What makes gift cards to be so attractive? Think about a Starbucks gift card or a retail store gift card; respondents are pulled to gift cards with a passion. The motivation behind this preference is an emotional response associated with rewards, the perceived worth of gift cards, and variability. In this article, we will discuss with you why survey takers love gift cards and how your business can take it from there.
That being said, some of survey websites may provide surveys for gift cards, for participants to complete the surveys and express their opinions in return for gift cards. Such gifts are typically gift cards that are issued for the most famous brands or shops, so everyone would like to receive such a gift. This means that gift cards give the survey takers the incentive to get something tangible and useful for their hard-earned time.
1. Tangibility and Specificity: Its Appeal
This is the reason why survey takers like gift cards, it gives them a tangible and psychological aspect because they feel like they are being rewarded for the survey they made. But unlike cash, which can be almost assimilated into one’s regular budget and tends to disappear as soon as you pay for various less glorious needs and wants, a gift card feels like a little luxury. It is given or designed for a particular use, usually associated with a popular merchant, eatery, or business that delivers a product the beneficiary consumes. This way the reward seems more targeted, more relevant and therefore prompts a more pronounced emotional interaction.
For example, a Starbucks gift card means the opportunity to get your caffeine fix in the near future, and an Amazon gift card – is an option to purchase a certain object. These incentives create a positive feeling among the participants in addition to creating a prospect of receiving something that has physical form thus make the process of responding to the survey fun.
2. Perceived Value and Mental Accounting
Receipt gifts give people more value than cash, even where they have the market value. This is attributable to what is referred to as “mental heed accounting,” whereby people develop different values for money depending on how resources are classified. Economic cash payments make people merge it with their other expenses, and thus the particular value of the money is lost. But a gift card seems to be like having ‘more’ money or some kind of windfall that one usually saves for fun or something enjoyable.
For instance, if survey respondents get a $20 restaurant gift card, they are likely to spend the amount on having a good meal out. On the same note, getting $20 in cash probably poses less appeal since people can spend it on any item of their choice including food, clothes or even medical bills. This perceived value of gift cards can make them a better incentive than cash and this will increase participation rates of people in surveys.
3. Instant Gratification and Control
Gift cards also tackle the self-psychological motivation for having something that will give one an instant feeling of satisfaction. When people are being asked to complete a survey most of them expect to get something in exchange and that something should be immediate, something gift cards offer. Some survey platforms have digital gift cards which can be used immediately hence providing the participants with a reward as soon as they complete the survey. This is in line with the current generation who prefer quick solutions to problems as opposed to spending so many hours, day or even weeks to seek for a particular solution for any problem.
Also, gift cards give a feeling of control. In contrast to coupons or discounts, which are often accompanied by certain limitations, gift cards give freedom of choice in their application. Such autonomy makes the reward empowers the survey participants to feel that they have properly utilized their time.
5. The Element Of Reward and Motivation
The concept of rewards also takes a central role in influencing the population’s willingness to provide an output, such as survey results. When people are informed that they will be given a gift card, this makes people feel as if they have achieved something through their efforts.
Taking a survey may not necessarily be considered as doing something useful because actually doing the survey may take time; however, the payout being a gift card implies that the time spent has been well used. People feel like they are being rewarded so they will participate in the survey more often and with more zeal.
All in all, surveys for gift cards present an appealing motive for those who want to get involved in them. With a prize at the end of a completed survey, it usually means that your time has been well spent and not wasted.
