How Branded Research Deploys Fast Disbursements to Improve Its Side Hustle Appeal

The impacts of the global health crisis have made side hustles attractive for many, as numerous consumers began seeking to offset economic uncertainty and earn some extra cash. Whether they are freelancing, doing gig labor, participating in market research or something else, these individuals benefit from being paid quickly and seamlessly.

As such, it’s key that companies provide fast, seamless disbursement experiences and also offer options that reflect consumers’ preferences for being paid. Consumers now want to access their funds immediately through their preferred medium, explained Kristen Miles, director of research and insights for audience technology and survey company Branded Research. Branded — which pays individuals to take surveys and participate in research — offers its participants a range of disbursement types to ensure it is consistently meeting their needs.

“[We offer] everything from direct bank transfers to PayPal [support] to gift cards, and our members really value having a range of payout options as well as the opportunity to switch payment methods based on their needs,” Miles said in a recent interview with PYMNTS.

“So, for example … a lot of our members might switch to getting payouts via gift cards to use for their holiday shopping, and then [they] may use [other methods] to cover bills, groceries, things like that at other points in the year, and a lot of our internal research has shown that our members are really looking for a balance between [a] fast and a reliable, simple payout process that they can understand and really count on.”

Responding to consumers’ shifting disbursement preferences is critical for businesses, especially because the sheer range of prospective payment methods continues to expand. Savvy businesses should work to stay cognizant of what consumers want from these relationships and how they wish to get paid, in order to enable both recruitment and retention of participants as well as realize disbursement efficiencies and cost savings on the back end.

Keeping Digital Disbursements Personalized

Consumers’ expectations for payments speed and personalization were high even before the pandemic, and this has remained the case since. However, this does not mean all consumers want to be paid the same way, or even that they value the same aspects of their disbursements experiences, Miles said.

Younger consumers place more of a premium on speed, she explained, while those of other generations look for different factors when receiving their funds.

“[Our young members] are much more comfortable with digital payments using Venmo and apps like that on a regular basis, and so the security element is a little bit less of a focus,” Miles explained. “For our older users, they are less focused on speed and more focused on security, but then [they] also [want] a simple and reliable process.

“So they’re willing to wait a little bit longer if they understand the process, and they know that every time they get a payout from us, they’re going to follow the same process, that there’s consistency there.”

Miles said that offering payment options that spoke to their members’ needs was one of the key initial challenges Branded faced, as not having consumers’ choices of disbursement methods would prompt them to decline participation in the company’s surveys in the first place.

She continued that it also has become critical to ensure such payments can be made via digital channels rather than through cumbersome methods such as paper checks, especially as consumers expect their payments in a more timely manner than ever before.

“A lot of our research has shown that our members are really looking to spend the money that they earn with us within a couple days, so getting those payouts instantly really helps them,” she said. “Then for us, quick digital payouts shorten [the time our members are] waiting for a check in the mail.

“They can get paid and then jump right back into taking surveys with us quickly, which is really vital for us and for our business, and digital payouts are just simpler to distribute and easier to track for us on our end. We’re not worrying about checks getting lost in the mail and having to reissue and all of that.”

Keeping up with consumers’ expectations for instant payments will become more critical for businesses in multiple industries, yet implementing speedier payment tools or technologies comes with its own challenges, including new frictions for customers and keeping abreast of customer payment methods.

Keeping Next-Gen Disbursements Simple

Allowing consumers to access and spend their funds as quickly as possible and through whatever method they prefer is a priority, but businesses also must be sure they are not adding frictions for customers into the process, Miles warned. They also must ensure they are not propping the door open to fraudsters seeking to take advantage of the glut of swifter payment options.

“The challenge is that getting faster and then offering more payout options kind of complicates the process from our end,” Miles said. “[It] opens up more opportunities for fraud or people trying to game the system, and then also potentially [it reaches] the point where it’s just too complicated, so balancing the need for simplicity with keeping up with where the market is going in terms of payout options [is important].”

Achieving that coveted speedy yet secure payment will be key for firms as they look to keep consumers engaged and satisfied throughout their disbursement experiences. Organizations also need to stay informed about customers’ shifting payment preferences and changing market conditions to thrive not only today but in the future. Enabling digital disbursement methods can help companies accelerate their implementation of payouts that meet both of these shifting variables.