Inspired Opinions – Our In-Depth Review

With the a high number of both consumers and companies alike utilizing the Internet for buying, selling and communicating with people all over the world, it's no surprise that research companies  have become more prevalent in recent years.

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Online survey sites like Inspired Opinions claim that consumers are able to get paid (and well) for participating in panel interviews and specified surveys. These offers allow for the company to gain insight into consumer behavior as well as buying preference.

Before determining whether or not Inspired Opinions is right for you, check out the information below. It details the ins and outs of who the company is, how they work and how a participant is paid, as well as the disadvantages and advantages.

Inspired Opinions is owned by Schlesinger Associates, a leading provider of market research opportunities for the last 40 years.

Schlesinger Associates operates business location across the world, including places like London, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Paris and Berlin. They are considered a specialist firm in providing market research for its impressive list of corporate clients.

The parent company of Inspired Opinions is fairly well known, they are a member of a handful of research organizations and associates like the QRCA (Qualitative Research Consultants), Marketing Research Association, Usability Professionals’ Association and CASRO (Council of American Survey Research Centers).

Schlesinger is also featured on the Better Business Bureau website, providing a higher level of credibility to its non-featured subsidiary, Inspired Opinions.

The company itself has a clear statement on what they provide to the marketplace.  The “About Us” section reads:

We help companies collect important information about the opinions of their customers and their potential customers so that they can make the best decisions about the development of their products and services.

We consider a very important part of our role is to ensure that marketing research is seen and respected as an interesting, worthwhile and rewarding experience.

For those concerned about Inspired Opinions being a scam or a rip-off, as of which both are viable concerns when it comes to online paid survey programs, it would seem as though Inspired Opinions has provided ample information to prospective participants about the organizational structure of the company as well as its parent company.

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It is safe to say that the site is legitimate for those looking to join a paid survey organization. Now, though, lets discuss how it works and who may be qualified to utilize the site.

Signup is completely free, but you have to be 18 years or older. Inspired Opinions makes it fairly easy for new members to join in on the market research fun.

The entire process takes just a few minutes. It consists of brief registration survey that compiles a potential user’s personal information – name, location, gender, date of birth, e-mail address and phone number.

Your phone and e-mail are required to complete the registration process. You may wonder why you need both, but the company states that if you have numerous ways to get in touch, it will increase the chances for you to qualify for a research opportunity.

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Marital status, ethnicity, education, employment status and income level are also required.  The entire process takes less than 2 minutes, and a request to agree to the terms and conditions are required to complete registration.

Once a user is registered, Inspired Opinions reviews their demographic information and then matches the user’s lifestyle choices to the research studies that are right for them. They will inform you once a match is made.

There are three ways you can participate with Inspired Opinions:  in person at one of the company’s 14 locations, over the Internet, or via telephone.  Each survey varies as far as how the participant is asked to complete the survey, again based on the needs of the client.

For each survey, there is a limited number of participants the company is willing to qualify and pay for their participation. Sometimes there will be an overflow for the company. When this happens, surveys are quickly closed.  The majority of the surveys offered to qualified participants must be completed in a single session, and answers cannot be changed after the fact.

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The most important aspect of online survey companies such as Inspired Opinions is how participants are paid, and at what rate. They pay their participants well once surveys are completed, but on average the pay rate is anywhere between $5 to $100.

Like most survey sites, Inspired Opinions credits users who have successfully completed a survey through a reward points system. In their particular points system, each 100 points is equivalent to $1. Users can then redeem their rewards points through the site in the form of Amazon.com gift cards, not cash. Payout becomes available after they reach a minimum of 1000 points.

There is no cost for redeeming rewards points, and the points will not expire as long as the user remains active (participating in at least one survey over a 12 month period).  Points are earned for signing up, participating in market research surveys, profile screeners and personal updates.

The advantages of using Inspired Opinions are quite clear: registration is simple and not all that time-consuming. The company seems to be legitimate based on its strong parent company affiliation.

Additionally, the rewards points system makes it easy for users to track their earnings and claim those rewards as long as they have reached the minimum amount. And who doesn’t love an Amazon.com card every now and again?

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Potential users should be fully aware that some caveats exist with Inspired Opinions.

The Internet has made it easy for companies to acquire the market research necessary to improve products and services by utilizing the voice of actual consumers through sites like Inspired Opinions.

Because of the vastness of the Internet, as well as the desire of many to get paid for their opinion, participants have made it clear that the option to complete a survey, whether it is online, in person or on the phone, is hard to come by.

Although the site asks for fairly specific demographic information at registration, it may not be detailed enough to initially match participants to open surveys, resulting in immediate disqualification from participation.

If the demographic information is enough to match a participant to a survey, there's still a high probability that a candidate for participation will not qualify based on the additional demographic qualifiers needed by Inspired Opinions, or will not respond to the request for additional personal information in enough time to beat out the thousands of other participants.

Given the fact that there is such a high number of active members on Inspired Opinions, it is common that users will only receive an invitation to participate and complete a survey once or twice a year at a maximum. Not to mention that the payment via the rewards points program varies drastically for each completed survey.

If a potential user is seeking to make a large sum of cash in a hurry from Inspired Opinions, they will be wildly disappointed with the lack of invitations received from the company throughout their time on this survey site.  A user can anticipate making, on average, $200 during a 12 month period – certainly nothing to write home about.

Also, the amount of time spent completing a market research survey can range from an hour to three hours, depending again on the needs of the client who hired Inspired Opinions to gather the market research for them.

So, for a maximum of six hours of answering questions – not including any travel to the company’s site or time off from work to complete the survey – the amount paid is not as high as the user may want or need.

All-in-all, Inspired Opinions is a legitimate site, not scam like some other market research survey sites out there, but will not quickly or easily bring in a large amount of cash.  Additionally, the rewards points system can be viewed as a negative aspect of the site, as not every user will want to be paid, if a survey is even offered, with an Amazon.com gift card.

For a user who enjoys sharing his or her experiences in the world of consumer purchasing, and getting (minimally) compensated for his or her opinions of a product, Inspired Opinions is a viable option worthy of the two-minute registration. Why didn't I qualify for a survey?

FAQ's

Why didn't I qualify for the survey?

Unfortunately you will not qualify for every survey. If you did not qualify for a specific survey, it usually means that you didn't act on it quick enough. Sometimes they have more members respond than expected, reaching the quota quickly. Instead of waiting try taking the survey as soon as you recieve the notification.

 

 

How do I update my personal information?

Updating your personal information is quite simple. All you have to do is login to your account and click on the “My Profile” link.

Can I stop in the middle of a survey and finish it later?

It all depends on the survey. Their system will inform you of the process and what is allowed at any point in time. Even though you can stop in the middle of some surveys, most will not let you go back and change answers so make sure you take your time and think carefully.