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Cision Communications Cloud vs. Qualtrics XM for Strategy and Research

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cision Communications Cloud

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ACIsion Communications Cloud is used for identifying key media and influencers, connecting with audiences, monitoring traditional and social media, and analyzing outcomes.N/A

    Qualtrics

    Score7.8 out of 10
    N/AQualtrics is software for advanced quantitative and qualitative research to design products that satisfy customers, increase market share, and build enduring brands. The platform brings sophisticated quant and qual research together with analytics in a single platform.

    $1,500

    per user/per year

    Pricing
    Cision Communications CloudQualtrics
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Research Core 1
    1,500
    per user/per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cision Communications CloudQualtrics
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cision Communications CloudQualtrics
    Considered Both Products
    Cision
    No answer on this topic
    Qualtrics
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    45 Answers
    64%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    32 Answers
    80%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    71%
    Happy with the feature set
    10 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    37 Answers
    88%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    36 Answers
    56%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    Features
    Cision Communications CloudQualtrics
    Sales Intelligence Data Standards
    Comparison of Sales Intelligence Data Standards features of Cision Communications Cloud and Qualtrics XM for Strategy and Research
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Qualtrics XM for Strategy and Research
    6.0
    1 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Contact information00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Financial Research
    Comparison of Financial Research features of Cision Communications Cloud and Qualtrics XM for Strategy and Research
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Qualtrics XM for Strategy and Research
    6.3
    2 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Private Company Data00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Industry-Specific Information00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Independent Research Access00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Search Tools00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
    Market Research
    Comparison of Market Research features of Cision Communications Cloud and Qualtrics XM for Strategy and Research
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Qualtrics XM for Strategy and Research
    6.6
    4 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Competitor Research00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
    Consumer Feedback00 Ratings8.25 Ratings
    Competitor alerts00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
    Market Insights and Reports00 Ratings6.03 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cision Communications CloudQualtrics
    Small Businesses
    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Critical Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Meltwater
    Score7.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cision Communications CloudQualtrics
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (280 ratings)
    7.0
    (174 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (17 ratings)
    9.4
    (41 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (54 ratings)
    6.4
    (25 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    5.5
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (192 ratings)
    1.6
    (21 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cision Communications CloudQualtrics
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cision
    For a small start-up, the cost-benefit to add lift to press releases [and] particular milestone accomplishments is definitely there with the Cision [Communications] Cloud. Much of what we do, by necessity, is done internally without the benefit of outsourced press folks, so the Cision [Communications] Cloud ease of use and reporting is very important.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    Qualtrics is a good medium for creating surveys and getting analytics back for it. I think it's easy to learn if you are in the business of creating surveys or if it's part of your studies. It can be a little overwhelming for a brand new user who has never created a survey for the first time. So onboarding could be better.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cision
    • Their upgraded press release templates and ability [to] pull in an entire, completed release makes the [process] faster and easier, and allows for more graphics, such as company mastheads, [are done well].
    • The media tracking offers the ability to find relevant placements across the entire country.
    • The journalist database streamlines the process of finding relevant reporters to directly connect [to] on news releases that are relevant to their beats.
    • The process of setting up, creating, and distributing a release is seamless, easy to use, and not labor-intensive.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    • Qualtrics CoreXM is easy to use for quick one-time surveys or for measuring opinions over time
    • It's great for sending/managing RSVPs for meetings or other gatherings or to collect important data like Conflict of Interest declarations.
    • Qualtrics CoreXM's reporting and crosstab functionality is beefy and gets better all of the time. I'm always amazed at how easy it is to generate reports for sharing my survey response data and research.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cision
    • In the media influencer database, the classic Cision allowed us to do a zip code radius search to really drill down to the neighborhood level. That's because we do localized media advisories and press releases for events at neighborhood schools. One part of a big city like Chicago really doesn't care what's happening in another part of Chicago that's too far away. The zip code radius search was a feature in the classic Cision but not with the current Cision Communications Cloud. We've asked for this to be restored several times, but nothing's happened. In fact, we were told to use DMA — which actually goes wider in a search (bigger than a city), not more narrow as needed. This reflects a basic misunderstanding of what we need.
    • Another missing feature involves a merge field when sending out an email press release through Cision. This is the "select insert field" button in the upper right that's used to personalize a release with the media contact's name and other information. This is key for localization of the release. Many media outlets won't run a release unless it's local. While "county" is a feature in the influencer database when putting together a media list in Cision, "county" is not available to insert into a press release as a merge field. Counties are important because this is how many newspapers and health departments are organized and identify themselves. I've asked for this to be implemented, to no avail. As a workaround, we've had to use "contact city" or "outlet city."
    • After refining a media list in Cision using filters, I've had to download the list and take it offline to see the big picture, screen for duplicates, etc. While there is a button on the bottom left intended to help with this, it doesn't do the trick. That's because there may be multiple contacts with the same email address. In addition, one media contact may represent numerous media outlets, so this same contact could show up several times. It would be nice to have a better way to see the whole list online and eliminate both duplicates as well as those who previously opted out.
    Incentivized
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    Qualtrics
    • The collaborate feature can be clunky and sometimes we have to remove access and add a person back in for them to see the survey in their lists
    • We have a contract through our university and more than one person has created their account in the wrong place, causing some administrative headaches as that is fixed so that we can collaborate on surveys with them.
    • I wish it was easier to organize my surveys into folders, there should be a more efficient way to do that.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cision
    While I am happy with the product performance overall, TrendKite's recent merger with Cision is cause for concern. When we first signed on with TrendKite, I spoke with several users and the best response I received was that the company was a startup and we could expect there to be hiccups along the way as the company grew and the platform got more robust. That has certainly been the case. However, now that they have merged with Cision — a company that has grown too fast, has not focused on improving its product and has poor customer service — I have concerns that TrendKite will lose some of the qualities that have made it a great company and great product to work with.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    I was impressed a couple years ago when two heads of market research at Fortune 500 companies told me about them, and I've been even more impressed with the advancements I've seen in the last year. I like where the company is headed, and I look forward to using them again in a future role.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cision
    The flexibility and customization of Cision Communications Cloud (TrendKite)* is among its most important features. Changing the dashboards, using keywords in the saved searches to pull out the best stories and the integration with marketing automation tools gives me confidence that I will able to continue using this tool well into the future. The future implementation and integration of the media contact database will complete the suite, making list management and email marketing programs much smoother. *This review was written before Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.
    Incentivized
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    Qualtrics
    All the menus are very user friendly and intuitive. I can always find exactly what I'm looking for and can change anything I need to with ease. All the elements of the survey are adjustable with very little effort and without confusion.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cision
    Easily accessible 24/7.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Cision
    Generally, Cision performs well day to day, but it's got some annoying bugs that slow down usage/require user workarounds which is inefficient. More seriously, a few months ago, as a result of a major system upgrade, certain critical functionality was not working and I was unable to use the service for more than a day when I had time-sensitive work to execute
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cision
    For Cision TrendKite in particilar, support always responded, but it was sometimes slow. For some of our booleans and search queries, we would need help refining and excluding terms/phrases that weren't relevant to our client or campaign. This sometimes took 1-2 days just to get a response back, which sometimes was too late when a last-minute report was due. This was only with the support staff, not necessarily our customer success manager or sales rep.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    Whenever we have had an issue with trying to figure out how to do something (even though the documentation is incredibly well put together) we have asked Qualtrics support and have always received our answer nearly immediately (I think in maybe 10 times, only once did a support person need to call us back). Qualtrics support is dedicated to solving customer issues right, and in the first contact, if at all possible
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Cision
    The online training sessions available for the Cision Communications Cloud are helpful and informative. There's more than one option - initially, I signed up for the live webinar classes on basic functions and that is what I recommend other new users do as well. If I have specific questions or something I want to learn more about, I can search the online database and find article or online training videos to get the information I need.
    Incentivized
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    Qualtrics
    I still use it. It does everything you need an online survey to do. From heat mapping to complex skip logic and display logic. I use it weekly and it never disappoints
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Cision
    There is no implementation at the customer's end so this doesn't really apply to my instance of Cision (possibly to all instances of it).
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    I like being able to easily integrate new colleagues by simply giving them a log in user name and password
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Cision
    It's a similar product. I think Meltwater sells itself as being a bit more niche, but I have not found many significant differences between Meltwater and Cision. Meltwater's sales process is a very high pressure and their prices are inflated.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    ]Qualtrics] CoreXM is great if you want something that is a little more [long] lasting and impactful than a simple survey engine, but aren't quite ready for something that is a long term sustainable program. I would put [Qualtrics] CoreXM squarely in the large, defined project phase. CX is more of the program phase, and other lessor vendors are great for the pre-project definition phase
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Cision
    Easy to use, but still room for improvement.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Cision
    • Cision has a net positive impact on time savings for staff so we can be quicker to market
    • Cision has a positive impact on internal savings as it is used internally across multiple accounts and with the internal PR team
    • Cision is extremely useful when it comes to resourcing and conducting outreach in those DMA's where our agency doesn't have a physical presence
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Qualtrics
    • Increased productivity due to the highly intuitive user-interface and template saving capabilities.
    • Reporting and analytics are extremely valuable. Our team can track responses and share feedback/results extremely quickly.
    • If a user has created a great template, they can share to external teams quite easily. It helps other departments!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Cision Communications Cloud Screenshots

    Screenshot of Media Monitoring and Analytics are just part of the complete Comms Cloud. It combines deep data dive with a database of journalists and influencers, and a media relationship management tool.Screenshot of Track brand mentions in real time across the millions of online stories on the internet. Monitor millions of stories and breaking news happening daily across the web. Professional services consultants teams are in place to ensure best practices while setting up a monitoring account.Screenshot of Cision’s media and influencer relationship management tools include audience insights, combined with a pitchable database that enables brands to uncover the best media contacts and social influencers to reach their target audience.Screenshot of Identify the social conversations and influencers that are impacting a brand. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube monitoring capabilities track brand mentions across all major social channels. Analyze results for social mentions or campaigns on the fly with its reporting features.

    Qualtrics Screenshots

    Product screenshot