Rewards Processing
Have you ever wondered how market research companies can collect data from consumers? What compels respondents to answer surveys about new products truthfully as well as provide their personal information? The answer to these questions is for companies to incentivize individuals to participate in research studies. Providing survey incentives is a great way for research companies to ensure they gain valuable insights into consumer preferences from survey participants.

At Slice MR, we streamline rewards processing on behalf of our clients. We offer a range of rewards because we value the contributions of our panel members. Learn more about processing monetary incentives, the ethics behind the decision to provide them, and the advantages for both businesses and survey respondents.
Understanding the Rewards Management Process
In the dynamic landscape of market research, efficient reward processing is an essential component for research projects that often gets overlooked. This process is an integral part of understanding and influencing consumer behavior.
One of the key aspects of reward management is selecting appropriate rewards and perks. These can come in the form of gift cards, cash bonuses, or product samples. The type of reward incentive provided should be appealing enough to motivate survey respondents to participate and provide both accurate and thoughtful responses.
Another key aspect of the management process is making these rewards accessible to survey participants. If the payout process is difficult, then respondents may be less likely to return as panelists.
Lastly, security is an essential component. The best survey incentives provide rewards without compromising any private information. Reward strategies must be part of a secure processing system.
Why Rewards Processing Is Important
Survey rewards play an important role in collecting accurate and honest responses. When offering gift cards or other survey incentives, market researchers increase the reliability and validity of the collected data. Survey participants are more likely to provide responses that reflect their experience whether that’s with test products or survey responses.
Streamlining rewards processing also benefits business owners. They can concentrate on data collection and gaining valuable insights into their target audience, helping them make more informed, better decisions instead of thinking about the best ways to incentivize respondents and consumers.
With the help of Slice MR, for example, business owners don’t have to worry about retention, the survey completion rate, or sending coupons and incentive offers. Our team can handle that, and we even set a payout threshold to ensure compensation is efficient and accessible.
Providing an incentive offer is one thing, but managing the process of these payouts and handling sensitive information or personal data from customers is another. That’s why it’s best to trust an experienced survey company with processing rewards for your online surveys and focus groups.
The Ethics of Offering Reward Incentives
If you’re considering offering survey compensation, you may be wondering whether it’s ethical to do so. Offering research participants financial incentives for their participation is a common practice that boosts recruitment. From an ethical standpoint, providing respondents with a reward for a completed survey can be seen as a fair and effective way to motivate individuals to participate.
Respondents invest their time and effort when they complete online surveys and providing a free gift card or a little extra cash are some of the most common ways to show that you respect their contributions. Monetary incentives can also help overcome potential barriers to participation such as a time constraint or lack of interest.
Here are a few ways to ensure the process of providing survey incentives remains ethical:
- The respondents must be fully informed about the study.
- The respondents should also understand the purpose of the rewards.
- The respondents must be informed of any potential risks or privacy concerns.
- The respondents must provide their consent.
With these circumstances in play, the companies and survey takers are conducting and participating in the research study responsibly. Following rewards processing best practices also helps avoid exploitation, undue inducement, and biased enrollment.
Issues To Watch for When Providing Rewards
Now that you’re aware of the ethics of survey incentives, you may be wondering, “Is providing a promised incentive going to yield valuable results? Will incentivizing survey takers be a risky decision?”
One of the main concerns with providing rewards for completing surveys is the potential bias it could introduce to the research process. When survey takers are offered rewards for participation, their behavior and responses could potentially be influenced by the desire to obtain the reward rather than providing unbiased feedback.
There is also the concern that providing these rewards can demotivate people instead of incentivizing them to answer online surveys truthfully and accurately. But overall, research has shown that there are more benefits than issues when it comes to providing great incentives. For example, they increase response rates and help target niche audiences that are typically hard to reach.
Long-term incentives also encourage better responses and build goodwill with the promise of monetary rewards. When a business has trouble with gaining participation, a proper reward system can even assist in gathering more data from the online surveys. Overall, research within a large number of surveys shows that incentivized groups actually produce better quality data which is why our team at Slice MR offers rewards processing services for clients and their panelists.
What Makes an Effective Reward System for a Research Company
If you’re looking for better response rates on your online surveys, then you may want to learn about what makes an effective reward system for a business owner to utilize. Check out some of the most important qualities below:
- Secure and flexible reward system
- The type of incentive is relevant to the respondent
- Survey reward is easily accessible
- Two-way communication is available for panel members to provide feedback
Collecting survey data and rewarding respondents accordingly can be a convoluted process if you don’t have experience. The good news is that we make this process easy for our clients.
Slice MR’s Reward Processing

At Slice MR, we take pride in our ability to seamlessly manage survey rewards for both our dedicated panel members and client-supplied email lists. The ability to navigate and streamline rewards processing is crucial in ensuring the success of any research project. We make the process easy for both clients and members of our panel by narrowing down the type of incentive offered and also establishing a payout threshold that is convenient for organizations.
Without a reward processing system in place, clients may find it difficult to navigate payouts from a budget standpoint or even in terms of providing access. Meanwhile, panelists and respondents may have trouble receiving their rewards or accessing payouts after answering their questionnaires and survey questions.
Check out how we handle reward processing after survey completion below.
Types of Rewards
Slice MR offers a wide range of valuable rewards, such as Tango cards for our esteemed panelists and the option of a Tango or Amazon gift card for clients. The allure of Tango Cards lies in their security, flexibility, and the vast array of retailers they grant access to when used. Tango’s global reward catalog is filled with 1,000+ digital gift cards, prepaid cards, and charitable donations.
Since these are electronic gift cards, recipients can choose the currency they utilize. This is especially important when it comes to global quantitative data collection. The instant delivery, zero transaction fees, and personalization features make monetary rewards easier to send to individual email addresses. These incentives overall help boost response rates and other analytics.
Benefits for Panelists
For our panelists, we’ve set a $20 reward value threshold for panel cash-outs. This ensures compensation is not just efficient but also conveniently accessible. It’s our way of valuing the commitment and contribution of our valued panel members. Cash-outs go a long way with participants and also motivate them to seek out other survey opportunities.
As you can see, Slice MR excels in managing reward processing. The best part is that we offer a secure and flexible reward system that caters to both panelists and clients.
Choosing Slice MR for Your Research Needs
Slice MR is a premium full-service research company that provides custom solutions for its clients. From survey programming and data collection to rewards processing and data analysis, we’re here to utilize our expertise and help inform some of your most critical business decisions as well as avoid inaccurate information.
More importantly, we can customize the research process in different ways for your desired target audience and tailor them to your specific requirements. Our online panels and AP connectivity will provide access to a broader audience of international respondents. The respondents participate in paid surveys that can either be programmed by you or our team. We can even make them accessible on mobile devices.
Slice MR is the ultimate solution for your research requirements, and you can count on us to be the research partner that you need to make the most out of your data collection engagement and response rates. Our reward system process also makes the compensation strategy a lot easier for clients to navigate. Contact us for a quote today to learn more.