each claim to stand on its own. Keep stimuli simple by:

• Using clean, text-only claims without graphics or packaging
• Presenting claims in a randomized order to prevent order effects
• Separating message testing from product evaluation (if applicable)

Let Claims Speak for Themselves

When you're testing multiple claims, over-designed stimuli can create an 'advertising feel' that causes users to switch into evaluation mode for brand aesthetic, not message clarity. A simple claim, presented neutrally, gives you a clearer read on which ideas are sticky, which are confusing, and which lack emotional pull.

Examples Help You Test for the Right Things

For example, a (fictional) consumer goods company tested these two formats of a “fast-acting” claim:

• Polished version: “Our sleekly designed applicator delivers visible results in just 30 minutes – trusted by pros worldwide.”
• Simple version: “Delivers results in 30 minutes.”

The simple version actually scored higher on believability and uniqueness because it removed distractions and focused on the core promise. Later, this insight informed a stronger, more focused value proposition in creative development down the road.

Where Expert Input Helps Avoid the Pitfalls

Sometimes teams accidentally over-engineer because they want to impress internal stakeholders – rather than test for the consumer’s authentic reaction. Bringing in On Demand Talent from SIVO can help teams walk the line between professional execution and clarity of intent. These experts bring objectivity, helping teams stick to their research goals and keep stimuli aligned with testing objectives – ensuring your claims development process moves forward with quality insights at every step.

As DIY platforms like SurveyMonkey become essential tools for consumer research, many organizations find themselves stuck between speed and quality. The flexibility of DIY is appealing, but without the right experience and structure, valuable research can quickly go off course. That’s where On Demand Talent makes all the difference.

Closing Gaps – Without Hiring Full-Time

Whether you're a startup with limited insights staff or a large organization in need of extra hands during key initiatives, SIVO's On Demand Talent gives you access to experienced market research professionals on a fractional basis. These experts can step in to support exactly where you need them – from designing effective early claims surveys to coaching junior team members on emotional response testing techniques.

Built-In Quality Assurance

One of the biggest risks of DIY research is collecting data that doesn't ultimately help your business make decisions. On Demand Talent brings industry know-how to ensure:

• SurveyMonkey surveys are grounded in best practices
• Studies stay aligned with business and brand objectives
• Insights are interpreted in context, not in isolation
• Teams avoid common pitfalls like leading questions, over-complicated claim layouts, or misread emotion metrics

Faster, Smarter Decision-Making

Imagine launching several claim versions, only to realize post-launch that none resonated the way your data suggested. On Demand professionals can help get it right the first time – not by slowing the process, but by integrating strategy and rigor into the pace of agile decision-making. The end result: confident, insights-backed decisions that save time and limit risk.

Long-Term Capability Building

The value of On Demand Talent extends beyond a single project. SIVO matches your team with professionals who don’t just step in and take over – they co-create, guide and build internal muscle for high-impact consumer research. Many of our clients find that their teams become more confident and capable with DIY market research tools after being partnered with On Demand experts during initial phases.

Whether you’re leading your company’s first message testing initiative or trying to refine your approach with SurveyMonkey, tapping into scalable expertise can be a game-changer. On Demand Talent ensures your claims testing work doesn’t just deliver data – it delivers clarity, direction, and strategic value.