Surveying for Growth

The Internet can be an amazing tool if used correctly. eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY  ) proved that you can expand on the flea market bazaar concept and make it even more vibrant when a world of sellers and bidders lies a click away. Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX  ) taught us that you can provide a platform for renting DVDs online that is superior to the localized experience. Dell's (Nasdaq: DELL  ) consumer-direct model was perfect for the cost-saving benefits of Web-enabled ordering.

These stocks went on to become successful Stock Advisor newsletter recommendations and deservedly so. However, you also have the sock puppet fiasco of Pets.com to remind us that not all delivered goods are logistical winners, while the collapse of delivery specialist Kozmo.com shows that a plan that appears good on paper can be lost in its translation to practicality.

Buttering you up with both sides of the spectrum, I'm pegging the odds of Greenfield Online (Nasdaq: SRVY  ) succeeding as pretty darn good these days. The Internet survey specialist is off to a great start after going public last month at $13 a share and kicking off its public life with a healthy second-quarter report last night.

Greenfield saw its revenues climb by 72% as earnings more than tripled to $0.10 a share. The company is looking to earn $0.38 a share for all of 2004 on roughly $44 million in revenue.

If you've been online long enough, odds are that you have been offered a chance to serve on Greenfield's panel of survey participants. Covering nearly 5 million users in 1.7 million households, Greenfield is a data harvesting monster. That's important because, just like eBay, this is the kind of business that appears to be easily duplicated at first glance. Then you begin to realize that the companies looking to tap into the mainstream mind-set require a large audience to sample and that the millions have come to Greenfield because that's where the survey action bunks for the night.

Information is a natural for the Internet given its nature as digital content. While new to the market, Greenfield comes with the proper pedigree to succeed these days, sporting consistent profitability and double-digit net margins. This is a compelling company from many different perspectives. That's why if Greenfield asks you a question, my advice would be to mull it over but, ultimately, answer in the affirmative.

Have you ever wanted to take part in Internet surveys only to have your connection die out on you? Do you receive too much spam from companies looking to pick your mind for a survey because you never installed a junk mail blocker? All this and more in the Help with this STUPID computer! discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a member of some other online loyalty reward clubs, but not a Greenfield panelist. He owns shares in Netflix.