Springboard America
Rating:
4.7 out of 5
Registration Process
The process can be completed within a few minutes the questions are not too intrusive.
5 out of 5
Members Area
The members area contains all everything a panelist would need to make modifications
to their profile, and check on their rewards and survey history. The site is easy
to navigate and make changes or ask questions.
4.5 out of 5
Rewards
Panelists have two options, either cash or charitable contributions.
Refer a Friend
Springboard America does not have a referrals program.
3.75 out of 5
Customer Service
The customer support for Springboard America is fair. However it is difficult to
read through their FAQs. While separated by subject, the screen scrolls through
all FAQs in one screen and it is tough to see the email address for questions as
it appears to blend in with the FAQs. Also no phone support or contact form.
4.48 out of 5
Overall Rating
Company History:
Vision Critical was founded in 2000, it's corporate headquarters are located in
Vancouver. It is currently ranked as the 12th fastest growing company in Canada.
The panel areas of participation are located in Canada, U.S. and U.K. Vision Critical
is a technologically centric market research provider. Their SPARQ technology platform
is currently utilized by nearly 25% of the world's top brands. Vision Critical also
has another research platform called Research Plus, this technology is used to gauge
the reactions of an audience to audio or video clips.
Registration Process:
To join potential panelists are first asked to take a basic survey. The questions
asked in the initial survey contain both opinion and demographic information. The
questions asked are not intrusive and are the standard information collected by
most other market research companies. Also Springboard America does a thorough job
of explaining why they collect certain kinds of information and also provides a
through explanation of how to complete the double optin process and also how to
keep their survey invitations from being caught by spam filters. The entire process
take no more than approximately 5 minutes and the many of the questions that are
asked are very interesting.
Members Area:
The members area is very interactive and allows Springboard America to interact
with individual panelists in interesting ways. Panelists can take quick polls that
allow panelists to see immediate responses, In addition there is a section titled
"In the News" from this section panelist can see the results to surveys that are
mainly based upon the current political climate in the United States or other relevant
current events. The members area is setup in an easy to read dashboard format. As
soon as panelists login they can see an updated balance of survey dollars earned,
redeemed and current balance. Also panelists can easily make changes to their profile
just underneath the points balance section. There are 6 tabs that panelists can
navigate: My Participation History, Update My Profile, In the News, About my survey
dollars, support and FAQs, and the about us. The support section addresses not only
questions about how Springboard America works, but also explains their history.
Additionally, the FAQs section is very easy to read, the responses are concise and
well written. My participation history shows in detail which surveys were taken
and when they were taken and how many points were received. Springboard America
also provides monthly newsletters the content of these newsletters generally contain
some interesting results of surveys that panelists have participated in, as well
as updates on new monthly contests, and contest winners. A section where a panelist
of the month is featured in a section titled "Five Minutes of Fame" where the selected
panelist is given a fun survey to complete with their answers posted for all panelists
to read. Also there is a very good section of FAQ's updated monthly within each
newsletter. Also there are links there are links to Springboard America on both
Facebook and Twitter, panelists are encouraged to give their feedback and engage
with the company.
Rewards:
The reward system for Springboard America is unique. There is no redemption site,
panelists simply accumulate survey dollars for completing surveys once a panelist's
balance reaches $50 a "Redeem Now" button appears. Once clicked, two options will
appear, one is to redeem for a $50 check or a donation to a charity. Redemptions
are only made in increments of $50 and once processed, it can take up to six weeks
for checks to be sent out.
Conclusion:
The Springboard America survey program is very well designed and easy for panelists
to join and use. The member area is well designed and allows for great interactivity
between panelists and for panelists to interact with Springboard America. Those
who are looking for a greater selection of rewards may be disappointed however the
redemption process is very easy and Springboard America sends checks to its panelists.
There is no refer-a-friend program which is one of the few shortcomings of the program.