Part of the Testing SurveyMonkey + Claude Integration series.

SurveyMonkey just launched a Claude integration, and I am genuinely excited to test it out. The integration connects Claude directly to your SurveyMonkey account. This means you can create, edit, and analyze your survey without ever leaving the chat.

I think this has real potential to change how researchers are using general-purpose AI tools. Up until now, most AI usage I've observed in market research has been experimentation or brainstorming on the side. When it comes to actual research work, I've seen more researchers lean toward market research-specific tools than all-purpose large language models (LLMs). Without research-specific functionality, there's only so much a general tool can do. Pairing Claude with a platform built for survey research? That feels different. I actually haven't touched SurveyMonkey since my college days, but this integration has me intrigued.

So that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm kicking off a series where I walk you through a real market research project from start to finish — developing the questionnaire, fielding, analysis, and reporting.

If you're not familiar, KidStrong is a science-based child development franchise for kids from walking age through 11. They combine physical training, cognitive development, and character building into weekly 45-minute classes. They've grown fast — closing 2025 with roughly 177 open locations and on track to open another 60 in 2026.

What makes KidStrong an interesting mock client is the combination of factors at play. They run a franchise model, which means brand awareness can look completely different depending on where you live, and that makes the research more interesting. Additionally, their competitive set is less obvious than it looks: they're not just competing with similar programs. They're competing with park districts, sports leagues, music classes, dance studios, and frankly, any Saturday morning activity a parent might choose instead. And full disclosure: a certain two-year-old in my household is a very big fan of KidStrong, so I'm coming in with a soft spot.

This is a mock research study, meaning I don't have an actual client relationship or a real business problem driving the research. I'm working off publicly available information about KidStrong — which means the research questions, sample definitions, and objectives are my best guess at what would be relevant given where they are as a brand. A real brief would go through several rounds of alignment with client or stakeholders before a single question gets written.

I'll be collecting responses organically through Facebook parenting groups and other social channels (unless someone at KidStrong stumbles upon this post). I'm targeting around 200, but realistically I'll just take what I can get. In the real world, I would explore other methodologies — like qualitative research, interviewing kids alongside parents, and segmenting current members versus lapsed versus non-members. For the purpose of testing the integration, we'll keep it simple. And I'll be transparent about what that means for the findings as we go.

Every research project starts with a document that aligns you and your client or stakeholders on what you're trying to learn, who you're talking to, and how you plan to get there.

For this study, the brief covers KidStrong's background and growth context, four core research objectives centered on brand awareness and enrollment barriers, a recommended methodology and sample design, key research questions, deliverables, and a project timeline.

You can find the full brief here.

In the next installment, I'll be walking through how I used the Claude and SurveyMonkey integration to build the questionnaire — from scratch, inside SurveyMonkey, without ever leaving Claude. That's where things get interesting.