For people who want to make a little extra money, surveys that offer rewards are an attractive option. However, is the promise of a reward simply for completing a survey too good to be true?
While a few dishonest websites might post fake surveys and offer rewards that don’t exist, in many cases, survey rewards are genuine. A lot of companies incentivize survey responses to help them meet their goals. When it comes to collecting customer feedback or doing market research, rewards are a highly effective way to encourage people to complete the survey.
Survey rewards are incentives that companies give to encourage participants to complete a survey. Companies that do regular surveys, especially research agencies, often offer points programs, where participants accrue points for each survey and can then redeem them for a reward, like a digital gift card. In other cases, especially one-off or less frequent surveys, rewards are distributed instantly as a cash payment or gift card.
READ MORE: Download our Survey Optimization Checklist to increase response rates!
Attracting participants to complete surveys can be challenging — a simple email invitation may not be enough, especially for longer surveys. People today are busy and unlikely to take the time and effort required without proper compensation. And when there are too few respondents, the data won’t be representative and the resulting conclusions aren’t reliable.
By using survey rewards, you attract more participants, increase the rate of complete responses, and compensate them for their time. Not only does that mean you get the high-quality data you need, you also build goodwill and trust for your brand. When you provide an incentive for feedback, you’re telling participants that their opinions and time are valued.
Many companies across a broad spectrum of industries distribute survey rewards as part of their marketing and research strategies. Such incentives are a great way to increase survey response rates. Companies can use surveys and the corresponding rewards for a number of different reasons, including:
There are different reward options that companies can offer for completing surveys. Some of the top options include:
Although all these reward options have certain advantages, gift cards — and, in particular, digital gift cards — offer the most flexibility for both the recipient and the distributor. They also eliminate shipping costs and allow for automated delivery.
Of course, companies need to be sure that when they do use digital gift cards as rewards, they look legitimate when delivered. If consumers believe that the invitation or incentive offer are a scam, they’ll simply delete the email without responding. Or, if someone takes the survey but their reward email is flagged as spam, they won’t get it and will be upset.
Fortunately, there are several steps that companies can take to ensure their digital rewards appear legitimate and are highly deliverable. They include:
When companies follow these tips, they can ensure recipients that their incentive is real. This increases redemption rates and again builds trust with your audience.
BHN Rewards not only provides trusted delivery and customizable reward emails and redemption pages, it also integrates directly with many top survey platforms, including Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, and Medallia, to help you streamline and automate survey rewards.
Related Topics:
The Average Survey Response Rate and How to Beat It
Offer Gift Cards for Surveys More Easily With Integration and Automation
