{"id":4233,"date":"2023-09-19T09:59:51","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T09:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/blog\/?p=4233"},"modified":"2023-09-19T10:02:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T10:02:40","slug":"research-study-gift-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Study Gift Cards: A Sure Path to Improving Survey Response Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_46 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"ez-toc-toggle-icon-1\"><label for=\"item-69d2a241a7d64\" aria-label=\"Table of Content\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><input  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-69d2a241a7d64\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-visibility-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#1_The_need_for_incentives_for_participation_in_research_studies_and_surveys\" title=\"1. The need for incentives for participation in research studies and surveys\">1. The need for incentives for participation in research studies and surveys<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Intrusion\" title=\"Intrusion\">Intrusion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Time_required\" title=\"Time required\">Time required<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Expertise_level_required\" title=\"Expertise level required\">Expertise level required<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Type_of_survey\" title=\"Type of survey\">Type of survey<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Target_population\" title=\"Target population\">Target population<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#2_The_use_of_gift_cards_for_research_participants_Examples\" title=\"2. The use of gift cards for research participants: Examples\">2. The use of gift cards for research participants: Examples<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Capterra\" title=\"Capterra\">Capterra<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Mom_Beach_Blog\" title=\"Mom Beach Blog\">Mom Beach Blog<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Walmart\" title=\"Walmart\">Walmart<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Swagbucks\" title=\"Swagbucks\">Swagbucks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#LinkedIn\" title=\"LinkedIn\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#3_How_to_use_research_study_gift_cards_successfully\" title=\"3. How to use research study gift cards successfully\">3. How to use research study gift cards successfully<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Determine_if_gift_card-supported_research_is_needed\" title=\"Determine if gift card-supported research is needed\">Determine if gift card-supported research is needed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Select_the_best_gift_cards_for_research_participants\" title=\"Select the best gift cards for research participants\">Select the best gift cards for research participants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Set_a_budget\" title=\"Set a budget\">Set a budget<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Use_promised_rather_than_prepaid_incentives\" title=\"Use promised rather than prepaid incentives\">Use promised rather than prepaid incentives<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Ensure_the_reward_is_easy_to_claim\" title=\"Ensure the reward is easy to claim\">Ensure the reward is easy to claim<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#4_How_to_start_incentivizing_market_studies_and_surveys\" title=\"4. How to start incentivizing market studies and surveys\">4. How to start incentivizing market studies and surveys<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/research-study-gift-cards\/#Takeaways\" title=\"Takeaways\">Takeaways<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>Research study gift cards have become increasingly popular among research agencies, businesses, and academia, which have all discovered that incentives are often needed to <strong>improve response rates and response completeness <\/strong>in market studies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regarding the usefulness of incentives in surveys, a 2017 study published by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5406995\/\">National Library of Medicine<\/a> discovered that the likelihood of<strong> returning a survey increased by 30% <\/strong>when accompanied with an incentive offer. Furthermore, the number of returned surveys increased by 18%.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A 2023 study published on <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0279128\">PLOS One<\/a> also discovered \u201ca significant increase in response rate in the incentive group compared to the control group, irrespective of the incentive methods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With gift cards becoming broadly popular, it is no wonder that they have also been adopted as incentives for completing surveys. Large and established companies like Google, Microsoft, and P&amp;G have all <a href=\"https:\/\/huuray.com\/inspiration\/research-incentives\/study-gift-cards\/#:~:text=Google%20has%20also%20used%20survey,quality%20of%20their%20research%20data.\">used gift cards<\/a> to improve response rates to their surveys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In what follows, we consider how you can also use gift cards as incentives for participation in research studies and surveys. We\u2019ll cover:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong>The need for incentives for participation in research studies and surveys<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>The use of gift cards for research participants: Examples<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>How to use research gift cards successfully<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>How to start incentivizing market studies and surveys<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><em>[Do you want to access multiple gift cards from hundreds of retailers so you can maximize response rates to your surveys? <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/registration\"><em>Sign up<\/em><\/a><em> for Reloadly or <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/contact\"><em>contact us<\/em><\/a><em> to learn more about how we can improve your research studies.]&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_The_need_for_incentives_for_participation_in_research_studies_and_surveys\"><\/span>1. The need for incentives for participation in research studies and surveys<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"767\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Reasons_Incentives_Research_Studies-767x1024.png\" alt=\"research study gift card\" class=\"wp-image-4235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Reasons_Incentives_Research_Studies-767x1024.png 767w, https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Reasons_Incentives_Research_Studies-225x300.png 225w, https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Reasons_Incentives_Research_Studies-768x1025.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.reloadly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Reasons_Incentives_Research_Studies.png 899w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 100vw, 767px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Intrusion\"><\/span>Intrusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyone is busy with one thing or another. Therefore, when a researcher interrupts them to fill out a survey, there is a need to compensate them for the <strong>opportunity cost of the time<\/strong> they will spend filling the survey forms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is especially true for researchers \u2013 academics, research agencies, marketing agencies \u2013&nbsp; who do not have any existing relationship with the research subjects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, it is possible to get some responses even without any incentive. However, research has shown that using them can improve response rates significantly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The incentive does not even need to be very significant. A study published by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC1089193\/\">Health Services Research<\/a> found that the response rates for a $5 reward and a $2 reward were very close and that <strong>the quantity of the incentive did not affect the quality of the data.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems then that what matters ultimately is that people want to feel that the organization behind the research values their time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Companies who have built an army of loyal customers around their brand might find it easier to collect data without offering incentives.<\/strong> In fact, the loyal customers will be happy to complete the surveys.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means then that the need to offer incentives depend on the intrusiveness of the survey request (from the respondent\u2019s point of view).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, even these companies sometimes have to enter uncharted territory to get data that loyal customers cannot provide. In that case, offering incentives will be very important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Time_required\"><\/span>Time required<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While a one-minute survey may not require an incentive, a 10-minute survey will often require it (all other factors held constant).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Expertise_level_required\"><\/span>Expertise level required<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A research study targeting busy surgeons or attorneys will tend to require incentives to get any decent response rate. However, a survey targeting university students may not require such incentives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even when an incentive is required, the expertise needed for the survey will result in a different amount of incentives. A study of people who use certain products will require less incentives compared to one targeting surgeons.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Type_of_survey\"><\/span>Type of survey<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If a company offers incentives for its customers to write reviews, there is a risk that the responses will be biased in favor of the company. While this might look like a good thing, in reality <strong>companies need the not-so-good reviews as incentives for innovations and improvements.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, if an independent research company or an academic is the one carrying out the survey, a reward will be less likely to skew the result in favor of a company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, bringing people together for focus groups might require more incentives compared to them just filling out a form on their phones.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Target_population\"><\/span>Target population<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the researcher is targeting a population that is traditionally known for responding positively to survey demands (university students, for example), an incentive might not be needed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conversely, a population known for its indifference to surveys (say busy office workers) may perform much better with an incentive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a researcher has decided to use an incentive, there are two types that can be deployed: monetary and non-monetary incentives. The former includes cash payments, gift cards, coupons, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/blog\/afrisight-airtime-rewards\/\">airtime<\/a>, among others while the latter include freebies (say free products or digital resources like an e-book).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it&#8217;s the monetary incentives that perform best. \u201cWhen it comes to increasing response rates, previous research has shown that cash is king, boosting survey response rates the most,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/curiosity\/offer-survey-incentives-without-sacrificing-good-data\/\">Survey Monkey<\/a>. \u201cAnd non-monetary incentives like a thank-you gift aren\u2019t as effective as monetary incentives when it comes to increasing response rates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_The_use_of_gift_cards_for_research_participants_Examples\"><\/span>2. The use of gift cards for research participants: Examples<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gift cards have become popular as a form of monetary reward. There are at least three reasons for the popularity of research study gift cards.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, for businesses with ecommerce stores, gift cards can help <strong>improve response rates while also increasing sales<\/strong>. If a business sends money to study participants they may not spend it on the business\u2019 products. However, if they send their own gift cards, then the recipient will spend. And <a href=\"https:\/\/blackhawknetwork.com\/uk-en\/resources\/gift-card-industry-trends\">it has been shown<\/a> that for 90% of shoppers, gift card purchases typically exceed the amount on the gift card; that is, they <strong>spend more than the value of the gift card.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, researchers that don\u2019t have their own stores can still offer popular gift cards like research study Amazon gift cards that will <strong>appeal to a lot of people<\/strong>. An academic institute or research agency can also buy gift cards and distribute them to study participants. You can\u2019t do this with coupons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Third, researchers can offer a wide range of gift cards (Amazon, Apple, Visa, Mastercard, Target, eBay, etc.) <strong>so that no respondent will have to settle for a research incentive they don\u2019t want<\/strong>. A free ebook might be nice but some people don\u2019t care about it; a free product might appeal to some but not to others. Gift cards solve this problem, and offering many of them works better.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, let\u2019s focus on examples of research study gift cards in action.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Capterra\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/reviews.capterra.com\/search\">Capterra<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Capterra is an online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of various software solutions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2019, they offered $10 digital gift cards for respondents to write a review of software solutions they are using at the office (including Zapier, Hubspot, FreshBooks, Mailchimp, etc.). The program was opened to anyone who was using any of the 30,000 software solutions listed on their marketplace.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/fDjbBm6F_ulsHMnGxr7srZXI_m5W9oBsVUG4i4cjKG_VtWOJew_1zejR91hA16K3XXVhrdruxKLmwBCiN-5kO0bAL4yhpFg6Mll3_a2rKGrmcTTwPYTFri_MWGBbSnAVFJeJtggA7uip75Fne_mviLc\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mom_Beach_Blog\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mombeach.com\/blog\/\">Mom Beach Blog<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2021, this blog, which is dedicated to helping mothers achieve success and life balance, offered those on its email list the opportunity to fill a survey to earn some rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/4xKtIAVvIss8_K-0BNj6SK4vw5jXjILsTgVrtS25yrL5lqnVFCinN7llmWeDbyI0lMi9HCQXV3FPCT5IYIF53R_J7yKKipfqEy4Aude12VBNUiwqc4Kh0xKJP961WxJ42esv2tS6qNz9kRUxHWE31_Y\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike the example above, it combined two different rewards: all respondents will get a time-sensitive coupon code and one of them will win (in a sweepstake) an Amazon gift card of $25.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is often referred to as a <strong>hybrid research incentive.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Walmart\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.walmart.com\/\">Walmart<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Walmart, the retail store, provides another example of a hybrid incentive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It provides a study gift card for 750 customers willing to participate in its customer experience survey.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/NyV4h--DNbFU5mVO9Y7szIkvff_RC-kZQGhvbn0Y3IQLAuozbIO-9foo8-hHTSYRr8plcFYBp2hhplzETtNbqLXLSUcFPr2UcF_aUOUoKGNq8HZ4Z_6rAzinSxiPQHaJO9WK0YBnrVGL9Wj7W7TgzK0\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There is the general reward (First Prize) of $100 electronic gift card for all participants and then a special reward (Grand Prizes) of $1,000 electronic gift cards for five lucky customers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Swagbucks\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swagbucks.com\/free-gift-cards\">Swagbucks<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Swagbucks is a website where people can earn money by filling survey forms and executing other tasks like surfing the web and playing video games.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For every survey filled (or other tasks accomplished), the respondent will earn some points. Once the points reach a threshold, the respondent will be able to redeem them for gift cards.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/yzwT-VVXg--kp3pApVOCDvkmrof3kecGVkkKZcJUJ5jClVrGoQflvEUuomenZ7nqXKBKiMS0fF7A1OFicPOSdheeQx8R5cM9Ka4T764ZPLpdqkidMES82qknlNWlC-ttUT66dJnMlnADkc4ydjkqB74\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The advantage of a site like Swagbucks is that those interested can continue to find new research studies to participate in to earn some consistent side income.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"LinkedIn\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hooklineandclincher.in\/the-perfect-survey-invitation-email-from-linkedin-eea9cbfa4955\">LinkedIn<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Our last example is from LinkedIn. In the example below, they offered<strong> <\/strong>750 Indian rupees ($9USD) worth of incentives for select individuals in India.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What made this interesting is that they provided multiple options for redemption of the incentive. They provided three different types of gift cards (Infibeam gift certificate, Book My Show gift voucher, Amazon gift card), a Paypal transfer, or a donation to the respondent\u2019s charity.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/f9MHBIvsXRh72hpEUAbAl_ywQ05i-wZhcDLuwuPwQIOvKL30ix8XVZQTvXttw_Qjpvgff89AM5SsnLmZmuK-ZEJzRk0dofqqaVwTN3Hi7w_VuBNN_1MLxTO9RSNDHDTTuBKt0KkNdBWXvxgyLmGGb1A\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This type of survey will tend to have a higher response rate since respondents can choose which of the options provided suits them the most.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_How_to_use_research_study_gift_cards_successfully\"><\/span>3. How to use research study gift cards successfully<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our focus now is to consider how you as a researcher can successfully use gift cards to improve your study. We\u2019ll explore five important points:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Determine_if_gift_card-supported_research_is_needed\"><\/span>Determine if gift card-supported research is needed<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In a previous section, we identified five reasons why incentives are often required.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first step is to determine if you need an incentive to begin with. If you are dealing with people who are familiar and comfortable with you, don\u2019t require expertise to fill the form, are typically eager to respond to surveys and the survey won\u2019t take their time, you might not need an incentive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if <strong>any<\/strong> of these factors do not hold, an incentive may be needed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless, you might still decide to give incentives even when you don\u2019t need it. Also, if you assume you don\u2019t need incentives and the response rate is insufficient, you can then decide to introduce incentives to increase response rate (but you should also consider if the original respondents might despise you for that).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Select_the_best_gift_cards_for_research_participants\"><\/span>Select the best gift cards for research participants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What are the best gift cards for research participants?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems Linkedin may have among the strongest offers. If the researcher is an online store and they offer their gift cards alone, some people will not respond because they prefer an Amazon card, for example. On the other hand, offering an Amazon card for everyone might leave out those who would prefer another card.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since maximizing response rate is key, it might be better to work with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/blog\/gift-card-reseller-program\/\">gift card reseller<\/a> so you can <strong>offer multiple gift cards and meet the needs of diverse respondents<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are an online store, you might also include your gift cards as one of the options. Apart from the fact that some will love it, there is also the advantage of higher sales.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Set_a_budget\"><\/span>Set a budget<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your budget will depend on <strong>the target participants, the expertise required, and the number of participants desired.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cost of incentives for 1,000 general office workers is not the same as when you are targeting 2,000 busy surgeons. Ensure you plan accordingly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Use_promised_rather_than_prepaid_incentives\"><\/span>Use promised rather than prepaid incentives<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Prepaid incentives are incentives that can be accessed before the survey has been completed. Promised incentives, on the other hand, are incentives for completing surveys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless you are dealing with people already loyal to your brand, prepaid incentives will likely underperform. Generally, promised incentives, which motivates survey completion, are the best.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ensure_the_reward_is_easy_to_claim\"><\/span>Ensure the reward is easy to claim<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Don\u2019t make respondents jump through hoops before they can claim their rewards<\/strong>. And if there are any extra forms, they must be communicated before they sign up for the survey.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When rewards are easy to claim, it creates good faith. You can harness this good faith in the future to get responses to a new survey without incentive or with a less-valued one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_How_to_start_incentivizing_market_studies_and_surveys\"><\/span>4. How to start incentivizing market studies and surveys<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are only doing a once in a blue moon survey, then you can just work with a gift card reseller to provide multiple study gift cards to respondents.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if you are learning how to incentivize survey responses as an executive in a market research company, think tank, company or NGO that relies on surveys a lot, or in an academic institution, there is a better way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of working with resellers, you can become a sort of reseller yourself (except that you are giving out egift cards to people rather than selling them).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The advantage of this is that you get to access and buy multiple egift cards from multiple retailers and easily send them to respondents.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the solution that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/products\/gift-card-api\">Reloadly<\/a> provides.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/MTIHtmJYLnog_xHGDlH95sXi7sfiyrqGWkDMEsa3cpK4pxGZvUTKwYJN9kzOn2dxzvxBVlFN_M3CSJsrRgj8XH9_-x46yRhIwpGCqWxg3bvat3gvu8WhwrMbClG0ARdHyeet4ODyvkpwpd2sMTqz4vE\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/blog\/gift-card-reseller-api\/\">integrating the Reloadly API<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/en-ca.wordpress.org\/plugins\/reloadly-topup-widget\/\">WordPress plugin<\/a> to your website or app, you will get access to 14,000 gift cards from over 300 brands that you can buy and then send to respondents across the globe.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With this, you can create any research study gift card program at any time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>[Are you ready to easily reward your survey respondents with gift cards? <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/registration\"><em>Sign up<\/em><\/a><em> for Reloadly to access a wide variety of cards or <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reloadly.com\/contact\"><em>contact us<\/em><\/a><em> to learn more about how you can get started.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Takeaways\"><\/span>Takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Market research companies and other researchers have found that incentives can help them improve response rates to surveys.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Intrusion, time required, expertise required from the human subjects, type of survey, and target population are factors that will determine if there is need for incentives for completing surveys.&nbsp;<\/li><li>To maximize response rates, it is better to offer multiple gift card options so that respondents can make their choice.<\/li><li>Organizations that conduct research surveys regularly (multiple surveys in a calendar year) should consider becoming gift card retailers.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Using gift cards as incentives is a great way to improve the response rate of your surveys and market studies. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":4234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[268],"tags":[271,273],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v15.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Research Study Gift Cards: Your Tool to Improve Survey Response Rates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With research study gift cards, you can increase the response rates of your surveys and get more valuable data from committed respondents.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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