Optimal vs. Qualtrics XM for Strategy and Research

Optimal Workshop is great for UX testing for those with a budget to do so. This may be a little on the expensive side for smaller businesses, but definitely not anything crazy expensive. The insights that you get out of these tests are invaluable and can be the difference between launching a site and succeeding/failing.

Incentivized

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.

• Tree Testing - it is a very simple and easy to use system, that provides the data needed from a tree test
• Card sorting - provides a system for users to participate in navigation menu layouts. We looked into several options, but this seemed very intuitive for users.

Incentivized

• 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

• The recruitment panelists are not professional, nor do they take the tasks seriously. You are going to get a lot of bad data.
• They are HQ'd outside the US and must have a small team because the customer service is the absolute WORST I've experienced in their industry.
• They pride themselves on documentation, but when they fail to document something they blame the customer for the mistake.
• There are way too many limitations with the tool after you launch, limited integrations, and poor survey questionnaire options. The tool itself is far too basic for most sites, especially B2B.

• 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

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.

I would rate Optimal Workshop's overall usability 9 out of 10 due to several key factors. Firstly, the platform has a user-friendly interface makes navigation straightforward, even for first-time users. The tools and features are well-organized, ensuring users can quickly find what they need without unnecessary complexity. Secondly, the platform is highly intuitive, meaning users can easily understand how to perform tasks without extensive guidance. This is supported by clear and concise instructions throughout the application, reducing the learning curve significantly.

Additionally, the learnability of Optimal Workshop is exceptional. New users can become proficient in a short amount of time, thanks to its well-thought-out design and helpful onboarding materials. Even more advanced features are presented in a way that feels approachable and manageable. Finally, the platform supports a seamless workflow, allowing users to focus on their research or tasks rather than struggling with the software. These qualities collectively make Optimal Workshop a reliable and efficient tool for many projects, justifying its high usability rating.

Incentivized

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.

We’ve never had to use much of their support services since the platform is very easy to use, we have however needed to transfer ownership between team members due to people leaving or other circumstances. Under those situations, the support offered to us has been been very quick and efficient and we never had to nudge them much to get the job done.

Incentivized

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

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

I like being able to easily integrate new colleagues by simply giving them a log in user name and password

For the price as it is very convenient for first-time beginners, its intuitiveness both for the one who is designing the activities and for those who have to interact with them. The fact that it collects and gathers the data into insights of the overall responses collected by all users.

Incentivized

]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

• Optimal Workshop has had a positive impact on investigating information architecture on several websites.
• Optimal Workshop has helped investigated the labeling on several websites.
• Optimal Workshop has also support in the investigation of UX in navigations.

Incentivized

• 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