Your survey profile data reflects you. You don’t want it to show a different image, do you? Like identity theft worries you, the wrong persona is abysmal to survey programming companies and research brands.

Besides their troubles, your wrong survey profile costs you equally. Yes, you can earn more rewards by posing as someone else. But in the long run, changing your demographic and other relevant data can harm your chances of accessing surveys.

Here are 5 reasons why you shouldn’t temper your profile data.

Why Profile Accuracy is Vital for Survey Participants

1. To Be a Useful Panel Member

Consider this: You mentioned your interests in makeup and fashion because your friend did so. When you get surveys, many of them will be related to skincare, makeup products, and cosmetics companies. Some may also relate to skin science, harmful chemicals, and basic dermatology.

As you aren’t well versed in these areas, you won’t be able to cater the survey questions in a justifiable manner. You will randomly choose options. For open-ended questions, your replies won’t help the company understand your sentiments as a consumer.

Each market research consumes the participating brand’s time, money, and resources. If you cannot fulfill the need because your profile is wrong, you waste a company’s resources.

2. To Receive the Right Surveys

A market research agency chooses members from its panel based on the members’ interests, hobbies, demographic data, and preferences.

Suppose you mention décor as your educational degree. You might receive a lot of surveys from interior decoration companies, wall paints, architectural brands, and indie brands working in décor.

What if you only mentioned this as your expertise because you like to scroll through such eye-appealing videos? But you don’t have the right knowledge.

You won’t be able to answer the surveys, and your participation rate will dwindle. You stop receiving most of these surveys as your profile might be blackmarked in the database.

Instead of adding it as an expertise, you could have put décor as an interest. This minor change will fetch you the right surveys.

3. To Voice Opinions in the Correct Direction

Imagine posing your education level as a PH.D. in botany. But you’re still an aspirant and a college student at the bachelor level.

A market research agency invites you to a focus group for deep discussions. You may lose your presence and identity in the group as you can’t answer or express yourself on complex topics. A possibility is you haven’t even heard of these subjects yet.

Or just to flex your knowledge and save yourself from embarrassment, you might share wrong or irrelevant opinions. You might end up making a fool of yourself, too.

Your opinions matter. Make them count by voicing them out in the right direction.

4.     To See Desired Reforms

Government and social bodies like NGOs, charities, and even brands conduct several studies to bring about social reforms and required changes in the country, society, or world. For instance, we surveyed how social media affects youth’s political thoughts.

Your opinions impact a huge audience based on human rights and social causes but not a commercial product. So, participating in these studies increases the weight of your choices multifold. Skewed data can mar the goals of such social surveys.

Hence, being righteous with your demographics, preferences, and hobbies is most crucial.

5. To Amplify Your Rewards

If you get the wrong surveys, the chances of survey abandonment are high. So is the probability of your profile being tagged as inconsistent. This happens when you answer similar questions with inconsistencies and varied opinions.

Your chances of rewards, loyalty programs, and reference bonuses also dwindle.

In case blacklisted in survey databases or a panel company, you won’t get as many surveys as you should. Or maybe zilch. So, not to stop your rewards inflow, you should maintain an accurate profile.

Where Should You Start?

If you aren’t sure how to go about the right profile, worry not. Open your account in every panel company you are a part of, check each section precisely, and correct any wrong field entry. Also, make it a habit to change the data to reflect any changes, For instance, your location, education level, new interests, and marital status.

Or contact the market research consultant you work with for guidance.

If you haven’t participated in a survey yet, give it a thought. Your opinions can shape products and society. Register with Opinionest for free and get started.