Ben Franklin Would Have Been a Great Market Researcher
It was 18th century American Statesman, Benjamin Franklin, who went on record as proclaiming “honesty is the best policy”. Still today, more than 200 years later, this guiding principle for living a life filled with integrity and truthfulness still holds true, even when taking online surveys. Especially when taking online surveys! Some people might think it is okay to fib a little or tell a little “white” lie when filling out information on paid surveys; like, who’s looking and who really cares? Actually, providing misleading information via online surveys can create a host of problems for the company administering the market study.
Even if you are not telling the truth on paid surveys by misrepresenting your annual income, your age or your true opinion of a product, these seemingly inconsequential little lies are anything but harmless. One of the biggest, overarching problems created by dishonesty on paid surveys is a loss of time. And, our friend Ben Franklin was also wise enough to point out that “time is money”. So, wasted time is wasted money. When market research companies conduct online surveys and end up with invalid or skewed data (knowingly or unknowingly) it ends up costing the client company time, and therefore money, advertising to the wrong target markets, improving the wrong features, selling in the wrong parts of the country and more.
Quite frankly, marketing firms and their client companies don’t want you to bend your answers to fit a preconceived ideal. The best policy to follow when you take surveys is to just “tell it like it is”; give your demographic information on the up-and-up (who cares if you’re 49 and aren’t bringing home the salary you think you ought to) and answer all the objective, “opinion” questions with straightforward honesty. Companies are always happy to get glowing reports on their products and services, but your constructive criticism is actually more useful in product development and marketing decisions.
When you are honest in free online surveys, it shows. Your answers pass through all the data quality filters and your feedback actually plays a role in important business decisions. And, as a result of your honesty, you will gain a favorable impression with the marketing firm administering the paid surveys and /or with the client corporation itself. Opinionated, dependable and above all, honest, respondents who participate in online surveys are typically the same people who get numerous invitations to take surveys for money on an ongoing basis.