All About Market Research Jobs
What Types of Home Based Market Research Jobs are Available?
There are a number of Market Research jobs that can be carried out from home as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.
One of the most popular of these jobs is mystery shopping. Mystery shoppers are used by a lot of companies to obtain feedback on the customer service a business provides by following a set script. Some restaurants use this type of market research to monitor how their staff deal with customers who require a refund after buying a certain meal. Other shops may use mystery shoppers to assess what customers are told when they enquire about a certain service or product.
Another popular market research opportunity is to give your feedback to companies by completing online questionnaires on different subjects.
Other companies pay people to test their products and then provide a review, while some want people to become members of Focus Groups and then provide feedback regarding certain products or services that have been received.
How Much can be Earned from this Type of Market Research Job?
As the number of mystery shopper jobs available each week can vary (as companies sometimes only require shoppers in a certain category) the amount to be earned can also fluctuate. Additionally, this can differ from agency to agency and will also depend on how complex the job might be. Indeed, fees can range from just a few pounds to more than fifty. Higher amounts are often paid by hotels and for test driving cars and other vehicles.
By completing market research surveys you can expect to be paid cash, usually around £1 a time, or given points that you can accumulate and then exchange for shopping vouchers. The time taken to complete each survey can vary from just a few minutes up to around forty five, with the number of surveys available to you dependent on whether you meet the criteria required at the time. Completing market research surveys is not the most lucrative means of earning money but it can provide some extra when needed. More money can be earned by joining a focus group or for completing exit surveys. Twenty to fifty pounds is normal for a group and approximately twenty pounds for several hours of survey work.
What Skills are Required to Carry Out this Type of Job?
To carry out market research as a mystery shopper, it is necessary to be able to work to deadlines for providing reports and to have good powers of observation. Completing surveys does not require any specific skills but you do need to have internet access and quite a good attention span for longer questionnaires. To take part in a focus group you only need to be signed up to and included on a market research database. However, reasonable literary skills would be advantageous.
What else do I Need to Consider with this Type of Work?
Doing market research from home requires you to carry out the same type of checks as you would with any other new job. While there is a reasonable amount of flexibility in working from home, you need to consider that you will be working as a freelancer and that you will therefore have to deal with your own tax payments and National Insurance. It is therefore necessary to keep records of any monies earned for filing a tax return when required. By undertaking market research from home, you can often go on to pursue other careers. A good number of people continue into telesales, online writing and website management.
How do you Avoid Work from Home Market Research Scams?
There are many online sites offering the opportunity to sign up for market research jobs you can carry out from home. Most do not pay an hourly rate - just an amount for each job you complete - but they are legitimate. On the other hand, those that ask you for any payment in return for information about jobs are mainly scams and should be avoided. There are also a number of websites that pay people to complete market research surveys. To avoid any scam website there are certain things that you should look out for.
The first is to avoid sites where the deal they offer looks too good to be true. There is no way to make large amounts of money from answering surveys and any site that makes such incredible promises should be viewed as a scam. The best way of ensuring that the site you choose is run by a legitimate company is to check for a contact telephone number or email address and then call or email them. If you receive a response, then it should be assumed that they are a genuine business and that you would get paid for any surveys you answer for them. Taking time to research a company before signing up can largely ensure that you only ever carry out work that you will be paid for.