• Harvard Business School →
  • Faculty & Research →
  • February 2018
  • HBS Case Collection

Qualtrics (A)

  • Format: Print
  • | Language: English

Related Work

  • Faculty Research

Qualtrics (B)

Qualtrics (c).

  • January 2020 (Revised March 2020)

Qualtrics (A), (B), and (C)

  • Qualtrics (B)  By: Doug J. Chung and James M. Lattin
  • Qualtrics (C)  By: Doug J. Chung and James M. Lattin
  • Qualtrics (A), (B), and (C)  By: Doug J. Chung

About Stanford GSB

  • The Leadership
  • Dean’s Updates
  • School News & History
  • Commencement
  • Business, Government & Society
  • Centers & Institutes
  • Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
  • Center for Social Innovation
  • Stanford Seed

About the Experience

  • Learning at Stanford GSB
  • Experiential Learning
  • Guest Speakers
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Social Innovation
  • Communication
  • Life at Stanford GSB
  • Collaborative Environment
  • Activities & Organizations
  • Student Services
  • Housing Options
  • International Students

Full-Time Degree Programs

  • Why Stanford MBA
  • Academic Experience
  • Financial Aid
  • Why Stanford MSx
  • Research Fellows Program
  • See All Programs

Non-Degree & Certificate Programs

  • Executive Education
  • Stanford Executive Program
  • Programs for Organizations
  • The Difference
  • Online Programs
  • Stanford LEAD
  • Stanford Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate
  • Seed Transformation Program
  • Seed Aspire Program
  • Seed Spark Program
  • Faculty Profiles
  • Academic Areas
  • Awards & Honors
  • Conferences

Faculty Research

  • Publications
  • Working Papers
  • Case Studies

Research Hub

  • Research Labs & Initiatives
  • Business Library
  • Data, Analytics & Research Computing
  • Behavioral Lab

Research Labs

  • Cities, Housing & Society Lab
  • Golub Capital Social Impact Lab

Research Initiatives

  • Corporate Governance Research Initiative
  • Corporations and Society Initiative
  • Policy and Innovation Initiative
  • Rapid Decarbonization Initiative
  • Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative
  • Value Chain Innovation Initiative
  • Venture Capital Initiative
  • Career & Success
  • Climate & Sustainability
  • Corporate Governance
  • Culture & Society
  • Finance & Investing
  • Government & Politics
  • Leadership & Management
  • Markets & Trade
  • Operations & Logistics
  • Opportunity & Access
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Political Economy
  • Social Impact
  • Technology & AI
  • Opinion & Analysis
  • Email Newsletter

Welcome, Alumni

  • Communities
  • Digital Communities & Tools
  • Regional Chapters
  • Women’s Programs
  • Identity Chapters
  • Find Your Reunion
  • Career Resources
  • Job Search Resources
  • Career & Life Transitions
  • Programs & Services
  • Career Video Library
  • Alumni Education
  • Research Resources
  • Volunteering
  • Alumni News
  • Class Notes
  • Alumni Voices
  • Contact Alumni Relations
  • Upcoming Events

Admission Events & Information Sessions

  • MBA Program
  • MSx Program
  • PhD Program
  • Alumni Events
  • All Other Events
  • Operations, Information & Technology
  • Classical Liberalism
  • The Eddie Lunch
  • Accounting Summer Camp
  • Videos, Code & Data
  • California Econometrics Conference
  • California Quantitative Marketing PhD Conference
  • California School Conference
  • China India Insights Conference
  • Homo economicus, Evolving
  • Political Economics (2023–24)
  • Scaling Geologic Storage of CO2 (2023–24)
  • A Resilient Pacific: Building Connections, Envisioning Solutions
  • Adaptation and Innovation
  • Changing Climate
  • Civil Society
  • Climate Impact Summit
  • Climate Science
  • Corporate Carbon Disclosures
  • Earth’s Seafloor
  • Environmental Justice
  • Operations and Information Technology
  • Organizations
  • Sustainability Reporting and Control
  • Taking the Pulse of the Planet
  • Urban Infrastructure
  • Watershed Restoration
  • Junior Faculty Workshop on Financial Regulation and Banking
  • Ken Singleton Celebration
  • Quantitative Marketing PhD Alumni Conference
  • Presentations
  • Theory and Inference in Accounting Research
  • Stanford Closer Look Series
  • Quick Guides
  • Core Concepts
  • Journal Articles
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Researchers & Students
  • Research Approach
  • Charitable Giving
  • Financial Health
  • Government Services
  • Workers & Careers
  • Short Course
  • Adaptive & Iterative Experimentation
  • Incentive Design
  • Social Sciences & Behavioral Nudges
  • Bandit Experiment Application
  • Conferences & Events
  • Get Involved
  • Reading Materials
  • Teaching & Curriculum
  • Energy Entrepreneurship
  • Faculty & Affiliates
  • SOLE Report
  • Responsible Supply Chains
  • Current Study Usage
  • Pre-Registration Information
  • Participate in a Study

Qualtrics: Scaling an Inside-Sales Organization

Learning objective.

case study on qualtrics

  • See the Current DEI Report
  • Supporting Data
  • Research & Insights
  • Share Your Thoughts
  • Search Fund Primer
  • Affiliated Faculty
  • Faculty Advisors
  • Louis W. Foster Resource Center
  • Defining Social Innovation
  • Impact Compass
  • Global Health Innovation Insights
  • Faculty Affiliates
  • Student Awards & Certificates
  • Changemakers
  • Dean Garth Saloner
  • Dean Robert Joss
  • Dean Michael Spence
  • Dean Robert Jaedicke
  • Dean Rene McPherson
  • Dean Arjay Miller
  • Dean Ernest Arbuckle
  • Dean Jacob Hugh Jackson
  • Dean Willard Hotchkiss
  • Faculty in Memoriam
  • Stanford GSB Firsts
  • Certificate & Award Recipients
  • Dean’s Remarks
  • Keynote Address
  • Teaching Approach
  • Analysis and Measurement of Impact
  • The Corporate Entrepreneur: Startup in a Grown-Up Enterprise
  • Data-Driven Impact
  • Designing Experiments for Impact
  • Digital Business Transformation
  • The Founder’s Right Hand
  • Marketing for Measurable Change
  • Product Management
  • Public Policy Lab: Financial Challenges Facing US Cities
  • Public Policy Lab: Homelessness in California
  • Lab Features
  • Curricular Integration
  • View From The Top
  • Formation of New Ventures
  • Managing Growing Enterprises
  • Startup Garage
  • Explore Beyond the Classroom
  • Stanford Venture Studio
  • Summer Program
  • Workshops & Events
  • The Five Lenses of Entrepreneurship
  • Leadership Labs
  • Executive Challenge
  • Arbuckle Leadership Fellows Program
  • Selection Process
  • Training Schedule
  • Time Commitment
  • Learning Expectations
  • Post-Training Opportunities
  • Who Should Apply
  • Introductory T-Groups
  • Leadership for Society Program
  • Certificate
  • 2023 Awardees
  • 2022 Awardees
  • 2021 Awardees
  • 2020 Awardees
  • 2019 Awardees
  • 2018 Awardees
  • Social Management Immersion Fund
  • Stanford Impact Founder Fellowships and Prizes
  • Stanford Impact Leader Prizes
  • Social Entrepreneurship
  • Stanford GSB Impact Fund
  • Economic Development
  • Energy & Environment
  • Stanford GSB Residences
  • Environmental Leadership
  • Stanford GSB Artwork
  • A Closer Look
  • California & the Bay Area
  • Voices of Stanford GSB
  • Business & Beneficial Technology
  • Business & Sustainability
  • Business & Free Markets
  • News & Insights
  • Second Year
  • Global Experiences
  • JD/MBA Joint Degree
  • MA Education/MBA Joint Degree
  • MD/MBA Dual Degree
  • MPP/MBA Joint Degree
  • MS Computer Science/MBA Joint Degree
  • MS Electrical Engineering/MBA Joint Degree
  • MS Environment and Resources (E-IPER)/MBA Joint Degree
  • Academic Calendar
  • Clubs & Activities
  • LGBTQ+ Students
  • Military Veterans
  • Minorities & People of Color
  • Partners & Families
  • Students with Disabilities
  • Student Support
  • Residential Life
  • Student Voices
  • MBA Alumni Voices
  • A Week in the Life
  • Career Support
  • Employment Outcomes
  • Cost of Attendance
  • Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program
  • Yellow Ribbon Program
  • BOLD Fellows Fund
  • Application Process
  • Loan Forgiveness
  • Contact the Financial Aid Office
  • Evaluation Criteria
  • GMAT & GRE
  • English Language Proficiency
  • Personal Information, Activities & Awards
  • Professional Experience
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • Optional Short Answer Questions
  • Application Fee
  • Reapplication
  • Deferred Enrollment
  • Entering Class Profile
  • Event Schedule
  • Ambassadors
  • New & Noteworthy
  • Ask a Question
  • See Why Stanford MSx
  • Is MSx Right for You?
  • Leadership Development
  • Career Advancement
  • Career Change
  • How You Will Learn
  • Admission Events
  • Personal Information
  • Information for Recommenders
  • GMAT, GRE & EA
  • English Proficiency Tests
  • After You’re Admitted
  • Daycare, Schools & Camps
  • U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
  • Requirements
  • Requirements: Behavioral
  • Requirements: Quantitative
  • Requirements: Macro
  • Requirements: Micro
  • Annual Evaluations
  • Field Examination
  • Research Activities
  • Research Papers
  • Dissertation
  • Oral Examination
  • Current Students
  • Education & CV
  • International Applicants
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Reapplicants
  • Application Fee Waiver
  • Deadline & Decisions
  • Job Market Candidates
  • Academic Placements
  • Stay in Touch
  • Faculty Mentors
  • Current Fellows
  • Standard Track
  • Fellowship & Benefits
  • Group Enrollment
  • Program Formats
  • Developing a Program
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Strategic Transformation
  • Program Experience
  • Contact Client Services
  • Campus Experience
  • Live Online Experience
  • Silicon Valley & Bay Area
  • Digital Credentials
  • Faculty Spotlights
  • Participant Spotlights
  • Eligibility
  • International Participants
  • Stanford Ignite
  • Founding Donors
  • Location Information
  • Participant Profile
  • Network Membership
  • Program Impact
  • Collaborators
  • Entrepreneur Profiles
  • Company Spotlights
  • Seed Transformation Network
  • Responsibilities
  • Current Coaches
  • How to Apply
  • Meet the Consultants
  • Meet the Interns
  • Intern Profiles
  • Collaborate
  • Research Library
  • Program Contacts
  • Databases & Datasets
  • Research Guides
  • Consultations
  • Research Workshops
  • Career Research
  • Research Data Services
  • Course Reserves
  • Course Research Guides
  • Material Loan Periods
  • Fines & Other Charges
  • Document Delivery
  • Interlibrary Loan
  • Equipment Checkout
  • Print & Scan
  • MBA & MSx Students
  • PhD Students
  • Other Stanford Students
  • Faculty Assistants
  • Research Assistants
  • Stanford GSB Alumni
  • Telling Our Story
  • Staff Directory
  • Site Registration
  • Alumni Directory
  • Alumni Email
  • Privacy Settings & My Profile
  • Event Registration
  • Success Stories
  • The Story of Circles
  • Support Women’s Circles
  • Stanford Women on Boards Initiative
  • Alumnae Spotlights
  • Insights & Research
  • Industry & Professional
  • Entrepreneurial Commitment Group
  • Recent Alumni
  • Half-Century Club
  • Fall Reunions
  • Spring Reunions
  • MBA 25th Reunion
  • Half-Century Club Reunion
  • Faculty Lectures
  • Ernest C. Arbuckle Award
  • Alison Elliott Exceptional Achievement Award
  • ENCORE Award
  • Excellence in Leadership Award
  • John W. Gardner Volunteer Leadership Award
  • Robert K. Jaedicke Faculty Award
  • Jack McDonald Military Service Appreciation Award
  • Jerry I. Porras Latino Leadership Award
  • Tapestry Award
  • Student & Alumni Events
  • Executive Recruiters
  • Interviewing
  • Negotiating
  • Elevator Pitch
  • Email Best Practices
  • Resumes & Cover Letters
  • Self-Assessment
  • Whitney Birdwell Ball
  • Margaret Brooks
  • Bryn Panee Burkhart
  • Margaret Chan
  • Ricki Frankel
  • Peter Gandolfo
  • Cindy W. Greig
  • Natalie Guillen
  • Carly Janson
  • Sloan Klein
  • Sherri Appel Lassila
  • Stuart Meyer
  • Tanisha Parrish
  • Virginia Roberson
  • Philippe Taieb
  • Michael Takagawa
  • Terra Winston
  • Johanna Wise
  • Debbie Wolter
  • Rebecca Zucker
  • Complimentary Coaching
  • Changing Careers
  • Work-Life Integration
  • Career Breaks
  • Flexible Work
  • Encore Careers
  • D&B Hoovers
  • Data Axle (ReferenceUSA)
  • EBSCO Business Source
  • Global Newsstream
  • Market Share Reporter
  • ProQuest One Business
  • Student Clubs
  • Entrepreneurial Students
  • Stanford GSB Trust
  • Alumni Community
  • How to Volunteer
  • Springboard Sessions
  • Consulting Projects
  • 2020 – 2029
  • 2010 – 2019
  • 2000 – 2009
  • 1990 – 1999
  • 1980 – 1989
  • 1970 – 1979
  • 1960 – 1969
  • 1950 – 1959
  • 1940 – 1949
  • Service Areas
  • ACT History
  • ACT Awards Celebration
  • Contact ACT
  • Business & Nonprofit Communities
  • Reunion Volunteers
  • Ways to Give
  • Fiscal Year Report
  • Business School Fund Leadership Council
  • Planned Giving Options
  • Planned Giving Benefits
  • Planned Gifts and Reunions
  • Legacy Partners
  • Strategic Initiatives
  • Giving News & Stories
  • Giving Deadlines
  • Development Staff
  • Submit Class Notes
  • Class Secretaries
  • Board of Directors
  • Health Care
  • Sustainability
  • Class Takeaways
  • All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions
  • If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society
  • Grit & Growth
  • Leadership for Society
  • Think Fast, Talk Smart
  • Spring 2022
  • Spring 2021
  • Autumn 2020
  • Summer 2020
  • Winter 2020
  • In the Media
  • For Journalists
  • DCI Fellows
  • Other Auditors
  • Academic Calendar & Deadlines
  • Course Materials
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Entrepreneurial Resources
  • Campus Drive Grove
  • Campus Drive Lawn
  • CEMEX Auditorium
  • King Community Court
  • Seawell Family Boardroom
  • Stanford GSB Bowl
  • Stanford Investors Common
  • Town Square
  • Vidalakis Courtyard
  • Vidalakis Dining Hall
  • Catering Services
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Reservations
  • Contact Faculty Recruiting
  • Lecturer Positions
  • Postdoctoral Positions
  • Accommodations
  • CMC-Managed Interviews
  • Recruiter-Managed Interviews
  • Virtual Interviews
  • Campus & Virtual
  • Search for Candidates
  • Think Globally
  • Recruiting Calendar
  • Recruiting Policies
  • Full-Time Employment
  • Summer Employment
  • Entrepreneurial Summer Program
  • Global Management Immersion Experience
  • Social-Purpose Summer Internships
  • Client Eligibility Criteria
  • Client Screening
  • ACT Leadership
  • Social Innovation & Nonprofit Management Resources
  • Develop Your Organization’s Talent
  • Centers & Initiatives
  • Student Fellowships
  • Account-based marketing
  • Acquisition
  • Attribution
  • Brand awareness
  • Brand utility
  • Change management
  • Collaboration
  • Competition
  • Data management
  • Data regulations
  • Digital asset management
  • Digital transformation
  • Educating leadership
  • Ethical marketing
  • Inclusive marketing
  • Influencer Marketing
  • Lead generation
  • Marketing budget
  • Multichannel
  • Omnichannel
  • Online advertising
  • People and skills
  • Performance marketing
  • Personalization
  • Social media
  • Sonic Branding
  • Third-party cookie
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Augmented reality
  • Disruptive MarTech
  • Emerging technology
  • Machine learning
  • Virtual reality
  • Voice search
  • Actionable analysis
  • Brand experience
  • Customer behaviour
  • Customer experience
  • Customer insights
  • Customer journey
  • Data insights
  • Fractional CMO
  • Predictive analytics
  • Case Studies
  • search search
  • News & Insights keyboard_arrow_down
  • Virtual Events
  • Tech Talks (New)
  • Subscribe to newsletter
  • Promote your business
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • ClickZ Advisory Board

Stats & Tools

  • CPA calculator
  • CPM Calculator
  • ROI Calculator

Case study: How CenturyLink used Qualtrics XM to reduce customer churn

Case study into how the Qualtrics Experience Management Platform helped communications company CenturyLink improve customer experience and reduce churn.

  • Digital Transformation
  • Marketing Technology

ClickZ recently met with industry-leading communications company CenturyLink to discuss how their focus on improving customer experience (CX) helped reduce customer churn after merging with Level 3 Communications in late 2017, and how they used Qualtrics XM (Experience Mangement Platform) to do that.

Headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, CenturyLink provides connectivity, cloud, and security solutions for digital businesses and consumers. They offer DSL and fiber internet service in 37 states and throughout the world.

What is experience management?

The experience economy has changed the way businesses compete. Today, organizations must continuously listen to the beliefs, emotions, and intentions of customers, employees, suppliers, partners, and all other stakeholders. This type of data is called experience data, or X-data.

Businesses must be able to interpret and analyze large amounts of X-data, and understand its relationship to the operational data of the business, or O-data. Operational data is data that businesses already collect each day through their systems (e.g., a list of top salespeople, customer inventory, purchase data, etc.). Experience data looks at how each core stakeholder interacts within the business (e.g., are your salespeople unhappy and about to quit?)

Experience management is the discipline of using both X- and O-data to manage and improve the four core experiences of business: customer, employee, product, and brand.

Related Content

Digital marketing 96% of global consumers expect brands to respond within 24 hours to an issue, search moz local search analytics and industry trends: q&a with moz’s sarah bird and rob bucci, disruptive martech interview: how dxc is leveraging adobe’s ai-powered adobe experience platform to unify data, digital advertising why alaska airlines used wrapify for ooh advertising and attribution, search uberall partners with trustpilot to simplify online reputation management, digital transformation how salesforce improved pardot website conversions by 27%.

example of cross-platform study with qualtrics experience management

Cross-platform survey—Source: Qualtrics

Customer experience management can have a tremendous impact on a company’s ROI.

Qualtrics recently announced  data from a study conducted by Forrester Consulting which demonstrated that a composite organization based on Qualtrics customers saw a 633% ROI over three years, equaling benefits of over $38 million.

This includes $24.5 million in improved customer care support, $12.3 million in increased customer retention and reduced customer acquisition costs, and $1.7 million in avoiding costs of previous survey and analytics tools.

What CX management means to CenturyLink

ClickZ spoke with Beth Ard, VP of Customer Experience and Karen Humphreys Russell, Director, Voice of the Customer at CenturyLink to find out why they chose Qualtrics and what motivated CenturyLink to focus on CX management in the first place.

From a corporate perspective, CenturyLink realized that customers have relationships with multiple stakeholders including their employees, brand, and product.

Beth Ard explains, “This is an evolution in the way we think of the voice of the customer. We’ve got to take a holistic view of our customer experience and think of it well beyond the traditional silos that it’s been in before.”

For CenturyLink, CX management is a powerful tool that allows them to pool all of their experience data in one place, giving them a holistic view of the customer’s relationship with them and providing deeper insight into how customers, employees and other stakeholders interact with the company—and each other—at all touchpoints.

Says Ard, “Our employees are very influential in how well they’re enabled to give a good experience to customers. We can see the linkage between customer experience and employee experience.”

Why choose Qualtrics?

These days, most companies have a “voice of the customer” platform, but when CenturyLink and Level 3 came together as two companies in 2017, they realized their company had become very complex. They decided to look outside the organization at other experience platforms to determine how to get a handle on the combined customer experience that they wanted to create.

example of setting up a campaign on qualtrics, case study

“An acquisition forces you to come to the table,” says Ard. “We wanted to be able to drive a combined brand experience and have a good handle on our customers as they went through this process with us while we were merging. It became a good opportunity for the team to think about the customers’ experience differently.”

In their acquisition of Level 3, CenturyLink inherited a business focused on enterprise customers. They needed to quickly get a handle on their newly combined customer group. This is ultimately why it made sense to go out and look at a new solution. It can be very disruptive for customers when two companies come together and they wanted to stay on top of that disruption to prevent losing customers.

“We really needed to listen to our customers in a lot of different ways so we could keep the churn low,” explains Karen Russell. “We had very little in the way of significant churn when we came out of that merger. We were successful in listening and making sure that we could make our customers happy during the process.”

CenturyLink used Qualtrics to present surveys at each touchpoint of the customer’s journey. They were also able to use the tool to minimize the need for a large customer experience oversight team, so even though they came together as a very big company, they had a small team of extremely skilled people who were leveraging the platform.

“We needed a platform that was really usable,” says Russell. “It had to be easy to set up, and easy to change, and easy to scale as we learned more about our customers.”

Positive results from managing customer experience

Qualtrics provided a platform from which CenturyLink was able to unite the newly integrated companies around a single vision. It gave them access to the data they needed for their customers to come along on the journey with them.

using qualtrics to manage customer experience, case study

The customer experience team set up dashboards in a mobile application that gave the team access to all the data. They then modeled business outcomes based on this data, which was critical for reducing churn and keeping customers happy.

CenturyLink measured their success on how customer and stakeholder data influenced the business in revenue, sales, and lifetime value which resulted in a positive ROI for the program.

Investing in a single customer experience management platform enabled CenturyLink to reduce costs in other areas such as SaaS tools and professional services as well as reduce the spend for the global program even though the company grew. The fact that it’s a self-serve platform that is easy to use meant they could reduce spending on services with other vendors and not have to pay for two or three disparate systems from legacy companies.

“Qualtrics enabled us to close the loop with customers, so when their feedback is negative, we pick up the phone and send them an email,” explained Russell. “We’re in the middle of looking at predictive analytics right now and can also do some predictive modeling to help prioritize where to focus next. Although a human does have to review the data at some point, predictive modeling allows us to understand sentiment, trend, and theme—everything that drives the customer—using their own words.”

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

More about:

Read the next article

Explore Tech Talks

case study on qualtrics

Lucy helps organizations leverage knowledge for in... View Tech Talk

case study on qualtrics

TVSquared is the global leader in cross-platform T... View Tech Talk

case study on qualtrics

Grata is a B2B search engine for discovering small... View Tech Talk

Whitepapers

case study on qualtrics

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing ... Download Now

case study on qualtrics

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. ... Download Now

case study on qualtrics

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

This report documents the findings of a Fireside c... Download Now

case study on qualtrics

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

The Merkle B2B 2023 Superpowers Index outlines wha... Download Now

Whitepaper | Mobile US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

Winning the data game: digital analytics tactics f....

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

Whitepaper | Digital Marketing Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market....

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

Whitepaper | Digital Transformation Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

Engagement to empowerment - winning in today's exp....

The Merkle B2B 2023 Superpowers Index outlines what drives competitive advantage within the business culture and subcultures that are critical to succ...

Related Articles

Brand experience ray-ban and aeg's winning formula: music festivals and data-driven branding, ray-ban and aeg's winning formula: music festivals....

How the sunglasses giant created subconscious brand recall value with music festival-goers through the power of strategic partnerships and experientia...

Brand utility Blue skies and brand utility: How IBM's The Weather Channel became the US' 8th most trusted brand

Blue skies and brand utility: how ibm's the weathe....

"Our latest brand health metrics study showed a 7.4% lift in brand favourability and a 7.7% lift in people saying The Weather Channel helps them make ...

Metaverse How Honda used Twitch to drive its audience to the Metaverse

How honda used twitch to drive its audience to the....

Each of the episodes added value to Honda’s metaverse launch. The Honda DreamLab (evolving from Honda’s Head2Head Twitch gaming channel that launched ...

B2B How DHL used segmented B2B targeting to become the supply chain's ultimate sidekick

How dhl used segmented b2b targeting to become the....

The past few years have shown us all the volatility of supply chain management. The 2021 Suez Canal incident (whilst great for viral content) blocked ...

Case Study How Irish Spring's ‘gaming shower’ marketing activation cleaned up on Twitch

How irish spring's ‘gaming shower’ marketing activ....

“As we target a brand-new audience, the core goals of this activation were very much top of the funnel: To build brand awareness, credibility, and to ...

Voice Alexa, show me Tripadvisor's voice-activated marketing strategy

Alexa, show me tripadvisor's voice-activated marke....

"People are spending less time on traditional tourism board websites. They want to consume content on the platforms that they are most familiar with a...

Case Study Mastercard's multisensory marketing: A masterclass in sonic branding

Mastercard's multisensory marketing: a masterclass....

“At Mastercard, we strive to ensure that our brand is instantly recognizable and top of mind. Our sonic melody and overall audio strategy gives us the...

Personalization Upper funnel personalization: Kaiser Permanente's path to positive recall

Upper funnel personalization: kaiser permanente's ....

Kaiser Permanente provides health care coverage, serving over 12.6 million members across nine states in the US. Kaiser Permanente is well recognized ...

We sent a code to your email.

Enter the 6-digit verification code sent to

Subscribe to the latest news & insights

HOW QUALTRICS LEVERAGED DRIFT AND 6SENSE INSIGHTS IN THEIR ABM PROGRAM

lift in email capture rate

increase in conversation to opportunity rate

case study on qualtrics

About Qualtrics

If you’ve heard the name Qualtrics, you know that it’s synonymous with experience management — across customers, employees, products, and brands. And with Qualtrics, organizations can be at every meaningful touchpoint, for every experience, and predict which changes will resonate most with stakeholders.

The Challenge

With myriad solutions and prospects visiting their site every day, the Qualtrics team wanted to make sure that their website was optimized for all visitors — and particularly target accounts. “We had all the traditional channels set up for users to get in touch with our brand, like filling out a form on our website, or talking to sales via phone or email,” explained Erin O’Neill, Website Marketing Manager. “But that digital aspect didn’t exist. Drift is a really low barrier to entry for users to get in touch with our brand.”

case study on qualtrics

The Solution

In 2018, Qualtrics launched Drift to ensure that no matter the channel, a user could get in touch with their sales team.

The team had two goals in mind in deploying Drift. First, they wanted to build incremental pipeline through the website, with Drift acting as an independent channel. Second, they wanted to generate net-new names from website visitors.

At the same time, marketing had begun rolling out a comprehensive account-based marketing (ABM) strategy. Peter MacArthur, Qualtrics’ Global Digital Marketing and ABM Senior Analyst, explained, “When we started ideating on ABM, the idea wasn’t to fix something that was broken. It was, ‘How can we take good things and make them better?’”

Drift was an additional channel that we were able to integrate and optimize towards, without necessarily creating a huge amount of additional work. It built really easily into our website.

Erin O’Neill

Drift x 6sense: better together.

Qualtrics took a phased approach to their ABM strategy, implementing it little by little over the course of a few years. According to Peter, it wasn’t until they brought on 6sense that they had access to intent data from third-party websites. “Being able to know what topics our accounts are researching was our first step,” Peter said. Layering those insights into Drift was the icing on the cake.

Building Intent-Based Audiences

One of the tenets of Qualtrics’ ABM strategy is that true personalization is deeper than simply using an account name or industry in a targeted message. That, and ABM done right should make it as easy as possible for website visitors to get where they need to go. As Peter explained, “The goal is to greet them with the message that is most relevant to them. To get them there faster, with fewer touchpoints.”

This was the ideology that pushed Qualtrics to segment intent-based audiences in 6sense, and use that data to create targeted Drift playbooks.

Erin O’Neill, Global Head of Conversion Rate Optimization at Qualtrics, talks about the first test the team ran with the Drift x 6sense integration. “If we saw somebody had specific product intent in 6sense, then we would offer a playbook specific to that product. We’d offer them paths to talk to sales or offer them product content. That was the main test we launched and it was really successful in terms of conversation to opportunity rate in that specific playbook,” she said. “That was a great win and kicked off a deeper integration of Drift and 6sense into our ABM programs.”

Erin O'Neill

Tailored messaging.

But the Qualtrics team doesn’t stop their ABM motion at just targeting product content accordingly — they make sure their messaging reflects where that buyer is in their journey.

“6sense also tells us where contacts are in the funnel,” Peter explained. “So if an account is more top of the funnel and just getting familiar with Qualtrics, we might offer them a softer call-to-action, ebook, or blog post, versus a bottom-of-the-funnel account where we may be more aggressive with our messaging because they’re more familiar with what we have to offer. We can skip the fluff.”

case study on qualtrics

A Better Buying Experience

Qualtrics has hundreds of products — which means it can be an overwhelming experience when a visitor lands on the website. But by using keyword data from 6sense, Qualtrics can see what products might be a good fit for that visitor, and customize the homepage bot based on that information — reducing the number of touch points required to find the right product fit.

“We have a fairly generic Drift playbook on our homepage,” Erin explained, “But I want to make sure that it’s really specific people getting to our sales reps. I don’t want to bog them down with a bunch of random chats. The Drift and 6sense integration has allowed us to be really targeted in terms of product interest and account fit. It’s allowed us to open the floodgates and reduce that friction to talk to our sales team.”

“It’s a better experience for our customers, for marketing, and for sales. It’s win-win-win when we can be smart about the marketing that we’re doing,” Erin said.

[The Drift and 6sense integration] has allowed us to prioritize better as a marketing team and deliver more quality leads and interactions to our sales team.

The Results

Erin and Peter have some incredible results to share from that very first Drift x 6sense integration test:

case study on qualtrics

Though Qualtrics is targeting a smaller audience with their 6sense segmented playbooks, the results show just how well this approach works in increasing email capture rate, and ultimately, turning those visitors into opportunities.

While Qualtrics has seen amazing initial success with the one-two punch of Drift and 6sense, they have big goals in mind for their ABM program as a whole — hoping to match their EMEA team’s success in driving 25% of pipeline through ABM. One particular use case Peter is excited to explore is using 6sense and Drift to suppress accounts outside of their ideal customer profile and reduce the amount of time and money spent on those accounts.

And as the team iterates on their ABM program, they’re excited to explore new product functionality. As Erin shared, “I don’t think we’ve fully explored all the capabilities of Drift yet. Our team is constantly amazed that Drift keeps coming up with new ways to use it.”

Related Content

case study on qualtrics

WANT TO BE THE NEXT SUCCESS STORY?

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

  • Publications
  • Account settings
  • Advanced Search
  • Journal List
  • HHS Author Manuscripts

Logo of nihpa

A Tale of Two Diverse Qualtrics Samples: Information for Online Survey Researchers

Carrie a. miller.

1. Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Jeanine P. D. Guidry

2. Robertson School of Media and Culture, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Bassam Dahman

Maria d. thomson.

There is often a lack of transparency in research using online panels related to recruitment methods and sample derivation. The purpose of this study was to describe the recruitment and participation of respondents from two disparate surveys derived from the same online research panel using quota sampling.

A commercial survey sampling and administration company, Qualtrics, was contracted to recruit participants and implement two internet-based surveys. The first survey targeted adults aged 50–75 years old and used sampling quotas to obtain diversity with respect to household income and race/ethnicity. The second focused on women aged 18–49 years and utilized quota sampling to achieve a geographically balanced sample.

A racially and economically diverse sample of older adults (n=419) and a geographically diverse sample of younger women (n=530) were acquired relatively quickly (within 12 and 4 days, respectively). With exception of the highest income level, quotas were implemented as requested. Recruitment of older adults took longer (vs. younger female adults). Although survey completion rates were reasonable in both studies, there were inconsistencies in the proportion of incomplete survey responses and quality fails.

Conclusions

Cancer researchers – and researchers in general – should consider ways to leverage the use of online panels for future studies. To optimize novel and innovative strategies, researchers should proactively ask questions about panels and carefully consider the strengths and drawbacks of online survey features including quota sampling and forced response.

Results provide practical insights for cancer researchers developing future online surveys and recruitment protocols.

Increased use of online (internet) surveys has led to a rise in commercial survey and market research platforms. Companies such as Qualtrics ( www.qualtrics.com ), Survey Monkey ( www.surveymonkey.com ), and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk; www.mturk.com ) allow researchers to develop, test, and distribute surveys online. In addition to creating electronic surveys for distribution through typical sample outlets, these companies enable researchers to purchase access to existing pools of potential participants that have agreed to be solicited for survey recruitment. Utilizing online research panels for sample acquisition and data collection is quick and efficient. Compared to traditional survey modes (e.g., mail and telephone), online surveys are typically less expensive [ 1 ], require less time to complete [ 2 ], and more readily provide access to unique populations [ 3 , 4 ].

Innovations in the collection of data using mobile and online platforms is transforming the conduct of survey research [ 5 ]. For example, crowdsourcing (i.e., the practice of soliciting contributions from large groups of people) has been applied to other health-related research and is in the early stages of adoption in cancer research. A systematic review identified 12 studies that applied crowdsourcing to cancer research in a range of capacities, including identifying candidate gene sequences for investigation, developing cancer prognosis models, and assessing cancer knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors [ 6 ]. Within the broad field of cancer, other recent studies have drawn from panel samples to conduct survivorship [ 7 ], risk communication [ 8 ], message testing [ 9 ], and behavioral [ 10 ] research. With increasing use of new technologies for data collection, the use of commercial research panels will become more prevalent in cancer research. Furthermore, large cohorts of individuals open to participating in research are being established for longitudinal epidemiologic research, including the Growth from Knowledge (GfK) KnowledgePanel and National Institute of Health (NIH) All of Us panel. Future use of panel surveys for collecting health data and biospecimens holds promise for accelerating cancer research across the cancer continuum.

Although online panels may not be representative of the US population [ 11 ], growing evidence suggests samples recruited through online panels can be as representative of the population as traditional recruitment methods [ 12 – 14 ]. Yet, the greatest advantage of online research panels may be their ability to produce samples targeting specific groups, such as respondents who meet a specific condition of interest to the researcher. The use of quota sampling (i.e., a non-probability sampling technique) in online panel research can help researchers obtain survey participants matching specified criteria, such as young adult cancer survivors or mammography screening age-eligible adults. Although online panel provide some advantages over traditional sampling methods, questions about the validity of commercially derived online panel samples have been raised [ 15 – 17 ]. These concerns may arise due to a lack of transparency in the recruitment of panelists and insufficient details on how samples are derived from online panels.

Online panel members are recruited from a variety of sources [ 12 ] and therefore, precise information on how sampling frames are constructed is usually not available. Because researchers generally lack control over sample acquisition procedures, an in-depth characterization of how panel participants are recruited is needed to inform researchers on what to expect when administering an online survey and recruiting participants from online sample panels. The purpose of this study was to describe the recruitment and participation of respondents from two disparate online surveys using quota sampling and administered by the same commercial research platform.

Qualtrics, a commercial survey sampling and administration company, was contracted to recruit participants and implement two internet-based surveys. Samples were acquired from existing pools of research panel participants. Samples were acquired from existing pools of research panel participants who have agreed to be contacted for research studies. The Qualtrics network of participant pools, referred to as the Marketplace, consists of hundreds of suppliers with a diverse set of recruitment methodologies [ 18 ]. The compilation of sampling sources helps to ensure that the overall sampling frame is not overly reliant or dependent on any particular demographic or segment of the population. Respondents can be sourced from a variety of methods depending on the individual supply partner, including the following: ads and promotions across various digital networks, word of mouth and membership referrals, social networks, online and mobile games, affiliate marketing, banner ads, TV and radio ads, and offline mail-based recruitment campaigns.

Recruitment targeted potential survey respondents who were likely to qualify based on the demographic characteristics reported in their user profiles (e.g., race and age). Panelists were invited to participate and opted in by activating a survey link directing them to the study consent page and survey instrument. Ineligible respondents were immediately exited from the survey upon providing a response that did not meet inclusion criteria or exceeded set quotas (i.e., a priori quotas for race or household income group already met).

To ensure data quality, surveys featured (1) attention checks (i.e., survey items that instructed respondents to provide a specific response); and (2) speeding checks (i.e., respondents with survey duration of ≤ one-third of the median duration of survey). Respondents who failed either quality check were excluded from the final samples. The two surveys were approximately equivalent in terms of survey duration and participant remuneration. Qualtrics charged investigators $6.50 for each completed survey response requested. The data reported in this study were collected according to separate IRB-approved protocols and in accordance with recognized ethical guidelines. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant.

Study Design and Survey Administration

Sample one..

The first sample was obtained as part of a pre-post parallel trial designed to examine the effects of providing colorectal cancer risk feedback to average risk adults who are age-eligible for colorectal cancer screening. The survey contained 133 items with each item requiring a response (i.e., forced response). The target enrollment was 400 eligible respondents. To be eligible to participate, respondents had to report being aged 50–75 years, have no personal or family history of colorectal cancer or other predisposing condition, able to read and comprehend English, and reside in the contiguous United States (US). Sampling quotas were implemented for race and annual household income. Specifically, balanced proportions of respondents with non-Hispanic White/Caucasian, non-Hispanic Black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino/Spanish origin racial/ethnic identities and diversity in reported household income (approximately 20% less than 20k, 30% between 20–49k, 20% between 50–74k, 10% between 75–99k = 10% and 20% greater than or equal to 100k) were requested. Respondents identifying as some other race, ethnicity or origin were not eligible to participate.

Sample Two.

Sample two was acquired during a previously described study testing whether specific message types and various psychosocial variables affect future Zika vaccine uptake intent among women of childbearing age [ 19 ]. The survey contained 105 items and did not utilize forced response. Target enrollment was 500 respondents. To be eligible to participate in this study, respondents had to report being female, between the ages 18 and 49 years, able to read and comprehend English, and a resident of the contiguous US. Sampling quotas were implemented to achieve a geographically varied sample across the four census regions (i.e., Northeast, South, West, and Midwest) with oversampling in the Southern region due to the heightened risk of Zika in this area.

Data Collection

For the first sample, completed survey duration ranged from 10 to 1,922 minutes, with a median duration of 26 minutes. Data collection occurred over a period of 12 days in June 2017. Completed survey duration for the second sample ranged from 8 to 390 minutes, with a median duration of 27 minutes. Data collection occurred over a period of four days in March 2017.

Survey Recruitment and Participant Flow

Survey recruitment and participant flow for each sample are depicted in Figure 1 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is nihms-1561623-f0001.jpg

contains a depiction of recruitment and participation within each sample.

Based on target demographics, approximately 63,500 panelists were invited to participate in this survey by email and other methods (e.g., messaging through online portals, text message, and in-app advertisements). Of those contacted, 3,178 panelists interacted with the survey by opening the survey invitation and/or survey link and 1,606 completed the consent page. One hundred and fifty-eight panelists did not consent (9.8%). Of the panelists who consented, 671 did not meet eligibility criteria (46.3%), the majority of whom were ineligible due to health history (n=574 reported a history of colorectal cancer or other predisposing condition). Two hundred and twenty respondents were excluded due to quota sampling (15.2%). Seventy-one respondents did not complete the survey entirely (4.9%) and an additional 67 were removed from the study for failing an attention check (i.e., one of three survey items that required specific responses) (4.6%). A total of n=419 panelists completed the survey (75.2% of those who agreed to participate and were eligible).

The average age of respondents who completed the survey was 58.5 years (sd=6.3). The sample consisted of n=279 females (66.6%) and as requested, an equal proportion of non-Hispanic White/Caucasian, non-Hispanic Black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino/Spanish respondents (33% each). However, the a priori income quotas proposed for this study were not fully implemented. Due to difficulties acquiring participants who reported an annual household income of ≥100k, we elected to eliminate the income quota after two weeks of data collection. To acquire an adequate sample size to ensure statistical power for the parent study (i.e., n=400), we used natural probability sampling to obtain the remaining number of participants. Ultimately, income levels were within 5% of the proportions requested, except respondents with a reported income of ≥100k were 10.5% of the final sample instead of the 20% initially proposed.

The survey for sample two was distributed via email to approximately 56,978 panelists based on target demographics. A total of 2,015 panelists interacted with the survey (i.e., clicked on the survey invitation and/or survey link and 882 went on to complete the consent page. Three percent of these panelists did not consent (n=27). Among those who consented, 23 (2.7%) did not meet eligibility criteria (due to age and gender). No respondents were screened out due to being over quota. Thirty-eight respondents did not complete the survey entirely (4.4%) and an additional 264 were removed from the study for failing an attention check (i.e., one of three survey items that required specific responses) (30.9%). A total of n=530 panelists completed the survey (63.7% of those who consented and were eligible).

As intended, all respondents who completed the survey were female. On average, respondents were 33.9 years old (sd=7.9). Respondents were predominantly White/Caucasian (73.5%), 9.4% were Black/African American, 8.8% Hispanic, 5.0% Asian, 1.2% American Indian, and 2.1% were some other race/ethnicity. Thirty-nine percent of respondents were from the Southern US. Roughly one-quarter (24.5%) were residents of the Western region and the remaining respondents were from the Midwest (20.9%) and Northeast (15.6%).

This study described the samples resulting from two online surveys that recruited participants using quota sampling through the same commercial research panel. A thorough description of how quota sampling was used to obtain targeted samples – one racially and economically diverse sample of older adults and another geographically dispersed sample of younger adult women – via an online panel was provided. Survey recruitment and participant flow within each sample were examined. Taken together, results provide context and considerations for future cancer researchers – and researchers in general – contemplating the use of commercially administered, online research surveys.

The level of transparency regarding recruitment and participant flow reported in this study (e.g., number of panelists contacted, number of panelists that interacted with the survey, analysis of over quota exclusions, etc.) is greater than that typically reported in other recent studies using online research panels [ 20 , 21 ]. The information outlined indicates that commercial research platforms have access to large panels of research participants. In both cases, approximately 60,000 panelists were sent a survey invitation. About one-half (50.5% and 43.8% in samples one and two, respectively) of those who interacted with the email ultimately completed the consent page of the survey. Although the traditional calculation of response for each of these samples was very low (i.e., 3% to 7% of panelists interacted with the survey), these results are consistent with prior research examining response across multiple panel vendors [ 22 ] but lower than another Qualtrics panel study reporting an 18.7% response rate [ 10 ]. However, among those who consented and were eligible for participation, most completed the survey (75.2% in sample one and 63.7% in sample two). For internet derived samples, this ‘completion rate’ (i.e., the proportion of survey completers out of all eligible respondents who initiate the survey) is frequently reported [ 7 , 9 , 23 ]. Our completion rates compare favorably to the typical response rates of epidemiologic studies which have been declining for the past several decades [ 24 ]. A review of case-control cancer studies conducted in 2001–2010 revealed median response rates of 75.6% for cases, 78.0% for medical source controls, and 53.0% for population controls [ 25 ]. The median response rate of the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey was approximately 45% [ 26 ].

Study-specific inclusion criterion were the primary reason for ineligibility within both samples, including more than 500 consented panelists with a history of colorectal cancer excluded in sample one. This presence of colorectal cancer survivors suggests Qualtrics may be a potentially promising but overlooked platform for recruiting cancer survivors. Additional panelists in the first survey screened out due to quota sampling (n=220), while no panelists were excluded from survey two for being over quota. This difference is not entirely surprising given that no specific limits were set for the quotas on geographic regions in sample two. That the desired geographic variation was achieved without defining precise proportions represents an important consideration for future study designs as having less stringent quotas could save time (faster sample acquisition), reduce expenses (complex quotas increase sample cost), and potentially, reduce selection bias (by retaining otherwise eligible respondents).

Despite initially contacting higher numbers of potential participants relative to traditional methods, online panelists meeting specific demographic criteria can be effectively targeted based on information contained in panelists’ profiles. There were few exclusions based on sociodemographic characteristics. Survey completers in both studies were consistent with the study inclusion criteria and set quotas (except for the highest income level). Therefore, it may be difficult to acquire more affluent participants. It should also be noted that sample one (with no inclusion or sampling criteria related to gender) had a relatively high proportion of female respondents (66.6%) while sample two (with no race/ethnicity quota) yielded a predominately White/Caucasian sample. These results support the use of quotas when demographic characteristics are germane to study aims. For example, cancer researchers may use quotas in case-control studies to identify controls that match on specific criteria (i.e., smoking history). However, large panels would be need to target exposures with low prevalence. Researchers should carefully weigh the benefits and potential drawbacks of using quota sampling.

Several additional practical implications can be gleaned from the examination of these online surveys. First, researchers received more completed survey responses than were purchased (e.g., 19–30) and samples were acquired relatively more quickly than traditional samples. Although both samples were acquired in a short period of time, it should be noted that sample one took three times longer than sample two, likely due to the older target population. Second, the proportion of eligible respondents who did not complete the survey was relatively low in both samples, but lower in the sample of younger adult women (i.e., 4.6% in sample two vs. 12.7% in sample one). Therefore, forced item response may not be necessary to promote complete data and may contribute to the higher incomplete rate observed in sample one. In addition, only one “speeder” (i.e., respondent with a total survey duration of ≤ one-third of the median duration of survey) was identified. Thus, researchers should be encouraged to use additional quality checks, such as attention checks, to safeguard against cheaters (i.e., respondents who rush through the survey and threaten data quality). In this analysis, the younger respondents in sample two were more likely than older respondents (sample one) to fail attention checks (31.7% and 12.0%, respectively). This finding may support that older respondents are more conscientious, or alternatively, the forced response of items in sample one may underlie the difference.

The present study highlights the relative ease of obtaining diverse samples (i.e., one racially and economically diverse and the other geographically dispersed) via quota sampling and online recruitment methods. Implementing sampling quotas for race/ethnicity represents a major advantage over traditional sampling methods that often consist of predominantly White/Caucasian participants [ 27 – 29 ]. Researchers who seek racial/ethnic diversity should utilize available representative samples whenever possible. When access to minorities is limited, however, online panel sampling using quotas sampling for race may be a valuable approach for reaching minority participants, as demonstrated in sample one and other panel samples [ 30 , 31 ].

Finally, this study is one of the first to examine in-depth how studies using online panels function in terms of sampling, initial recruiting, and participation. Our results provide practical insights for cancer researchers – and researchers in general – to be cognizant of when designing future online surveys and recruitment strategies. In order to optimize novel and innovative strategies, researchers should carefully consider the strengths and drawbacks of online survey features including quota sampling and forced response. Our goal in documenting the methodologic aspects of recruitment and participation from two different study populations from online panels was to help build transparency in reporting online panel samples, as well as to provide a basis for comparison across different commercially available research panels. Like many other studies conducted using online panels, we were unable to fully ascertain how the panel was created or describe those who did not interact with the survey. According to Qualtrics [ 18 ], additional information related to these panelists (e.g., number of invalid emails and non-respondent characteristics) is not currently tracked. Another limitation of using commercial participant panels is that their overall size and the demographics of the underlying user populations are dynamic and often not available. Future studies should be proactive in negotiating additional information and addressing unknowns in panel recruitment procedures. In doing so, researchers could raise the bar on the standards of information provided by suppliers of commercial panels. These are important steps towards strengthening survey methodologies in the rapidly changing landscape of “citizen science” where the public actively engages in participatory research projects, such as online panels and scientific registries.

In summary, online research panels and quota sampling techniques provide new opportunities for the acquisition of traditionally underrepresented individuals or participants who meet narrowly specific inclusion criteria – an advantage over traditional sampling methods. Our results support leveraging online panels for cancer research. Future epidemiologic research using these methods to perform recruitment of targeted populations (e.g., cancer survivors (cases) and individuals (controls) residing in specific geographic areas, such as colorectal cancer “hotspots”) could alleviate the need for time- and cost-intensive methods such as mail-based and in-person correspondence. In comparison, web-based surveys participant incentives and administrative costs are substantially lower [ 32 ]. In conclusion, the use of panel participants could be leveraged to reach specific population groups, maximize limited research budgets, and therefore, enable novel cancer research focused on health disparities and cancer communication that are currently not feasible in either traditional small intervention or large population studies.

Acknowledgments

Financial support was provided in part to the corresponding author (CAM) by a Graduate Training in Disparities Research award GTDR14302086 from Susan G. Komen ® ” and a National Cancer Institute T32 award (2T32CA093423).

Conflict of interest statement:

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Brought to you by:

Ivey Publishing

Qualtrics: Rapid International Expansion

By: Esther Tippmann, Sinead Monaghan

In May 2015, Qualtrics was a rapidly growing U.S.-based software-as-a-service firm, founded in 2002. After 10 years of operating with little capital, Qualtrics raised some venture capital funding,…

  • Length: 11 page(s)
  • Publication Date: Jan 31, 2018
  • Discipline: International Business
  • Product #: W18076-PDF-ENG

What's included:

  • Teaching Note
  • Educator Copy

$4.95 per student

degree granting course

$8.95 per student

non-degree granting course

Get access to this material, plus much more with a free Educator Account:

  • Access to world-famous HBS cases
  • Up to 60% off materials for your students
  • Resources for teaching online
  • Tips and reviews from other Educators

Already registered? Sign in

  • Student Registration
  • Non-Academic Registration
  • Included Materials

In May 2015, Qualtrics was a rapidly growing U.S.-based software-as-a-service firm, founded in 2002. After 10 years of operating with little capital, Qualtrics raised some venture capital funding, which enabled it to initiate a rapid international expansion. The management team intended to aggressively pursue global opportunities, but first needed to make some key decisions regarding how to develop the company's Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regional headquarters, and its European operations. Key concerns included the company's market selection and prioritization, and its best approach for developing a subsidiary and EMEA regional operations that could achieve significant scale in a short time frame.

Esther Tippmann is affiliated with University College Dublin. Sinéad Monaghan is affiliated with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Newark.

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for a unit on internationalization in undergraduate and graduate courses in international business, international management, global strategy, and entrepreneurship. Students should have a firm grounding in the basics of internationalization. After completing the case, they should be able to describe the entrepreneurial models of rapid international expansion; discuss the elements associated with the market selection and prioritization process; and discuss the challenges of developing substantial subsidiary and international operations within a condensed period of time, and derive suitable recommendations.

Jan 31, 2018

Discipline:

International Business

Geographies:

Ireland, United States

Industries:

Ivey Publishing

W18076-PDF-ENG

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience, including personalizing content. Learn More . By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and revised Privacy Policy .

case study on qualtrics

  • Scaling Masterclasses
  • Scale-up Ventures
  • Global Scaling
  • Dolor Sit Amet
  • A High Contrast
  • Lorem Ipsum
  • Qualtrics Case Study
  • Scaling Masterclass 2020
  • Born Digitals
  • Global Scaling - How to Scale a Business Globally
  • Innovation in Remote Work
  • Scale-up modes
  • Early Indicators
  • State of Start-ups Survey
  • Selecting locations for international offices: A tool for scale-ups
  • Which hybrid work model is best for your business?
  • Scale-ups and scaling in an international business context
  • What is Scaling?
  • Invited Speakers

Case Study: Qualtrics – A Journey of Rapid International Expansion

Esther Tippmann  (University of Galway) and Sinead Monaghan (Trinity College Dublin) penned this case to provide material for class discussion for educators seeking to cover the management of rapid international expansion with their students.

Synopsis of the case study

Qualtrics is a U.S. founded scaling business established in 2002. This case study focuses on its rapid international expansion, especially in the European markets. In May 2015, Qualtrics expanded its Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regional headquarters in Dublin, Ireland adopting the philosophy of “nail it, scale it”. Qualtrics was ready to scale internationally, and a priority was the development of an EMEA headquarters and expansion in the region. The growth targets were ambitious. This case study explores significant decisions relating to the localization of operations, recruitment, selecting and prioritizing country markets, go-to-market strategy, and embedding of entrepreneurial cultural values within the European organization.

How might this case study be useful to you?

For educators, this case study can be used in modules on international business, international management, global strategy or entrepreneurship at undergraduate or graduate levels. The case study enables students to examine and advise on market selection, market prioritisation and best approach for developing the European and Middle East and Africa operations of a globally scaling business.

Citation: Tippmann, E. and Monaghan, S. (2018). Qualtrics: Rapid International Expansion

Have a Question?

Have a Question?

For any queries related to this article, please contact Prof. Esther Tippmann:

View all Spotlights

View all CEGS Spotlights

Manage Cookies

Some features need cookies to work properly. Cookies also let us (a) remember your preferences, (b) collect anonymous usage statistics, and (c) manage any online ads for nuigalway.ie.

No personal data is stored on these cookies but, under EU law, we still need to ask you this every 6 months. To learn more about our use of cookies, view our Privacy Policy .

Harp Logo

Contact Us Send Us an Email

Twitter LinkedIn

Galway Mini Map

© 2021 National University of Ireland, Galway. All Rights Reserved.

  • Contact & Enquiries
  • Accessibility

HBR.ORG - Prod

  • Business Case Studies

Sales & Marketing

Qualtrics (A) ^ 518082

Qualtrics (A)

case study on qualtrics

Qualtrics (A) ^ 518082

Want to buy more than 1 copy? Contact: [email protected]

Product Description

Publication Date: February 13, 2018

Source: Harvard Business School

Qualtrics was an online survey research platform and since the beginning, the company had relied entirely on an inside sales model-sales done remotely without face-to-face contact with clients. The low-cost inside sales model, along with an emphasis on a strong sales culture, had helped Qualtrics to grow rapidly. However, it needed to prepare for the next phase of its growth. The company decided to diversify its product portfolio and target different types of customers (enterprise clients). In accordance with this change, it recognized the need to revise the inside-sales-only model by adding a field sales component to better serve these customers. Many organizations often go through a turning point in their strategy to explore ways for growth. The case series outlines the best practices of scaling an inside sales model and the challenges involved in changing an organization's sales management and strategy to initiate future growth.

case study on qualtrics

This Product Also Appears In

Buy together, related products.

Qualtrics (C) ^ 518084

Qualtrics (C)

Qualtrics: Bootstrapping Growth ^ SM224

Qualtrics: Bootstrapping Growth

Qualtrics (B) ^ 518083

Qualtrics (B)

Copyright permissions.

If you'd like to share this PDF, you can purchase copyright permissions by increasing the quantity.

Order for your team and save!

Case Western Reserve University

Qualtrics is the premier Experience Management (XM) platform. The platform is designed to optimize research around the customer, employee, product, and brand experiences of your customers, constituents, and colleagues.

Visit the Qualtrics information page to learn more on how to use this service.

Root out friction in every digital experience, super-charge conversion rates, and optimize digital self-service

Uncover insights from any interaction, deliver AI-powered agent coaching, and reduce cost to serve

Increase revenue and loyalty with real-time insights and recommendations delivered to teams on the ground

Know how your people feel and empower managers to improve employee engagement, productivity, and retention

Take action in the moments that matter most along the employee journey and drive bottom line growth

Whatever they’re are saying, wherever they’re saying it, know exactly what’s going on with your people

Get faster, richer insights with qual and quant tools that make powerful market research available to everyone

Run concept tests, pricing studies, prototyping + more with fast, powerful studies designed by UX research experts

Track your brand performance 24/7 and act quickly to respond to opportunities and challenges in your market

Explore the platform powering Experience Management

  • Free Account
  • For Digital
  • For Customer Care
  • For Human Resources
  • For Researchers
  • Financial Services
  • All Industries

Popular Use Cases

  • Customer Experience
  • Employee Experience
  • Employee Exit Interviews
  • Net Promoter Score
  • Voice of Customer
  • Customer Success Hub
  • Product Documentation
  • Training & Certification
  • XM Institute
  • Popular Resources
  • Customer Stories
  • Market Research
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Partnerships
  • Marketplace

The annual gathering of the experience leaders at the world’s iconic brands building breakthrough business results, live in Salt Lake City.

  • English/AU & NZ
  • Español/Europa
  • Español/América Latina
  • Português Brasileiro
  • REQUEST DEMO

ROI report finds that Qualtrics customers achieve a 100% ROI when consolidating XM technology

The January 2024 Qualtrics-commissioned ROI study conducted by Nucleus Research found that customers who consolidated experience management solutions with Qualtrics achieved 100% ROI with an average payback of 1.5 years . Six of Qualtrics’ top customers underwent an in-depth return on investment assessment of their customer experience, employee experience and market research capabilities. The organizations spanned across various industries including, transportation, courier services, healthcare, financial services and retail.

Organizations who consolidated experience management on Qualtrics experienced key benefits including:

  • Increased annual revenue by an average of $1.2 million
  • Increased customer satisfaction scores by 7-12% year-over-year
  • Improved scalability translating to savings of approximately $90,000 to $650,000 annually
  • Increased productivity by saving EX teams 160 to 200 hours annually by automating dashboard creation and reporting tasks
  • Strong frontline engagement by instituting new strategies, and diligently tracking changes. One organization observed a 1.2% reduction in its caregiver attrition rate
  • Improved compliance saving up to 32 hours per week on escalations for risk executives
  • Technology cost consolidation of 37.5% by consolidating the functionality of several platforms and tools into Qualtrics

Download Now

In this ebook you’ll learn:.

  • Key benefits and expected ROI that can be achieved by consolidating XM programs on Qualtrics
  • How to save costs and unlock revenue from the in-depth case studies by moving customer experience, employee experience and market research technology to Qualtrics

The world’s top brands trust Qualtrics to deliver breakthrough experiences

Request demo.

Ready to learn more about Qualtrics?

IMAGES

  1. MKT 441: Qualtrics Case Study Presentation (Team RGBT)

    case study on qualtrics

  2. Qualtrics Rapid International Expansion Case Study Solution & Analysis

    case study on qualtrics

  3. Case study: How CenturyLink used Qualtrics XM to reduce customer churn

    case study on qualtrics

  4. PPT

    case study on qualtrics

  5. Qualtrics case 2015 (1) by Utah Valley Marketing Association

    case study on qualtrics

  6. Case Study Clarabridge Template

    case study on qualtrics

VIDEO

  1. The Making of the New Qualtrics HQ

  2. MY RESEARCH STUDY 🤓 #gradschool #research #athletictraining #survey

  3. Dissertation Pitch for Classes

  4. 2W Ecobank: Case de Sucesso SAP Business One

  5. Qualtrics Tutorial

  6. Testing Small samples lecture-10

COMMENTS

  1. Qualtrics Case Studies. See what ROI our customers achieve

    Qualtrics Case Studies. See what ROI our customers achieve. Skip to main content PRODUCTS back XM for Customer Frontlines Digital Root out friction in every digital experience, super-charge conversion rates, and optimize digital self-service Care Uncover insights from any interaction, deliver AI-powered agent coaching, and reduce cost to serve

  2. The Founder of Qualtrics on Reinventing an Already Successful Business

    Ryan Smith From the Magazine (July-August 2021) Kim Raff Summary. "One of the hardest disciplines in business and in life is tearing down what you've built to build something better," writes the...

  3. 212 Qualtrics Case Studies, Success Stories, & Customer Stories

    Qualtrics Case Studies Browse Qualtrics case studies and success stories to help make the right purchasing decision. 1-15 of 212 results View... 15 Choose Industry Choose Company Size Reset Featured PWC - Customer Case Study Jessica B. Wong PWC Read Case Study Featured Florida State University - Customer Case Study

  4. Qualtrics (A)

    Case HBS Case Collection Qualtrics (A) By: Doug J. Chung and James M. Lattin Format: Print | Language: English | Pages: 9 Email Print Abstract Qualtrics was an online survey research platform and since the beginning, the company had relied entirely on an inside sales model—sales done remotely without face-to-face contact with clients.

  5. Qualtrics: Bootstrapping Growth

    This case provides an in-depth study of how Qualtrics navigated four phases of growth. The first phase highlighted how a small family-team in a basement in Utah built an early survey product. This was followed by a second phase that focused on scaling the core Research Suite product.

  6. Qualtrics: Scaling an Inside-Sales Organization

    Qualtrics: Scaling an Inside-Sales Organization By James Lattin, Kirk Bowman, Maryanna Quigless 2014 | Case No. E503 | Length 17 pgs. Operations, Information & Technology CEO, Ryan Smith and the rest of the founding team at Qualtrics grew the company to 350 employees and an estimated $50M in revenue through an inside-sales model.

  7. Customer Experience Management Software

    Case Study: BMW CX in the Automotive Industry News: Qualtrics in the Automotive Industry Blog: Digital Transformation in the Automotive Industry Telecommunications Customer Experience eBook: Guide to Building a World-Class Brand Tracker Case Study: Pinterest Webinar: Meet the Action-First Approach to a Profitable CX Program What is XM? What is XM?

  8. Case study: How CenturyLink used Qualtrics XM to reduce ...

    Cross-platform survey—Source: Qualtrics. Customer experience management can have a tremendous impact on a company's ROI.. Qualtrics recently announced data from a study conducted by Forrester Consulting which demonstrated that a composite organization based on Qualtrics customers saw a 633% ROI over three years, equaling benefits of over $38 million.

  9. PDF Case Study: How Qualtrics decreased developer burnout and increased

    3 Case tudy Qualtrics Uplevel worked with Qualtrics leadership to summarize key trends across the organization and narrow in on specific metrics to quantify the impact of pandemic-driven remote work. When rolling out Uplevel, they encouraged teams to use the product for data-driven conversations and focus on metrics like Always On and Deep Work.

  10. How Qualtrics Leverages Drift and 6Sense Insights

    Drift x 6sense: Better Together Qualtrics took a phased approach to their ABM strategy, implementing it little by little over the course of a few years. According to Peter, it wasn't until they brought on 6sense that they had access to intent data from third-party websites.

  11. A Tale of Two Diverse Qualtrics Samples: Information for Online Survey

    A commercial survey sampling and administration company, Qualtrics, was contracted to recruit participants and implement two internet-based surveys. The first survey targeted adults aged 50-75 years old and used sampling quotas to obtain diversity with respect to household income and race/ethnicity.

  12. PDF CASE STUDY Getting Things Done Helps Qualtrics Delivery Team Prioritize

    The Qualtrics XM PlatformTM is a system of action that helps businesses attract customers who stay longer and buy more, engage employees who build a positive culture, develop breakthrough products people love, and build a brand people are passionate about. ... CASE STUDY Industry: Software.

  13. Qualtrics: Rapid International Expansion

    In May 2015, Qualtrics was a rapidly growing U.S.-based software-as-a-service firm, founded in 2002. After 10 years of operating with little capital, Qualtrics raised some venture capital funding, which enabled it to initiate a rapid international expansion. ... This case is suitable for a unit on internationalization in undergraduate and ...

  14. 6 World-Class B2B CX Examples to Learn From

    // April 14, 2021 // 16min read Business, sales and marketing leaders are embracing B2B CX programs to optimize customer experience, but it's not easy. We explore 6 successful B2B CX examples to share what you can do in your company.

  15. Qualtrics

    Download case study THE CHALLENGE. Time-consuming data entry . With a recruitment team spread across six locations, Qualtrics is continually looking for ways to improve efficiency and maximize time with candidates. Like other recruiters, Talent Operations and Analytics Lead Ethan Meyer was spending time—on average, approximately 30 seconds ...

  16. Qualtrics Case Study

    Qualtrics is a U.S. founded scaling business established in 2002. This case study focuses on its rapid international expansion, especially in the European markets. In May 2015, Qualtrics expanded its Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regional headquarters in Dublin, Ireland adopting the philosophy of "nail it, scale it". Qualtrics was ...

  17. Qualtrics (A)

    Product Description. Publication Date: February 13, 2018. Source: Harvard Business School. Qualtrics was an online survey research platform and since the beginning, the company had relied entirely on an inside sales model-sales done remotely without face-to-face contact with clients. The low-cost inside sales model, along with an emphasis on a ...

  18. Qualtrics

    services Qualtrics Qualtrics Qualtrics is the premier Experience Management (XM) platform. The platform is designed to optimize research around the customer, employee, product, and brand experiences of your customers, constituents, and colleagues. Visit the Qualtrics information page to learn more on how to use this service. How To Start

  19. ebook

    The January 2024 Qualtrics-commissioned ROI study conducted by Nucleus Research found that customers who consolidated experience management solutions with Qualtrics achieved 100% ROI with an average payback of 1.5 years.Six of Qualtrics' top customers underwent an in-depth return on investment assessment of their customer experience, employee experience and market research capabilities.