Soap tester questionnaire

[misskat22]

So I'd like to send out a few samples (once they're cured!) of soap to some testers from my FB page. I want to send a questionnaire with it for them to fill out and tell me how they like it. I know most of it is going to be personal opinion, but I'm interested in seeing what people are looking for in handmade soaps and if my soaps are meeting their preconceived ideas. I want to know how they like the lather (was thinking scale of 1-5), how they like the feel, how they like the fragrance (too strong, too weak?) I was also thinking of putting in an area for comments (or specifically asking what they like, dislike, and things they'd like to see changed).

I was going to suggest not using the soap on children under 12 (older maybe?), and explaining that because this is a test I'm not sure how it will react to a child's skin. I was also going to explain a few ways that handmade soap is different from store bought soap and how it may feel different on your skin, and may take a few uses for your skin to adjust from the store bought to the handmade.

I don't want it to be too complicated, but want to get thorough feedback, if someone was testing your soap, what would you want to know about it?

 

[Genny]

I've been a tester for some different soap/bath & body companies and basically here's what they have me do:

Rate bubbles, lather, strength of the fragrance, size of the soap, texture of the soap, color, packaging. Then have them tell me what they enjoyed about it & why. Then what I didn't like about it & why.

I also have to fill out waivers before being sent the testers that ask about all my allergies and/or skin problems or any other health problems and agree not to let anyone else use the testers.

 

[misskat22]

Ah, a waiver is a good idea! I was going to discuss allergies through email, but it does make more sense to have it clearly outlined

 

[Jessrof]

Have you thought of using a surveymonkey account? The questions you have are good and this allows people to do it online without having to mail anything back to you

 

[misskat22]

I have not, I'll check it out! My testers are all local to me, so I'd be dropping off the samples and would be willing to pick up the paperwork when it was all done

 

[dmcgee5034]

I've been a tester for some different soap/bath & body companies and basically here's what they have me do:

Rate bubbles, lather, strength of the fragrance, size of the soap, texture of the soap, color, packaging. Then have them tell me what they enjoyed about it & why. Then what I didn't like about it & why.

I also have to fill out waivers before being sent the testers that ask about all my allergies and/or skin problems or any other health problems and agree not to let anyone else use the testers.

Thanks for this advice . Here I am almost 10 years late to the party thinking about a survey, and your elements to rate and comment are terrific! Really appreciate it - going to build a survey monkey (Or as a friend a work calls it, a monkey survey lol) and use these. My first batch is ready to try next week and I’m super excited to see what my friends and family think. Thank you @Genny and @Jessrof for the ideas.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

@dmcgee5034 Although Genny and Jessrof are no longer active (note the date above the avatar), there is excellent information in this thread. Thank you so much for finding it and reviving it. I'm sure many others will benefit from reading this good advice!

If you do this, I hope you will follow up with results.

 

[Christa10]

I find that many people who have not used real homemade soap have become very accustomed to commercial soaps, which are really detergents, which have way too much lather and are full of chemicals. So there's a bit of an education people need when using real soap for the first time. If you are asking people who have not used real soap, they will be comparing to what they are accustomed to, so the feedback you get might not lead you in a good direction if you ultimately try to replicate a commercial soap based on their input. So my recommendation is to try to find soap testers who are very experienced with using home made soap, so you're comparing apples to apples.

 

[TheGecko]

I used to send out pre-paid post cards to my testers with my address as the return address so they could be "anonymous" and therefore more honest in their assessment. Except of course my testers lived all over the US so I knew from the post mark where it came from. LOL After about the third soap they figured that out too and so it was email after that.

 

[AliOop]

I've used Survey Monkey (free and paid versions). It is really nice for collecting information and then seeing the results in a graph, pie chart, or percentages. It is pretty anonymous unless you know how to look at IP addresses.