The new XM (experience management) platform aims to help companies measure and improve the experiences they deliver to customers and employees through their products, brands and actions.

Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith says organisations tend to have good CRM systems in place to gather operational data, but don’t pay enough attention to data about people’s experiences, perceptions and emotions. This, Smith believes, "has led to a huge gap between most companies’ ability to know what's happening and understanding why it’s happening, and how to adapt programmes in real time. We call this the ‘experience gap'."

The growth of customer experience as a specialism, along with the rise of smart devices and improvements in usability, have made consumers expect better and better experiences, Smith said. "A company’s ability to win in today’s business environment depends on its ability to create amazing and consistent experiences across all aspects of the business."

Clients of Qualtrics’ technology include Allianz, JetBlue, Michelin and Vivint. Allison Windon, global customer experience director at Allianz, said: "By having Qualtrics as a global platform integrating customer experience, market research and business data, we can better focus on the aspects of the customer journey that will not only have an impact on business performance but also will deliver the best customer experience."