For over 40 years, we’ve held to our tagline: “Real people, real solutions, real data.” This commitment has only grown stronger with time. Today, we emphasize “real data” more than ever, because we know reliable research starts with authentic people. That’s why we employ rigorous strategies to verify our panelists’ identity, ensuring real people answer our client’s surveys. While we continuously adapt to innovations, paying our panellists by physical cheques has remained constant in our fraud prevention approach for decades. In today’s digital age, this may seem outdated, but this method reflects our unwavering commitment to the accuracy of our data.
Why Physical Cheques?
Commitment to Clients
While many companies have switched to digital payments for their panelists, we continue to issue physical cheques for an important reason: it allows us to verify Canadian addresses and ensure that the people who join our panel are who they are. By mailing cheques directly to panelists, we confirm that the individuals completing surveys are located in Canada adding an extra layer of assurance that our data comes from authentic, verified participants.
Commitment to Panelists
To make the process as convenient as possible for our panelists, we offer real cash payments with no minimum requirement. Whether a panelist requests $1 or more, we process their payment at the next designated payout period. Our team then prints and ships the physical cheques directly to their Canadian addresses, ensuring that panelists receive their earnings in a reliable and timely manner. This approach not only prioritizes our panelists’ needs but also builds mutual trust, reinforcing our commitment to a transparent and authentic relationship with our panelists.
Going Beyond Cheques: A Comprehensive Approach to Quality Control
While physical cheques play a crucial role in verifying the authenticity of our panelists, our commitment to data quality doesn’t stop there. We combine this method with multiple layers of checks and advanced digital techniques to ensure that every response we gather is reliable and from real, qualified participants.
- Multiple Layer Profiling:
Our commitment to data quality begins with a thorough profiling of each panelist. We encourage our panelists to complete our profile survey, gathering demographic and behavioural information to ensure that each individual is genuinely suited to the studies they participate in. This profiling step ensures that participants accurately match the needs of each study.
- Eliminating Fraudsters: Fraud prevention goes beyond address verification. Our team monitors panel activity continuously to identify any suspicious behaviour. The cheque-based payment system adds a valuable layer of security by requiring participants to provide a real, traceable address, creating a barrier against fraud.
- Cross-Verifying Data: We use technology to cross-check panelists’ information across surveys, identifying inconsistencies and ensuring respondent authenticity.
- IP and Geo-Blocking: To maintain a strictly Canadian panel, we use IP and geo-blocking tools to prevent non-Canadian participants from joining, ensuring that all insights come from within Canada.
- Ongoing Engagement: Our engagement strategies are designed to maintain a panel of genuine, active participants, making it difficult for fraudulent users to slip through. Panelists are immediately removed in the following scenarios:
- Hard-bounced email
- Request to be unsubscribed or removed
- Evidence of dishonest or fraudulent responses
- Violation of our “3-Strike Rule” (three instances of questionable data)
- Lack of response to 10 consecutive survey invitations
Delivering Premium Data
Our clients rely on us for high-quality, trustworthy data, and we take that responsibility with utmost dedication. By combining traditional methods, such as issuing physical cheques, with advanced fraud detection techniques, we ensure our panel is composed of genuine, qualified participants. This commitment to authenticity allows us to deliver reliable, accurate data our clients can trust.
If you’d like to learn more about our panel and how our rigorous processes ensure reliable data, we’d love to connect with you.
