Everyone from television stations to sporting good retailers conduct sports surveys. They may be designed to glean opinions about consumer products such as ping-pong tables and basketball hoops, or they may be general public opinion polls intended to measure who the masses feel will win a Super Bowl, World Series, or Stanley Cup.

The latter type of survey rarely pays its participants in the form of cash, although some will offer the chance to win prizes. A network like ESPN is more interested in sampling the attitudes of its well-informed audience than it is holding a sweepstakes to try to boost its own revenues. If it's cash and free vacations you're looking for, you're better off seeking out consumer surveys instead.

What Sports Surveys Measure

Sports surveys on home goods will predominantly gauge whether or not a given product is fun, safe, easy to use, and affordable. Before a baseball bat manufacturer goes into mass production on a new titanium bat, it wants to be certain consumers are willing to pay the asking price. You may receive questions that ask you for a reasonable price range on a hockey stick, basketball, or pair of shoes. Or you may find that it's the product's features that are being tested.

Does that extra inch of air cushion in your Nikes really give you better hops on the basketball court? Does that new driver truly add 10 yards to your tee shot? These are the things goods manufacturers need to know. And by taking sports surveys, you can help give them the answers they're looking for.