Real Surveys From Real Market Research Companies

Anyone 13 years or older from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia can earn cash, free products, points, gift cards, and prizes for simply participating in online surveys. Based on the information you provide to SurveyClub, you will have the opportunity to join some of the largest survey companies in the world. And, after you join, we will continue to send the newest and best online surveys direct to your inbox!

These companies look for consumer opinions on their products and services and rely on the unbiased opinions given in online surveys. Join the paid surveys and focus groups listed on SurveyClub, and share your voice with a wide range of companies on a wide variety of topics.

Each survey that is sent to you will ask you a series of questions, and qualify you for the reward that is attached to that specific survey. If you match the needs of the company conducting the research, you will continue to answer more in-depth questions the product or service the company is researching. It’s important to be truthful and honest about yourself and your lifestyle so that you qualify for as many surveys as possible and be reimbursed for your participation.

Every company that you interact with and buy (or don’t buy) their products or services wants to know what they can do to improve. Whether it is launching a new product or attempting to improve an existing product or service, these companies need REAL people, just like you, to tell them what they are doing well (or not so well). At SurveyClub we know that you, the consumer, control what products you buy, and we help you find companies that want to listen and pay for your insight! With more companies spending more online every day, completing paid surveys online helps you to participate in online advertising and provide immediate feedback to companies about their new initiatives.

Market Research is the collection and analysis of data about a certain topic, product, market, or the competitive landscape of any of the above. Market research can also be split into two sub categories, primary and secondary. Primary research is when the data is collected directly by the researcher from the respondent. For example, an individual asking people questions in a mall. Secondary research is syndicated from multiple sources or multiple panels of members (this is where Surveyclub comes in). The largest Market research companies in the world rely on SurveyClub to provide members to their panels so they can help fill surveys.

The reason so many companies perform market research is to achieve an increased understanding of the topic in question. In essence, Market Research helps individuals or companies make informed decisions about their actions. As the competitive landscape becomes increasingly intense regardless of the industry, market research is required to get ahead. Whether a company is trying to gain market share or it is a University student trying to understand the effects of a new marketing process, market research is the foundation of making an informed decision.

In order to conduct and complete market research projects, organizations may choose to collect the research in-house or they may decide to outsource the project work to a market research agency. These agencies maintain panels of survey takers, and that is what we give you the opportunity to do at SurveyClub. We allow you to join these research panels and help complete market research projects. Now, in order to complete these surveys, the agencies know that typically they need to compensate their members for their time, and that is how you can be paid to participate in Market Research. Depending on the type of study the client has requested, the market research firm can collect data in two separate manners.

Quantitative research is number based research that normally involves statistical analysis. Things like customer satisfaction surveys, where an organization may wish to rank the friendliness of an employee, would be considered quantitative research. In order for the researcher to gather significant and relevant information, the same series of questions must be asked to every respondent. This allows for the calculation of certain mathematical formulas such as average score and median score.

Qualitative research surrounds the “how?” or “why?” things are happening in the way that they are. The type of questions in qualitative research studies can be more open-ended that those asked in quantitative studies. For example, ‘why do you like the first commercial better than the second commercial?’, with an empty text box for the user to freely express why he or she liked the first commercial out of the two commercials presented. We will talk more about focus groups later, but this is a common method that is applied in qualitative research, as it allows the researcher to interact with the respondent in a face to face manner and ask follow-up questions, if necessary. In qualitative research, the discussion between the researcher and the respondent is largely driven by actual responses from the respondent.

After all the surveys are finished and the data is finally collected and compiled, the market researchers will use the data to make decisions and recommendations to the organization who has paid for the project. The information gathered will be used for strategic decisions, for example, how to best improve a new product line, or who to sell a new product to. This is where you the panelist comes in, by sharing your opinion about your favorite (or least favorite brands) you are able to shape the future of all sorts of products and services. Your thoughtful and honest opinions are what help the world’s largest companies improve their products and you will be paid for you time and opinions. Market Research data allows individuals and corporations to make educated decisions about things like design and price for new products.

SurveyClub members have the opportunity to join a number of different market research panels. Below we will tell you the difference between custom panels and national gen pop panels. We offer our members the opportunity to join custom panels and national gen pop panels. Below we discuss the difference between custom panels and national gen pop panels, research panel recruitment methods, panel member compensation, and panel maintenance.

Market research panels are a great source of primary and secondary research as they may be owned and managed by the company conducting research or by a market research firm that provides secondary research services. The panel’s objective is to collect pertinent information on the people that join the panel in an effort to send targeted surveys. Think about it, if you are a Mom with two kids, you are a more qualified respondent for a diapers survey than say, a 19 year old college kid.

People that join research panels are commonly referred to as panelists. Panelists may be customers or non-customers of a company, may meet specific demographic criteria, or may be a broad cross section of the population. As a panelist, the more information you provide the research panel, the more accurately they will be able to send you surveys that you will qualify for and will likely enjoy taking. Plus, the paid surveys that are sent out pay more when they are targeted to a harder to find portion of the population. While those seemingly random hobbies of yours may not seem important, it may be the reason you receive higher paying surveys!

As a member of research panels you will be rewarded for participating in research projects (surveys, focus groups, phone interviews, and even daily polls). Each panel is different, but the most common forms of compensation include cash, gift cards (think Amazon.com), pre-paid debit cards, cash sweepstakes, prize drawings (how about an iPad 2?), and charitable contributions. Research panels require sophisticated technology, responsive customer service, and good security policies. That is why SurveyClub takes pride in making sure that all of the research panels we recommend have lots of surveys, good rewards, a fun member experience, and real people that can help if you ever have any issues.

There are two main types of research panels that you will be introduced to as a SurveyClub member, National (Gen-Pop) and Custom Panels. Both have similarities, but it is important to highlight the differences because it will help you understand how to get the most out of your SurveyClub membership.

National, or general population (Gen-Pop) as they are often referred to, are market research panels that accept any and all members within a specific country. These panels do not put restrictions on who can join them because they have so many surveys that they need more and more people to give their opinions. These panels attempt to keep their panel as representative of the population in that country. This is referred to as ‘census-representative’. All that means is that the market research company does their best to keep the demographic breakdown of their panel as close to what the census reports. For example if in the United States males make up 48% of the population while females make up 52% the market research company does their best to make sure their male to female ratio matches. Most national panels require you to register, confirm your email address, and provide at least basic demographic information before they send you surveys. Each survey invitation will tell you how long the survey is and how much you will be rewarded if you complete the survey. Make sure that you continue taking surveys otherwise market research companies have been known to stop sending surveys after a period of member inactivity. As a good rule of thumb, the more active and more information you provide, the more paid (and higher paid) surveys you will receive.

Custom panels, on the other hand, are a unique opportunity for you. These panels are specific to a brand, company, or group of people and provide you the opportunity to interact on a more personal level with that company. With custom panels, not everyone that applies to join the panel will be accepted as they are looking for specific members and only allow a certain number of people to join. SurveyClub has provided its members the opportunity to join custom panels for companies like The Discovery Channel, Sprint, Comedy Central, and Crayola. These custom panels are referred to as either blind or branded. A blind custom panel will be based around a topic but not reveal exactly what company is doing the research. For example, you may be invited to join a custom panel that is all about jeans, but doesn’t reveal which clothing company is conducting the research. This is done to ensure that the way you answer questions is not biased because you know who is reading your answers. Branded custom panels, though, do reveal what company is conducting the research and ask specific questions about their products, how you use them, and what you like and dislike. Once you are a member of the custom panel you will be invited to participate in surveys, forums, daily polls, and other community activities. One great part is that the surveys you receive are surveys for which you will always qualify. Most of the custom panels you are invited to will reward you for joining and participating in each activity with gift cards or sweepstakes entries and because these panels are more exclusive communities, your chances of winning are very high! SurveyClub members love the custom panels and the surveys they get to participate in so much that when they receive an invitation to join, they do it right away to make sure they get a spot before it fills up.

When you join SurveyClub, you’ll get access to only the best national research panels that pay you for your opinion, have a fun, interactive member area, and have lots of surveys for you. Plus, as a member of SurveyClub you will be invited to join more custom survey panels than anywhere else!

Market Research companies get their panelists from a number of different sources. They may advertise on Google, Yahoo, or Bing, but most often they come to companies like SurveyClub to find people that want to give their opinion. SurveyClub works directly with Market Research companies to help them grow their online panel by inviting our members to join their panel. These invitations come through email or are placed inside your member’s area. SurveyClub is paid a small fee to help these Market Research companies find new panelists that are active and engaged.

One of the big differences between SurveyClub and any other paid survey site is you will not only be invited to join panels that pay you for your opinion, but you will also receive paid surveys directly from SurveyClub. All surveys that you receive directly from SurveyClub pay cash. As a general rule, the longer the surveys you are invited to take, the greater the cash incentive.

Reward and compensation will change from panel to panel, but all of them reward you for participating. The only way to earn any money, win prizes, or be entered into sweepstakes is if you actually take the surveys you are sent. The rewards that are offered include cash, gift cards, pre-paid debit cards, cash sweepstakes, prize drawings, and charitable contributions. The survey invitations that you receive via email from market research companies will tell you how long the survey will take to complete and what you will receive in return.

It is important for you to know that market research companies monitor the activity of their panelists to ensure surveys are being completed and members are happy. These research companies want you to stay engaged and participate. When panelists become non-responsive to survey invitations, market research companies will stop sending survey invitations and deactivate that account. That is why it is important to stays active. If you are ever dissatisfied, or have questions, we highly recommend contacting that particular market research company with your questions and concerns.

SurveyClub offers its members the opportunity to participate in focus groups. Above we discussed the difference between quantitative research and qualitative research. Focus groups are a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in a group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members.

When you join SurveyClub, we ask you for your zip code so we can invite you to focus group in your area. Focus group participants usually earn between $50 and $200 per hour. SurveyClub does not conduct the focus group, but we do help to recruit the people that are interested in participating.

Focus groups are an important part of evaluating new products before they go to market. Focus groups allow companies to test things like different types packaging and different product names before the new product is made available to the public. After each focus group discusses, views, and tests the product, they will fill out a short survey to summarize their thoughts for the researcher.

SurveyClub members in the Denver area recently participated in a focus group for Leprino cheese. The focus group lasted two days. There were four groups of five to seven people and each group spent between one and two hours each day discussing different pizza concepts. On the second day, the groups actually sampled pizza with different types of cheese. Each SurveyClub member received between $40 and $60 per day for their time and opinion.