10 survey incentive ideas and why to use them

A gift card for a small amount (like $5–$10) is a popular survey incentive option. If you go this route, choose a brand that you’re confident your audience will appreciate. A large retailer most consumers like, or an Uber gift card that can be used for rides and meals for delivery, will probably have universal appeal.*

Vouchers are another easy survey incentive option you can provide to help customers save money on a future purchase. As with gift cards, these can be for a relatively small amount and still get results, as long as the voucher is for something relevant to your customers. As an added benefit, with some companies’ vouchers you only pay when the voucher is used. So if some of the survey respondents never end up using their voucher, you save money.

One way to control your costs while still providing customers a reason to take your survey is to offer sweepstakes. In a sweepstakes, each person who completes the survey gets the chance to win one of a smaller number of big prizes—think 5 $100 gift cards, or an iPad. For some recipients, the chance at a bigger prize could work as a stronger incentive than the certainty of a small one. Sweepstakes come with extra legal considerations, though. Also, the rules around sweepstakes vary by state, so consult with a lawyer first if you plan to go this route.

Using coupon codes as a survey incentive offers a double benefit: for customers, they promise a better deal on their next purchase with your brand; for the business, coupons give customers an additional reason to make a future purchase with you. Overall, they can help get your response rates up, encourage additional purchases, and make customers happy all at the same time.

If you offer a points-based customer loyalty program, loyalty points can be a great survey incentive option. As with coupon codes, loyalty points have the extra benefit of incentivizing future purchases with your brand, and they give customers a reason to take the survey.

Providing customers with an exclusive first look at a new product can be another powerful incentive. Early access makes customers feel special for getting to check out something before everyone else. Plus, in addition to what you learn from your survey results, it can provide an opportunity to hear feedback from loyal customers before launching the product to your larger audience.

If you have low-cost products, promising respondents free samples in exchange for completing your survey is another good option. And free samples could lead to more positive reviews for your products and/or give customers a taste of a product they might not otherwise try. If your products don’t lend themselves well to free samples, offering branded swag is another choice that provides your brand a promotional boost, while offering customers something tangible.

Customers increasingly want the companies they do business with to share their values. According to research from Harris Poll and Google Cloud, 82% of customers said that feeling aligned with a brand’s values is important to them. For many conscious consumers, offering a small donation to a charity of their choice will be as strong an incentive as anything you’d offer them directly. Supporting a good cause can earn you goodwill along with a survey response.

If your company has developed informational products that you know your audience would appreciate, like e-books, audiobooks, or digital courses, those can make great survey incentives. Providing digital resources is low-cost for you and can be valuable to them. This works best if those resources would normally be sold; if consumers could easily find them online for less or no cost, they wouldn't make for a strong incentive.

If your company puts on events, like in-person conferences, meetups, or even online webinars, free tickets can be a smart survey incentive. This option not only provides something worthwhile to respondents but also brings them into your brand community more meaningfully. Such an incentive can enhance engagement while helping you improve survey results.

While it’s not a tangible reward they can hold in their hands, providing clear information about the purpose of your survey can be a strong motivator for customers. Explaining why you want to hear from them and what you intend to do with your learnings can be as encouraging for many customers as a gift card or coupon. Plus, a good explanation doesn’t cost you anything beyond the time it takes to get your wording right. And if customers can see that you use their feedback, that makes the decision to respond to your next survey easier—regardless of any other incentive.