Marketing Research Evolves – Paid Surveys Come Of Age
Some marketers are emerging into this new age, while many others remain stuck in the past when it comes to marketing research. One of the biggest misconceptions about paid surveys is that they represent a more effective way to market products and services than traditional marketing research – something that’s simply not true. The truth is, paid survey companies can be more expensive than traditional market researchers and they often lack the depth and breadth of data that skilled professionals are expected to provide today.
But what these firms do offer is convenience – you won’t have to pay for a compatible demographic list, or worry about having enough qualified respondents for your project; you also won’t have to wait days or weeks on end as with other methods. However, convenience does not equal effectiveness, and despite what you might have heard about paid surveys, they are no more effective at marketing than traditional research. In fact, in some ways they can be less effective than traditional marketing research as well.
Yes – paid survey companies utilize a wealth of data on consumer preferences that can be used to back up your message or to prove a point. But so do professional market researchers and their data is far more detailed and extensive; they also have access to much larger pools of respondents thanks to their membership networks. Total Surveys estimates the average age of its domestically recruited panel is over 50 years old with nearly 40% being female. In addition, the vast majority of the respondents are familiar with your products and services, often having purchased them themselves.
In addition to the age of respondents and familiarity, surveys conducted by outside firms are also more expensive. Traditionally a $500 non profit client would need approximately 1,500 responses at $10 each for a total of over $50,000 for just one project to support their efforts. Total Surveys estimates that it costs as little as $1,000 per project with 20 or more responses required for a traditional market research firm – so their rates are still cheaper than other research options when compared on an annual basis.
But most importantly, neither traditional market research or paid surveys offer the in-depth analysis that today’s clients are now expecting. Thanks to social media and the proliferation of technology, consumers now expect every company to be on their side, helping them achieve their goals as opposed to simply trying to sell them things. In order to keep up with this evolution in marketing research, marketers will now have to get even more creative in how they incorporate data from surveys into their product development and marketing efforts.
In fact – many marketers conceal the majority of survey results from consumers because they don’t want those respondents thinking that their input directly played a part in how a given product has been designed or marketed. This way some of the more embarrassing or simply negative results can be kept away from the public eye. This is not to say that consumers don’t appreciate getting involved in product development and marketing, but companies need to balance this with their need for secrecy.
For example, a consumer might not appreciate knowing just how many people didn’t like the product they thought was perfect, but they may also have an issue with you changing something because of what one person said – because most consumers don’t really understand markets. So if you’re going to use surveys as part of your marketing efforts, make sure that you are being strategic enough to know what kinds of questions and results will work best for your needs.