When customers make decisions – whether they're choosing a brand, abandoning their cart, or trying a new product – their actions are often guided by a mix of practical needs, emotional drivers, and subconscious influences. These hidden motivations and unseen barriers shape their behavior far more than most teams realize.

Market research that only focuses on surface-level feedback – like yes/no answers or satisfaction scores – misses these deeper dimensions. That’s why leading brands are investing in motivation research, using data to understand what truly drives a customer’s choices and what stands in their way.

Why uncovering motivations matters

Knowing what motivates your customers offers a strategic edge. For example, are they buying because your brand aligns with their identity? Do they crave convenience, trust, or exclusivity? These insights aren’t just “nice to have.” They help you:

• Develop more effective messaging that speaks to real customer desires
• Refine product features or offerings to meet unspoken needs
• Increase conversion rates by aligning with what matters most to buyers

Barriers to purchase are just as important

Equally important is identifying what holds people back from saying “yes.” Common barriers to purchase include pricing confusion, mistrust, overwhelming options, or simply not understanding the value. Surveys that surface these blockers empower teams to remove friction and improve experiences across the funnel.

For example, a fictional startup offering a subscription wellness product used a motivation survey in Typeform to find out why trial users weren’t converting. While they expected “price” to be the top barrier, the responses showed many users were unsure how the product would fit into their specific routine – a discovery that led to updated onboarding materials and trial messaging.

The risk of missing the story

When surveys lack thoughtful design or overlook open-ended questions, the real drivers behind customer actions stay hidden. This happens frequently in DIY market research where teams rely on tools like Typeform but lack the deeper experience to structure surveys with empathy and psychological awareness.

By taking time to explore motivations and barriers with the right approach – and, when needed, the right expertise – your research becomes much more than data points. It becomes a tool to forecast behavior, influence decisions, and build lasting customer relationships.

Typeform is designed to make survey creation feel smooth and approachable, even for non-researchers. But while the interface removes technical hurdles, it doesn’t automatically ensure high-quality insights. For beginner users, it’s easy to run into common pitfalls that prevent surveys from capturing meaningful results – especially when the goal is to understand customer motivations or identify decision-making barriers.

1. Writing vague or surface-level questions

One of the biggest hurdles is crafting questions that actually get to the “why” behind customer behavior. Too often, beginner users frame questions that are overly broad, double-barreled, or yes/no format – limiting depth and promoting bias. For example, asking “Did you enjoy the product experience?” may lead to generic answers, compared to asking “What part of the experience made you hesitate or feel uncertain?”

When exploring purchase motivations or consumer hesitations, it's critical to frame questions that encourage honesty and detail, especially in open text fields. This is harder than it looks – and where input from experienced insights professionals pays off.

2. Missing logical flow and question structure

Typeform allows variable logic and conditional branching, but many users don’t optimize these features. Without it, surveys often fail to adapt to user responses, creating irrelevant or repetitive questions. This not only frustrates respondents but also leads to incomplete or inconsistent data sets.

Experts in Typeform survey design know how to build logical flows that gently guide respondents through a thoughtful journey – something that mirrors qualitative research techniques, even in a digital setting.

3. Overreliance on closed-ended data

Quick surveys often lean on multiple-choice or rating-scale formats because they’re easy to analyze. But when trying to dig into motivations, this can oversimplify customer sentiment and hide valuable nuance. Without well-crafted open-ended prompts, teams lose visibility into context – the kind that reveals actionable insights.

A key element of effective survey analysis is not only capturing open responses but knowing how to interpret them effectively. On Demand Talent professionals can support your team by coding open-ended data and translating it into themes that drive business decisions.

4. Lack of respondent empathy

Finally, many beginner surveys aren't written from the customer’s perspective. They may include brand jargon, assume too much knowledge, or make respondents feel like they’re being interrogated rather than invited to share.

Strong surveys create emotional safety and relevance. When using DIY market research tools like Typeform, this requires a human touch – blending technology with empathy. Insights experts have years of practice in designing for tone, accessibility, and flow, which can make or break your response quality.

Where expert support makes the difference

Trying to fill these gaps with limited internal bandwidth or training can slow teams down. That’s why many organizations are now partnering with On Demand Talent from SIVO – tapping into experienced insights professionals who can quickly uplevel DIY efforts. Whether you need help designing a motivation survey, uncovering the real barriers to purchase, or simply interpreting open-ended feedback, these experts offer flexible, high-impact support without long hiring timelines.

Used well, Typeform can be a powerful tool in your research toolkit. But to avoid common missteps and generate results you trust, consider pairing the platform with talent that brings both analytical rigor and human insight to the table.

Understanding what encourages or discourages your customers from making a decision is at the heart of strong market research. Typeform, as a flexible and user-friendly survey tool, offers all the essential building blocks to create surveys that explore both customer motivations and barriers to purchase. But knowing what to ask – and how – makes all the difference.

Start with thoughtful question design

To uncover what drives or stops action, avoid surface-level questions. Instead, use open-ended and behavioral prompts designed to reveal the “why” behind decisions. For example, instead of asking “Would you consider buying this product?” try asking “What would make you choose this product over another?” or “What concerns would stop you from trying this?”

These types of questions encourage story-based answers that shed light on emotional drivers, practical needs, and hidden concerns.

Use logic jumps to tailor experiences

Typeform’s branching logic allows you to tailor the survey experience based on responses. This is especially useful in motivation research, where context matters. For instance, if a respondent says they didn’t finish a previous purchase, trigger a follow-up asking for the specific reason – price, inconvenience, lack of trust, etc.

This approach helps you identify specific barriers to purchase without overwhelming users with irrelevant questions.

Include a mix of question types

People express themselves best in different ways. Include:

• Short/long text questions for detailed explanations
• Rating scales to assess importance of features
• Multiple choice to identify key reasons or influences

This variety not only keeps respondents engaged, but also gives you richer, multi-dimensional data for analysis.

Frame for emotion and action

Motivations are often tied to emotion – the feeling of safety, efficiency, or self-expression. Test emotional language in your questions to get deeper insight. For example, ask: “What made this product feel like the right fit?” or “What might make you feel hesitant to switch?”

Similarly, explore action-based phrasing: “What steps did you take before choosing to buy?” or “What would make you take action today?”

By exploring both motivations and barriers using Typeform’s features with intentional questioning, you can uncover not just what customers do, but why they do it – and where they might get stuck along the way.

While Typeform is powerful for collecting feedback, many organizations struggle with turning that data into true customer insight. The tool offers a solid starting point – but without strategic input from experienced researchers, valuable insights can get lost in the noise.

Recognizing common limitations of DIY surveys

Even well-intentioned teams often encounter roadblocks, especially when exploring complex topics like customer motivations or emotional decision-making barriers. Common issues include:

• Questions that don’t dig deep enough to uncover true motivations
• Biased wording or confusing formats that skew results
• Lack of segmentation or audience targeting
• Misinterpretation of open-ended responses during survey analysis

That’s where SIVO’s On Demand Talent can step in to elevate your efforts.

Strategic support when you need it

Whether you're setting up your first Typeform survey or trying to fix one that didn't deliver the insights you hoped for, bringing in seasoned consumer insights professionals can be a game-changer. These experts know how to:

• Design surveys that explore both rational and emotional behaviors
• Uncover deeper motivations and pinpoint hidden barriers to purchase
• Ensure your questions are framed for clarity and objectivity
• Conduct advanced survey analysis to extract the story behind the data

Unlike freelance platforms or generalist consultants, our On Demand Talent network consists of dedicated insight professionals with deep expertise in qualitative and quantitative research. They are ready to support you flexibly, whether you need someone for a short-term project or additional hands during a busy stretch.

Build lasting team capabilities

Another major benefit? These experts don’t just “do” the work – they work alongside your teams to build skills for the future. From coaching on better question design to showing your team how to interpret motivation survey data more effectively, the goal is not only better immediate outcomes but stronger research maturity over time.

In short, when your DIY tool isn’t yielding decision-ready insights, it’s time to bring in proven insight partners who know how to make your tools work harder – so you don’t have to.

The rise of DIY market research tools like Typeform has made it easier than ever to launch quick surveys and test ideas on the fly. But speed and access don’t always equal quality. Businesses often face a trade-off – fast results vs. depth of insight.

The good news? You don't have to choose one or the other. With the right support and approach, it’s possible to get better insights from tools you already use – without sacrificing rigor or accuracy.

Why surveys often miss hidden motivations

It’s surprisingly easy to create a good-looking survey that doesn’t truly reveal what customers think or feel. Problems such as poor question framing, unclear objectives, and lack of behavioral context can all result in surface-level data. As a result, companies miss key signals that drive purchasing decisions – like trust, perceived risk, or peer influence.

Making DIY work smarter

Improving outcomes from Typeform and similar platforms isn’t about overhauling your system – it’s about optimizing how you use it. Here’s how:

• Define your insight objective precisely. What decision will this data inform?
• Use expert input for survey design. Structure matters more than you think.
• Apply human analysis, not just AI tools. AI can help surface patterns, but the “why” still needs people.
• Segment responses by audience type. Motivations can vary widely between user groups.

Our On Demand Talent experts routinely partner with organizations to do exactly this – digging deeper into the survey design and results to ensure that every response leads to an actionable insight.

Building your internal research confidence

Another bonus of working with experienced professionals? They help improve how your team works within these tools. Rather than outsourcing analysis permanently, On Demand Talent professionals bring your team along in the process – building your long-term skillset while solving immediate needs. You get better outcomes and a stronger research foundation.

So whether your team is using Typeform for small pilots, rapid testing, or brand validation, remember that DIY doesn’t have to mean 'do it alone.' With the right support, you can unlock the full value of your market research tools – while keeping quality insights at the center of every decision.