Clicktools vs. FluidSurveys (Discontinued) vs. Formstack Forms

For any organization that is using salesforce.com and needs to implement a survey system that directly ties back to their salesforce.com system I would highly recommend Clicktools. We tried building our own customer satisfaction survey and it was not worth the effort, especially as our questions are ever changing. The integration with the case module was easy to configure

Incentivized

For surveys, and for centralized info-gathering, FluidSurveys provides an excellent solution. There are other programs out there which provide a wider range of solutions (i.e., they can be used for surveying AND comprehensive online engagement, rather than just a data-gathering type of consultation); however, for programming and implementing surveys, FluidSurveys has an effective variety of strengths and options that make it optimal for users who are focused specifically on surveys.

Formstack makes it easy to create a variety of forms. I have used it for event interest and registrations, email list sign-ups, and surveys. I have found it easy to customize, and easy to export data for import into other systems (e.g., CRM).

Incentivized

• Integration with Salesforce: it is critical to us as we use Salesforce, and a lot of record management is automated thanks to great Clicktools integration with Salesforce.
• Responsiveness of technical support: a lot of program staff across our organization use Clicktools every day, so having a quick response time to troubleshoot arising issues is important.
• User-friendly interface: Clicktools improved their interface to make it more user-friendly which improves efficiency.

Incentivized

• User-friendly. For the majority of the general and basic tools you can use with FluidSurveys to build surveys are simple to use and intuitive. When certain issues come up, the service is quick (chat room) and effective.
• Anonymity: the software has the reputation of being safer in terms of safeguarding private information the respondents share by answering surveys (this is mainly due to the fact that the servers are in Canada). Thus, indirectly, they increase response rates.
• Extensive possibilities: FluidSurveys offers a plethora of possibilities and options that really renders the experience interesting in terms of micro-managing each details of the surveys you are sending out there. When the invitation leaves by email, it is exactly how you want it.

• Allows for unique situations. As a school, we don't have the luxury of being cookie cutter. Neither do our forms.
• Support. If we don't know how to do it, their support team has been very helpful and actually attempts to understand the issue on hand.
• User friendliness. In our field we have a phrase: "what if you get hit by a bus?" With Formstack, you can "get hit by the bus" and someone else can jump in and still keep things running (this is used as a phrase for illness, not termination).

Incentivized

• Speed - the quality of graphics is high and a lot of info is being pulled, it can take quite a bit of time to produce results.
• I am unable to open multiple tabs to run several functions within Clicktools simultaneously.
• Easier/more intuitive graphics uploading.
• Run reports based on a certain factor (i.e. if there is a particular product we continuously run reports on, I would like to see a chart comparison of how that products scores have varied over time).

Incentivized

• There should be more flexibility and customizability with regard to survey design (e.g. background, fonts...)

• Setting up our multi-step form took some getting used to. Some of the branching logic configuration wasn't as intuitive as would be ideal.
• Since we were pushing data directly into Hubspot, I found it cumbersome to deal with data storage limits within Formstack. I would get frequent notices that new responses were not being stored in Formstack and that I needed to upgrade or delete data. I got tired of that.
• More/easier support for custom fonts would have been a huge plus. We were able to customize the form's appearance, but had to make some concessions in that regard.

Incentivized

We have loved using Clicktools and will continue to use it for the foreseeable future. The price and Salesforce integration is what really sets it apart from any other solution out there. I have learned a great deal about surveys and how to manage them in a CRM by using Clicktools. We will certainly be renewing our contract.

Note: I am responding to this question as a user of the system and not a representative of my organization.

On a personal level/as a user only, I would definitely continue to use FluidSurveys.On a personal level/as a user only, I would definitely continue to use FluidSurveys.

Our user base has come to rely on Formstack to get forms done. The Formstack tools make it easy to start from scratch or copy an existing form to "quick start" a new, similar form. The price is right and frees up IT staff to do more transformative work.

Incentivized

ClickTools is very easy to use and get started doing the basics. Anyone will be able to easily log in an create a survey from day 1. Skip logic can be a little tricky and is less user friendly, so testing is very important. I would say that, overall, usability is good.

I think the average person can very quickly pick up on the basics of the system: they would have no problems programming and launching a basic survey. Organizations may benefit from having people of different backgrounds getting their hands dirty in the system: at a minimum, both web programmers and opinion research advisors should be solicited for input or help.

It's easy to learn how to use, generally easy for clients to use, and overall I've never had an overwhelmingly negative experience with it. While there are a few tweaks that could make it really shine, Formstack Forms serves almost all our needs and we're super happy with it.

Incentivized

ClickTools is always available when I need it. The interface is quick and does not drag. Survey responses show up quickly after a survey is submitted. The survey analyzer is swift as well. There is no waiting around for something to process when you are using ClickTools.

I get frustrated by not being able to find the answers to my questions online by myself. I would rather search FAQs and find things that way, but it seems I always have to contact support to get the answer I need. They need a more robust support center so you can do it yourself. But on the upside, when I do contact support, they respond immediately and usually solve my problem quickly

The agents in the original group, especially the ones in cahoots with the developers, are really solid and know what they're talking about--I'm looking at you, Collin. The 'Tier 1' support agents that typically reply to the tickets are really spotty. If you have an overly technical question, i.e. bugfix, or describe a feature from a few years back that randomly disappeared, these agents typically will give you what feels like a generic reply and not know what you're talking about.

Incentivized

If you are setting up integration with a CRM (Salesforce) get this done early on in the process. You can always do it later, but it's easiest to lay your foundation first and then build up and around it later

We implemented on one of the earlier versions. Through continuous engineering improvements, the interface keeps getting easier and more intuitive. Therefore, later implementations keep getting easier and better.

Incentivized

There was no need to create survey landing pages from Salesforce for external polls, we could decide where survey results were captured in Salesforce (if at all - can report straight from CT), and with simple html skills we could brand everything

Although I do not have much experience with Survey Monkey, the only two reasons why I choose FluidSurveys is that clients demand it (privacy and anonymity) and because managing multiple surveys at a time is easier. As for ODK Collect, I think it is a valuable alternative to FluidSurveys if you have time to learn the coding (not very complicated). ODK is a little less user friendly and you cannot address small details as you can with FluidSurveys (e.g.: formatting).

Drupal is a much more customizable platform, however you must have someone build the forms first and then you can work with them if you do not have the programming knowledge. If you have any changes to make, it can sometimes be both a time consuming and difficult process. Formstack is much more efficient if you do not have an in house programmer.

Incentivized

• Clicktools plays a crucial role in our Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey. Twice a year we deploy the survey, and because of the flexibility of ClickTools and its integration with SFDC, we've seen a 40% response rate in a survey that formally only received 6-7%.

Incentivized

• Confidentiality of data is a big concern for our company, and we feel more secure working with a Canadian company. Our clients feel more secure, too.

• Positive - ability to analyze submission trends - e.g. when a marketing email is sent, looking at increased form viewing and submissions in relation to the sending of the campaign.
• Immediate response - those that submit forms receive immediate response that their form has been submitted.

Incentivized