I detest junk mail. I own a shredder and laugh maniacally when I use it. So I got that wild look in my eye when I wrestled a huge envelope from Ipsos Mendelsohn out of my mailbox.

It had all the looks of junk mail, but the $10 bill inside earned it a stay of execution. The money – so pristine I was sure it was counterfeit – was a thank you for filling out the enclosed personal interest survey. A quick Google search convinced me that Ipsos Mendelsohn is a legit market research company.  

I get the importance of surveys, focus groups and consumer feedback in marketing, and to be honest, I kinda like doing surveys when I have time. My wife laughs at me for this, among other things.

Sometimes there’s no incentive to fill them out. Sometimes I feel wronged and do it to get a small measure of justice. Sometimes there’s the possibility of winning a $1,000 gift card, or so says my Home Depot receipt that’s 3 feet long even though I bought only an air filter and duct tape.

Confession time: I once received a survey that included a $1 bill. I kept the money, but never got around to the survey. So my curiosity, and overactive conscience, compelled me to fill this one out. (Just as they planned. Mwhahahaha!) I promised myself I wouldn’t remove the cash from the envelope until I finished every page. And there were a lot of pages.

The survey focused on my buying habits, leisure activities and personal background. It promised confidentiality, but I still didn’t answer some questions about my finances. Call me paranoid.

It took a little more than an hour to finish. Some of the questions made me laugh. “How many boats do I have? How many are 50-footers? Well, there’s my sailboat, and my fleet of yachts. Hmm.”

As I crammed the survey into the mailbox, I wondered who would “grade” it and what kind of ads my answers would help generate. What brands would benefit from this data?

So, what brands do you think should pay more attention to consumers’ opinions? What compels you to give feedback? Would you spend a few hours on a survey for $10 or just pocket the money?