Money Making Surveys

Every business on earth needs feedback. They have to know if their products or services are satisfying customers. But how does a business go about obtaining customer opinions?

Well, for most large companies and corporations that means putting together focus groups. Focus groups are really nothing more than collections of average consumers who are asked to give their honest opinions about certain products.

While they are an invaluable marketing tool and have been for several decades, they are extremely expensive to coordinate. Not only does the company have to compensate the members of the group, but they also have to pay the researcher and his staff.

In recent years, however, a new, more cost-effective alternative to the standard focus group has emerged. They are called online surveys, and as you might expect, they are administered over the internet.   

Why do companies like online surveys?

To begin with, they are cheap. They don’t have to worry about coordinating anything or paying researchers to ask simple questions. All they have to do is issue coupons or free samples to potential customers, and they can collect the same market research they receive in costly focus groups.

Advantages

If you have never taken an online survey, this section may be more difficult to follow, but stay with us. Another important advantage of online surveys is that the company gets to set the parameters and they can quickly and easily weed out any unqualified applicants.

They do this by asking a series of related questions before the survey even begins; and if it turns out that the potential survey taker is not right for the survey, they simply dismiss him, without payment. It is a bit underhanded, to be sure, but it helps save the company quite a bit of money.

For Consumers

Surveys that paid in products are also a boon for consumers. Not only are they normally much shorter than paid surveys, but they also often offer a person an advanced screening of a new product. Other product surveys offer consumers some of their favorite products simply for answering a few questions. In the end, everybody wins. The company receives market research on the cheap, while the customer gets free products for just a few moments of his time.

Free Products

The biggest users of free product surveys are undoubtedly the fast food giants. These companies have had a strong online presence for years, so it is only natural that they reach out to customers over the internet. It also helps that just about everyone know the products they serve, which means that they know exactly what they are getting if they complete a survey.

That is the main reason product surveys have proven unsuccessful when they are offered by brands that are not well known. Honestly, who is going to take the time to complete a survey if they don’t know what they stand to gain?

Currently, all of the major fast food giants-Macdonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell-offer free products for online surveys. You need only visit their websites and fill out a form to receive a coupon for a free product.

Gift Cards

In recent years, many companies have started offering free gift cards for consumers who complete their online surveys. These gift cards are redeemable at most locations and are every bit as good as cash (if you like the store). They are especially popular with companies like Best Buy, Home Depot, IKEA, and Wall-mart.

The common theme here is that all of these companies pride themselves on customer service, which is why they are willing to pay (in merchandise) to find out exactly what customers think about their products, their stores, and their service.

Why the Internet?

For years, companies have asked customers to fill out free surveys at their stores to no avail. But they quickly discovered that people on the internet were far more likely to complete a survey, especially if they were paid, than the customers in their stores.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that they are relaxing at home and they don’t mind taking a few extra minutes to fill out a simple form. Perhaps it is because things are just a bit easier to do over the internet. Whatever the reason, thousands of companies are now offering either products or payments for customers who submit surveys. As we mentioned, it appears to be a mutually beneficial arrangement.