A Senior Survey Moment…

From time to time we like to answer some common questions we receive at the MindField Online Facebook page. This time, we will try to answer the question, “Am I getting fewer online survey invitations as I get older?”

In general, makers of consumer products are trying to reach specific audiences. Think about the commercials you see on TV. Who are they aimed at? VERY generally speaking, you tend to see:

  • Cars, beer and electronics for the fellows.
  • Fashion and beauty for young women.
  • Groceries, cleaning products, and childcare for moms.
  • Insurance, health products and pharmaceuticals for older folks.

So, as an older MindField Online member, you are far more likely to survey a term life insurance product than you are the latest smart phone.

On the other hand, there are products that EVERYBODY uses.  Whatever our income, we all drink a certain famous soda pop from time to time. We all use bathroom tissue. We all have to fill up the gas tank.

And whatever our gender, race, income level, education, etc., we each represent a certain percentage of the population. For instance, seniors 65 and older make up about 12% of the general population.  So, even on a very general product, our clients might (but not always) request that we limit seniors to 12% of the survey invitations. Bottom line, there ARE fewer opportunities as we get older, because there are increasingly fewer of us. That’s not MindField, that’s statistics. But we still try to steer as many invitations to you as we can.

Another consideration is timing. We try to rotate our invitations using a number of internal algorithms (that’s fancy computer talk) to give all members an equal chance to participate. So, if our clients are looking for a certain number people like you, but you wait two or three days to respond to the invitation, we may fill our quota and you will miss out.

So, even if this wasn’t the answer you were hoping for, we hope that it helps you understand the invitation process a little better.

Next time, we will look at a HOT topic: “Why do I get invitations, begin the survey, and then get kicked out in the middle?”

Refer a Friend, Earn More Cash!

MindField Online Internet Panels recently re-launched our Refer-a-Friend campaign. If you would like to get involved and earn more cash, log in and follow this link:

http://mindfieldonline.com/user/refer

There, if you have NOT already activated your referral account you will see the following text:

Cash Reward Referrals

You will receive $1.00 for every friend or family member you refer to MindField Online – once they register, activate their account, complete their profile and begin participating in surveys.

How does it work? It’s simple . . .

  1. Click on the Activate button below to activate your referral account.
  2. Upon activating, use the URL link provided to send to your friends, post on your Facebook page or any other legal website. This is your referral link that will allow us to track your referrals back to you for crediting once your referrals do their part. The more creative you are the more opportunity you have to earn the extra incentive.
  3. Your friends and family will need to click on the link that will take them to our registration page. They will need to follow the same steps as you did to register and activate their account as well as complete their profile questionnaire. As soon as they begin responding to our questionnaire invitations and complete their first survey, you will receive credit for the referral.
  4. As part of our required data quality policies, referrals are subject to ongoing verification.

If you have any questions, please contact our support department at [email protected] or by calling 800-969-9235.

*     *     *     *

Once you have activated your referral account you will see the following text:

Cash Reward Referrals

Send the link below to all of your friends, associates, etc. Even put it on your FacebookMySpace and Twitter sites. By referring your friends you can sit back and increase your earnings. MindField Online will credit your account $1.00 for everyone you refer who fully activates a brand new account, completes their profile and completes a survey.

Sorry, you can’t join multiple times as that would be a violation of our Member Terms and data quality policy. But you can earn a great deal of extra money by referring as many people as possible. So what are you waiting for? Email this link to your contacts . . . IM it to your buddy list . . . post it on your website and let your friends and MindField Online make you extra money!

“I haven’t gotten any surveys in a while…”

On the MindField Online Internet Panels Facebook page we have noticed more people saying “why haven’t I been getting any surveys lately?”  Previously, we have said that it can take a week or two to get started when you first join MindField Online.

But for members who have been around awhile, there may be different issues. It can also be a matter of your personal profile not being up to date. Like, MindField Online didn’t know you had a baby, so we haven’t sent you any “mommy-type” surveys.

Other times it is a technical issue with your email. Depending on your email program, you may have a storage limit. Your mailbox may be full, and you can’t receive any invitations. Cleaning out your old messages may help.

Also, there’s the issue of Spam. Internet service providers (ISPs) are getting more aggressive, always looking for ways to stop spam and junk mail from clogging up your IN box…and usually, that’s a GOOD thing! Unfortunately, this is not a perfect science, and messages you would want to receive sometimes end up in your Spam or Junk email folder – and you may not even know it!

It’s usually pretty easy to fix this, though. For example, in Yahoo Mail, you can highlight a message in your Spam folder and mark it “Not Spam.” Then, messages from that sender that come after that should land in your proper IN box.

At any rate, MindField Online is looking into the issue. We are reviewing members who haven’t received a survey in a while, and trying to figure out what the problem might be. So, please be patient! And THANKS!

Consumer Testing: A Big Business, and Getting Bigger

It’s a fact: today’s consumers have a big say in the types of products and services that companies introduce to the marketplace.  This influence comes by way of consumer research and product testing.

Consumer research and product testing is a big business, and one that keeps growing. Why? Because it is enormously expensive to introduce, market and sell new products to the consumer. It is also very risky. Some statistics say that four out five new products introduced will fail in their first year, potentially costing companies millions of wasted dollars.

Companies have no real way of knowing how the public will respond to a service or product, without trying to measure that reaction by way of consumer research and product testing. They can’t simply guess or assume! Testing – extensive consumer research and product testing with as many consumers who represent a company’s target market – is a key ingredient of a new product’s success.

To do this, many companies hire online consumer research and product testing firms like MindField Online Internet Panels.

MindField Online members complete a series of consumer profiles to paint an accurate picture of their demographics including gender, age, income, family makeup, type of home, number and type of automobiles, appliances, and on and on. Using this information, MindField Online Internet Panels matches the consumer with relevant surveys commissioned by corporate clients.

MindField Online members are often asked to give their consumer opinions about existing products and services, so that companies can improve their product quality, marketing or advertising messages. Or, MindField Online members are asked about new or proposed products that don’t yet exist, so that companies can decide whether or not – and how – to proceed with their introduction. Often, these surveys include free samples of the product in question.

In return for giving their consumer research information, MindField Online Internet Panels members earn extra cash and prizes, and are eligible for frequent member appreciation giveaways for popular items like Apple iPods and iPhones. MindField Online Internet Panels also encourages members to log on to its growing social media network including its Twitter feed, Facebook page and blog site.

As the field of consumer research and product testing continues to grow in size and importance, the need for qualified consumer testers will also grow. Consumer research firms will compete for panel members, forcing these testing firms to constantly seek better ways to serve their members. Improved service, greater incentives and a growing sense of community are all ways that MindField Online Internet Panels will continue to attract and reward its loyal members in the future.

For more information, please visit the MindField Online website at http://mindfieldonline.com/

Congrats, Lucky Apple Winners!

MindField Online Internet Panels reached 1,000 Facebook fans last week! (BTW, it’s over 1600 now!) And so, we began notifying our Apple products prize winners. It takes time to notify and receive confirmation, so we had to wait until we heard back from everyone before making the announcement. The list is below…

If you didn’t win, keep your fingers crossed. We still have our December 10th Apple drawing coming up, where we will give away even more iPhone 3GS, iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano and iPod Touch, as well as Apple TVs and an iPad valued at $499! Check it out here: Prizes Page.

Thanks again to our longtime panelists for your loyalty – and for recommending us to your friends! And welcome to all of new MindField Online Internet Panelists!

Let’s congratulate our MindField Online Internet Panels “1000 Facebook Fan” Winners:

Joyce Sexton

Joyce Sexton from North Carolina won an iPod Shuffle!

Crystal Young of Tampa Florida won an iPhone 3GS!

Christine Mastricova from New Jersey won an iPod Shuffle!

Jimi Stoddard

Jimi Stoddard of Jackson, Mississippi won an iPhone 3GS!

Xavier Benson of Seattle, Washington won an iPhone 3GS!

 

Holly Robinson

Holly Robinson of Longview, Washington won an iPod Shuffle!

Kealey Bird from Illinois won an iPod Shuffle!

Miguel Carino from Texas won an iPod Shuffle!

 

Nicole Hemenway

Nicole Hemenway of Marrero, Louisiana won an iPod Shuffle!

Thanks again!

Facebook Fan Appreciation Update!

The winners of MindField Online’s Facebook 1000 fan giveaway have been chosen. Emails are going out now. Please respond with a verification of your name & mailing address. We will not mail anything until we receive your verification.

We would LOVE to have your written permission to use either:
1. Your name and picture,
2. Your Name , or
3. First name and last initial

Thanks again for all of your support!!! XOXOX

Facebook Milestone!

Well, we started out on September 10, 2010 with ZERO Facebook fans, and the list grew from there. Along the way, we announced our Apple giveaway: That when MindField Online Internet Panels reached 1,000 Facebook fans, we would give away SIX iPod Shuffles, and FOUR iPhone 3GS!

We kept you posted as we hit 400, 500, 600, and so on. Then, it happened: on Thursday, October 14 at about 5:30 pm Eastern, YOU did it. 1,000 fans! We are so grateful to our MindField Online members and fans. Keep up the excitement, and keep telling your friends about the fun and extra money they can earn as MindField Online members.

We will be notifying our Apple winners VERY SOON. Thanks Again!

More Fun, More Prizes!

Very soon, Mindfield Online Internet Panels will reach 1000 Facebook fans. When that happens, we will celebrate with another Apple giveaway, SEPARATE from our big December 1 drawing!

Everyone that is a fan on one or more of the following social sites:  Facebook, Twitter or WordPress, AND is a member of  MindField Online will be eligible for ONE of the following prizes….

An iPod shuffle (six to be given away) or

An iPhone 3GS (four to be given away)

ONLY ONE WINNER PER HOUSEHOLD

Also be watching for our launch of a NEW REFER A FRIEND campaign, coming soon!

Good luck! And thanks for being a part of the MindField Online family!

How to Get More Survey Opportunities…

Over on our Facebook page, we love hearing from our members about your MindField Online experiences. Sure, we love to hear that you’re happy. But it’s also good to hear when you’re LESS than happy – because it gives us the opportunity to better explain the benefits of MindField Online Internet Panels, and the way it works.  Improved communication helps us do a better job!

On that note, one question we get from time to time is, “I joined X days ago, and I haven’t received any survey invitations. What’s the deal?”

Signing up as a member of MindField Online and activating your account is just the first step. It is very important to fill out all the questionnaires that apply to you. It goes beyond male/female and age. What kind of car do you drive? How many children do you have? What brand of dishwasher do you own? And many more!

At MindField Online, sending our members online survey invitations is our job – and we send out 140 to 160 million every year. So remember, every question that you answer is a potential invitation.  That’s why it’s important to always keep your information up to date.

MindField Online wants you to receive all the online survey invitations that pertain to you. So, if you haven’t received an invitation within a week after joining and activating your account, please contact our help desk at [email protected].

Meet the Panelists: Falicia

Falicia lives in Florida, and works full time as a Support Analyst. She is also a single mom raising three boys, and knows how to stretch a dollar.

“I have been a member of MindField Online for seven months,” Falicia says. “And the extra cash I earn is very helpful. I also like getting paid through PayPal – it’s really convenient.”

Falicia says it’s fun to sample new products and give valuable feedback to different companies, which helps them determine how to market their products. To someone considering joining in the fun, Falicia says, “I would recommend MindField to everyone!”

Thanks Falicia – we’re glad to have you! And if any other MindField Online members would like to share their stories, please drop us a line in the comments section below.

Joining MindField Online is easy –just click the button on the right side of this page to get started. And don’t forget about our awesome Apple products giveaway.