Being a mom is time consuming, but making money doesn’t have to be. It is common for moms who are caring for children to feel a little bit guilty about not earning extra income for the family. Turning to eBay, yard sales, and other side jobs can make it hard to juggle kids, marriage, and life in order to make a profit. Marketing Research is one way to earn extra cash for only a little bit of your time.
Did you know the products and services you and your family use everyday come to market as a result of marketing research? Companies rely on the opinions of consumers to test their products, evaluate advertisements, taste new food, conduct mystery shops, and participate in mock juries, to name a few. If you see a new product on the shelves at the grocery store or a commercial for a political candidate, chances are the final result came about based on the feedback offered in focus groups and marketing research.
In the U.S., there are 75 million mothers, all of whom influence 85 percent of their household purchases. With all that buying power, it stands to reason that companies turn to marketing researchers to get your opinions and make sure they are creating products and advertisements that you want to buy.
Want to know a little bit more about the kinds of marketing research you can be a part of?
Focus Groups – A classic marketing research approach where 2+ people sit in a room and discuss products, answer questions, watch videos, and share their opinions while researchers observe, take notes, and interact with the participants.
Telephone Interviews– These can range anywhere from 10 minutes to a few calls to talk about products, experiences, and opinions. These are great because you can do them from anywhere, you don’t need to be located near a research facility and don’t even need a babysitter!
Shop-a-longs – This type of research does exactly what it sounds like. A research analyst shops alongside the actual consumer. Whether it is a grocery store, department store, or even online store – the analyst asks questions to the respondents as he/she shops for products.
Product Testing – In product testing you are either sent a product, or you go to a research facility to pick the product up. You use the product as instructed over a designated amount of time and provide feedback to the research company, either online or in a discussion group. You get paid plus get the products free of charge.
Webcam Interviews – Much like telephone interviews, these days you don’t have to be at a facility to take part in Marketing Research. Through the use of webcams, you can take part in visual focus groups and interviews from right in front of your computer!
Mystery Shopping – This is a fun experience! Mystery shoppers are those who go into a business under cover and rate it on different attributes such as experience, décor, service and more.
Online Surveys – These are a great way to earn extra money, a little at a time. Some online surveys only take five or so minutes of your time and you can earn $5. That can add up fast!
Online Communities – Being a part of an online community requires the participant to log in and do homework assignments such as post a picture, answer some questions, or view a video clip. Communities usually last for several days or even weeks, and can pay quite well.
Marketing Research studies can be on a wide variety of topics, including baby products, social issues, food products, appliances, beverages, cell phones… just about anything you can think of. Participating in a focus group or research study is fun and educational! For only a couple of hours of your time you can impact the products and services you use everyday, earn some extra spending money, and have your opinion be heard!
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Focus Pointe Global is a nation market research company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Focus Pointe Global recruits for and conducts paid market research studies in more than 18 locations nationwide. To learn more about Focus Pointe Global and its paid market research opportunities, visit focusgroup.com.
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog contributor’s. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Writers may have conflicts of interest, and their opinions are their own.
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