Thursday, February 17, 2011

Extra money: Market Research Studies

One of my favorite ways to make extra money outside of work is doing market research studies. Companies have always been interested in understanding their customers. These days they are putting even more emphasis into knowing the trends, habits, and wants that drive consumer behavior before launching a product or service. As a result, there are more opportunities for consumers like us to offer their opinions in exchange for cash.

I’ve participated in a bunch of different research studies including car studies, food taste tests, audio equipment calibration tests, neuro brain equipment tests and more. From my experience, one to two hours of time can net anywhere between $25 to $200 dollars depending on the type of study. Certain studies will ask you to prepare some “homework” while others will offer raffles for people to show up on time or to fill out additional questionnaires after the actual study. My favorite studies are the food taste tests because I get paid for trying new food.

How to find them

The best way I find these studies are through Craigslist or other local postings. Market research companies like Nichols Research also have Facebook pages where you can updates on the surveys they are doing. There are a ton of other companies that operate locally. Most surveys have pre-screening questions that ask you some basic questions to make sure you qualify for their particular survey.

The key to finding and getting surveys is to be persistent! I check Craigslist a few times throughout the day for studies I may qualify for. You will have to wade through the many egg, sperm, blood donor adds to get to the market research study, but those are interesting to read as well. Side note: I am always tempted to participate in these donor programs, but I am too squeamish to give blood, am weirded out by the idea of having a kid I don’t know about roaming around, and do not possess any eggs...

How to get and keep them

The key is to finding and keeping them always keep an eye out for these opportunities. Some of the studies have follow up studies, for instance food studies will often have one set of flavors one week and another set the next week. Some other studies will have raffles to get people to show up on time and will have additional focus groups after their studies. These are all opportunities to make more!

Beware of scams

When looking at online postings, there is always a small possibility of deals that are just too good to be true. While looking for surveys, I’ve come across adds that ask too little information and offer too much money. Someone offering $300 for 1 hour of your time and asking for just your name, address and phone number with little description of the study is too sketchy for me.
3B3UKUHV4UB2