HOW IT WORKS
Do you remember the Nova? Young male drivers loved the car - in the US. But, this popular muscle car did not sell at all in Mexico, or with the Hispanic population in the US. Why? Because Chevrolet did not do enough research before putting the car on the market. Almost no Chevy Novas were purchased by Hispanics because of the name: "No" (which means no in Spanish) "va" (which means go in Spanish). Why would anyone buy a car named No-Go? It was a good car, but market research in the Hispanic population would have saved Chevrolet from losing out on profit from this secondary market by simply changing the name.
A thorough market research campaign will give small businesses and multi-million-dollar corporations alike feedback on every minute detail of a new product. The photo used on a box of cereal, or even the color of the box itself, could be the difference between the item selling like hotcakes or falling flat as a pancake. Their reputations are also on the line: from Inc. Magazine, "Today there's real pressure to have dead-on market research. You've got to get it right because the whole world will know instantly if you've got it wrong. And they may never forgive you for a major mistake."
Market research is an ongoing expense for businesses. It is also an ongoing opportunity for you to earn money. Through the internet, corporations of all sizes can get opinions from people of all ages, sexes, races, religions, backgrounds, income brackets, levels of education, types of experience, occupations, and even countries of residence. Your honest opinion is very valuable to these companies, and almost all of them would rather pay you for your time now than lose thousands or even millions in revenue later.
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE OFFERED?
Did you ever see a new product on the shelf and wonder, "What were they thinking?!" Maybe they just didn't do their research. You can have a say now in the types of food or toys you will buy for your children later, teenagers can rate new songs and singers before they hit the radio, and screen television shows and movies, and the technically minded can help get the bugs out of computer software or games.
Paid surveys, focus groups, taste testing, product testing, game beta testing, software beta testing, market research, consumer feedback, university research, major magazine feedback, and consumer and professional panels. One company will even sent members a camera and pay them $250 to send them photographs. You could earn up to $250 in a focus group, up to $250 for a survey, plus up to $10,000 in one sweepstakes - although most surveys pay only $5 to $30.
WHO ARE COMPANIES LOOKING FOR?
Adults, teens, tweens, and kids ~ People of all races, backgrounds, religions, and income brackets ~ Mothers, sports fans, trendy people, movie goers, people who download music, cereal eaters, people with medical conditions, and healthy people ~ People from many countries, and all areas of the United States. In other words, anyone and everyone! In fact, the whole family can sign up for their own accounts. Full-time workers can take surveys on their lunch hour, homemakers can answer surveys while the kids are in school, and teenagers can give their opinions after school or even after a late date. Talk about flexible hours! You don't don't even have to get out of your bathrobe for most of these! You can also skip any surveys that don't interest you or that come when you're too busy.
When you join each survey company, take a minute to fill in their survey questionnaire. This will tell them which surveys to send you. If you are a 36-year-old male, you won't qualify for a survey when a company is looking for females 20 to 35 years old; if you are a fireman, you probably won't qualify for a survey on writing computer programs; etc. If you get lots of survey invitations but never seem to qualify, you probably forgot to fill these out.
If a survey site's membership is full, there is still hope. People who continuously don't participate are dropped, making room for new people. By attempting to sign up at a site, you put your name on their list of potential members and may receive an email with a personal invitation to join.
Some companies only tell you that you will be entered in their cash drawing, but they also send you a check ($5 to $25) for taking their survey. It's a nice surprise.
Don't ignore companies that offer contest entries as payment. 1) They want people who want to give their opinions to help create new products or make products better, not just to make money. A check often times comes in the mail as a welcome surprise. 2) the short qualifying survey (for a contest entry) is often meant to find out which cash surveys they should send you.