These days research can make or break a company. There are small, medium and even large businesses that fail with their research and end up losing lots of money over it. Market research is the key to success, many believe, and without it you’re just going off a hunch.
While market research cannot always work, for instance, if a completely new product is due to be launched then it’s only theory that people would buy it or not. No matter how many people you ask there is always room for error and again people will fail.
Here are a few reasons why online surveys are taking over the research phase for product launches and redevelopments:
It’s Faster, Cheaper and More Accurate
Traditional survey methods would take a long time would be a nightmare for those compiling the information and in many cases it wouldn’t be accurate. If you are asked to fill a questionnaire out for free then you’re not likely to care too much about your answers. If you’re being paid for it, then that is a different story.
Online surveys cost a great deal less as they are electronic and the results can be tallied up into an application to show instant results. The analysis team can then make quicker decisions and the goal of the survey can be implemented at a faster rate. For a relatively small cost, in terms of market research, the company involved can make huge savings to traditional forms of research.
Easier to Get Candidates
By using the Internet for market research companies can find more people in less time to take a survey. That means that a wider audience will give more accurate results as there are more participants. They can split-test the research easily as an online survey can be styled or tweaked on-the-fly so that the results can show different aspects for the same goal.
There are also many online survey companies that deal with the candidates so the company can simply approach them and get thousands of participants a day to take the survey.
Honesty
The people that take the surveys will be more likely to give honest answers if they’re getting paid. Free surveys are less accurate but paid surveys offer a great way to earn an income so the candidates will want to take more and more, and therefore make more money.
Selectivity
If a company is aiming a new product or a relaunch of an existing product at a certain market, the information of the candidates can be filtered out so that the target market is as accurate as possible. If the product is a new kind of hair straightener, then women aged 16-32 are most likely to use them and therefore can be targeted.
As you can see, the world of market research has changed a lot since the boom of the Internet. More companies can get more people to answer their questions in less time for less money. It’s why there are so many people earning an extra wage from taking surveys every single day.
Lou Ribbleswade has been earning money online since 2006 and the majority of it comes from Online Surveys (UK).