What it Means to be Named a Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Voice of the Customer

To be named a leader in the first ever Gartner Magic Quadrant for Voice of the Customer, 2020* is an incredible honor for Medallia and a credit to our amazing customers, partners and more than 1,900 employees worldwide. I see it as clear validation of how crucial the voice of the customer has become and for Medallia’s founding vision of empowering companies to continuously and systematically adapt by putting the voice of the customer at the center of their operations.

This has never been more relevant than in the past year. While the global pandemic has been challenging for all of us, it has also highlighted how organizations with the right tools and culture can leverage the voice of the customer to quickly adapt and innovate to continue safely serving their customers, employees, and communities through these challenging times.

According to the Gartner report, Medallia was recognized as a leader for its strong vision of how voice of the customer fits into a bigger customer experience initiative, and for operationalizing voice of the customer and measuring the business value achieved. 

From our founding and first customer almost 20 years ago, we’ve always been focused on enabling companies to adapt and learn quickly. It’s especially rewarding to be named a leader in the first Gartner Magic Quadrant for Voice of the Customer because of that vision and our ability to drive results.

Earlier this year, Medallia was also named a leader in The Forrester Wave™: Customer Feedback Management Platforms, Q1 2020 report. Medallia is the only company named a leader in every related Forrester Wave and Gartner Magic Quadrant, and with the two leading analysts now reporting on this space, there’s no question at the maturity — and mission critical nature — of customer experience technology today. 

‘Pioneered the Use of Closed-Loop Action-Taking’

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Voice of the Customer uses detailed criteria and methodology to rank vendors by their ability to execute and completeness of vision. The report highlights operationalization as one of Medallia’s core strengths:

Medallia pioneered the use of closed-loop action-taking based on customer feedback. It has the highest percentage of client programs with over 1,000 users as well as the highest average number of departments per client using its software out of all vendors in this research.

Taking action is in our DNA. The company was founded by frequent travelers frustrated at the ineffectiveness of comment cards and the inability of a hotel to recognize unhappy guests and take timely action to resolve their issues. 

That frustration led to the launch of the company, and Hilton became the company’s first customer in 2001. Medallia was built to empower leaders across every single hotel to listen to their guests, identify issues and opportunities, and to respond quickly. We’ve come a long way since then and now serve more than 1,000 customers across a dozen industries. And as Gartner notes, we’ve expanded our focus to mid-market companies and can operationalize the voice of the customer at any scale. 

Deep Functionality and Ongoing Innovation

The Gartner Magic Quadrant for Voice of the Customer report also cites Medallia’s functional depth and ongoing innovation as reasons for the recognition.

Medallia offers the deepest functionality for collecting and analyzing direct, indirect and inferred feedback, the third highest R&D headcount and a high rate of technology acquisition (LivingLens for video, Strikedeck for customer success management) to maintain innovation.

We’ve also acquired numerous other innovative companies and continue to launch impactful new products and features that expand our ability to help our customers capture and analyze more signals, predict behavior and create experiences that keep their customers wanting more. Helping our customers take action and drive tangible results are and have always been Medallia’s top priorities.

Customer Experience Takes Center Stage

The pandemic has propelled customer experience and the voice of the customer to the forefront. It’s crucial for companies to listen and understand their customers, but also use those insights to adapt and innovate quickly to meet and exceed rapidly changing consumer expectations.

Research from International Data Corporation (IDC) last year shows how COVID-19 has made customer experience technology a business imperative:

• An April survey revealed “engendering trust with our customers” as the top near-term priority for 40% of 584 enterprises surveyed.
• In May, 45% of companies surveyed said “CX programs” were their top initiative for 2020 and 2021. 
• And in August, IDC asked companies what their focus would be with digital initiatives post COVID-19 and “customer experience excellence” was the top response (33%), followed closely by “customer excellence in products and services” (30%).
• And for technology companies, a whopping 90% said CX was their top business priority.

We’ve seen this firsthand across industries, and the first Gartner Magic Quadrant for Voice of the Customer report acknowledges the importance of this for all types of organizations. 

At a time when customer experience has become so crucial, we are excited to be named a leader by Gartner. We believe the combination of our people and technology sets us apart and uniquely positions Medallia to help companies of all sizes drive loyalty and growth in this increasingly changing world.

Download the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Voice of the Customer Report

* Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.