Paid market research projects offer a great chance for you to be rewarded for sharing your opinions on everyday goods, services and companies.
From focus groups to online communities, there are many different ways that your opinions are being sought to help businesses make those products and services as amazing as they can be.
The best part is, for those who are looking at how to make money online from home, you can actually take part in a lot of these projects remotely!
Whether you’re at your favourite café with a mug of coffee or curled up on your sofa at home in a dressing gown, the possibilities for completing paid market research online are almost endless.
Sounds good, right?
Perhaps, for some, a little too good to be true!
At Angelfish, we’re members of research governing bodies such as The Market Research Society (MRS), AQR and ESOMAR, which means that you can have complete peace of mind that everything we do is 100% legitimate.
In fact, most market research projects you come across will be genuine, but as with any market there is the risk of fraudsters – in this case, people trying to get hold of your personal details for sales purposes.
Read on to discover the seven key questions you should ask to work out whether the company you’re thinking of signing up to and the market research project they’re advertising is genuine:
How to tell if a paid market research company and their projects are genuine
1. Are they members of the market research governing bodies?
The market research industry is governed by a number of different bodies who recommend best practise and help monitor the industry. Checking whether the company running the project is associated with bodies such as the Market Research Society, AQR and ESOMAR should be your first port of call.
2. Are they asking for too much information on their sign-up forms?
These are designed to collate the data that describes more about you as a consumer and individual so will include things such as your job and interests. This is what is used to profile you correctly to ensure you are matched to the best project for you.
A form that does ask for particularly personal information such as your bank details should ring alarm bells!
3. Is there plenty of information available about them?
It may seem a little crazy having to research a market research company, but a couple of minutes sleuthing on the web is all it takes to find out if a company really exists or not.
Check out the about us and contact details sections of websites to ensure they are valid. If they have a review section and testimonials, check those too. It’s also a good idea to search for these companies on independent review sites such as Trustpilot to see what the reviews (if any) are like.
4. Are their incentives appropriate?
One of the best parts of paid market research projects is just that – they offer some sort of incentive for taking part!
These are simply an appropriate reward for taking the time out to share your opinions and help shape the products and services of the future. When you take part in a project with Angelfish, you can expect some exciting incentives, such as vouchers for your favourite stores!
5. What will they do with my personal details?
If you have gone through the above assessments, then you can be confident by now that the paid market research project you are interested in is genuine. However, as you’ll have shared quite a bit of personal information with them, it’s understandable that you might be worried about what will happen to it.
A genuine market research company will have this top of mind and will respect the need for privacy by adhering to the standards and best practice guidelines of bodies such as the ones Angelfish are part of. These include compliance with current GDPR regulations, which require by law that certain standards and practices are met.
You can learn more about what happens to your personal data when you take part in paid market research in this blog.
6. Isn’t it just going to be a giant sales pitch?
It’s easy to worry that despite all the checks above that you are simply setting yourself up for a huge sales pitch. Fear no more – a genuine market research company is bound by industry regulations not to sell you anything.
This even goes so far as not offering you incentives that include the products or services you are testing or sharing opinions on since this could be seen to sway the research findings. This means a sales pitch is a definite no-no.
7. Will I have to buy anything?
By the same account you won’t have to buy anything either. If you need specific equipment or products as part of the market research, that will be provided to you via the market research company you signed up with.
8. Once I sign up, am I obliged to complete the study?
The Market Research Society’s code of conduct states that researchers should provide participants with sufficient information to allow consent to be given at the point that they consent, which includes the right to withdraw from a project at any time.
What’s more, researchers must ensure that a participant’s right to withdraw is respected throughout the course of the study.
Therefore, if it’s not made clear to you that you can withdraw at any time prior to or when you give your consent to take part in the research, this might be a sign that the research isn’t genuine.
In conclusion…
If you’re thinking about how to make money online from home, signing up to a genuine market research company and taking part in projects is an amazing way to do it. What’s more, you’ll be able to have your voice heard on the products and services you care about most, and even meet some like-minded people along the way!
Hopefully we’ve helped put your mind at rest that paid market research projects do exist and are an interesting thing to be involved with, and for which you will be rewarded appropriately. We’ve also hopefully taught you how to identify the genuine (us!) from the fake.
Here at Angelfish, we’re always looking for people who are interested in giving their thoughts and opinions on products and services. If you want to let the big brands know what you really think and get paid for it, then:
