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Frequently Asked Questions

About the program

What is the Gartner Peer Insights Customer First Program?

The Gartner Peer Insights Customer First Program is designed to further solidify the trust and credibility that exists between all stakeholders in the Gartner Peer Insights community. A technology provider participating in the program is asked to commit to soliciting reviews from its customers using programmatic sourcing strategies and best practices.

Why would an organization participate in the program?

Organizations that participate in the Gartner Peer Insights Customer First Program are committed to making the reviews industry even better. These technology providers recognize that honest, unbiased peer reviews are beneficial to understanding their current customer base and building credibility with prospective customers. They welcome both positive and negative feedback, and look to leverage these customer insights to drive product development.

In addition, organizations that commit to the Customer First Program will get Customers First Badge that they can make live on their peer insights page and leverage for marketing as well.

If they solicit at least 25 published reviews in a market in the last 12 months, they will qualify to receive access to Readership Analytics i.e. Exclusive insights into trends and demographics about who is reading their reviews. Read more about Readership Analytics.


Participating in the program

My organization has multiple products listed across many markets, some of which aren’t under my business unit. Can I join the Customer First Program at the market level?

Yes, you are able to commit to the Customer First Program at a market level. In that case, you will be able to access the premium features for those markets where you’ve committed to the program.

My product is currently listed in an “Others” market. Am I eligible to join the Customer First Program?

At this time, the Customer First Program is available only for markets that align directly to Gartner research coverage. As the program expands and develops, this may change and we will notify vendors who are in “Others” markets if the option becomes available.

My organization plans to join for all markets where we are available for review, but maybe not all at the same time. Is this permitted?

Yes. While committing to the Customer First Program for all markets at once makes for a more cohesive program experience and hassle-free process, it is always possible to commit to different markets separately at different times.

Who within my organization should commit to the program?

Senior-level decision makers, such as the CEO, CMO, VP Marketing or VP Customer Success, are able to commit to the Customer First Program on behalf of their organization. Certain roles may not be eligible to participate in the program on behalf of their organization, including but not limited to professionals with a title of Director, Manager, or Associate.

When joining the program, there is an opportunity to include information on a program lead or day-to-day manager should the senior-level decision maker not be managing the operational portions of the program directly. If you have specific questions about eligibility, please reach out to your Program Manager or email us at PeerInsightsVendorSuccess@gartner.com

How do I sign up and show my interest in the program?

To learn more about the Customer First Program and the required steps to join, please reach out to your Program Manager or email us at PeerInsightsVendorSuccess@gartner.com.

Once we decide to commit to the Customer First Program, what are the next steps?

Your next steps would be:

  1. As part of the program, incorporate the review-sourcing widget on your public-facing website and implement your review-sourcing strategies, leveraging our review-sourcing links. You will need to submit proof of the widget you implemented so our team can validate that you integrated the strategy. Learn more about required sourcing strategies
  2. Fill out our Customer First Program Agreement Form to submit details and participate in the program

As soon as you fill the form, you will get a badge and and as you reach 25 published reviews sourced by your efforts in a market in last 12 months, your Readership Analytics is automatically unlocked.

Once we commit to the Customer First Program, Can anyone with access to Technology Provider Tools also see the Readership Analytics?

No. Readership Analytics is available to limited users, determined at the point of committing to the Customer First Program. One person per market will be able to access the Readership Analytics. Identify users within the Agreement Form so we can ensure they have access to all appropriate information and updates.

Please contact your Program Manager or email us at PeerInsightsVendorSuccess@gartner.com for any questions on access.


Hosting widgets

How do I access the widget to include on my website?

Access the widget via the Tools tab within your Technology Provider Tools back-end portal. In the widget section, we include step-by-step instructions and FAQs so your web teams can seamlessly integrate the widget into your external website. Learn more about widgets.

Do I have to insert a specific widget, or can I choose from any of the available options?

You can choose any widget from the list of available options to insert prominently on your external website. Please visit the Technology Provider Tools to access the widget offering. Preview different options by changing the “size” and “theme” of the widget to best fit your site requirements. Learn more about widgets.

Is there a guide or instruction manual that I can share with my development team for hosting widgets?

Yes, you can share the detailed widget guidelines for developers, this includes instructions and tutorials to integrate the widgets with your website.

Is it mandatory to insert an option to “Write a review”as a part of my widget design?

Yes, as a part of the Customer First Program it is mandatory to include an option to “write a review” link for users to submit reviews. Please incorporate a custom review-sourcing link that you can generate via the Technology Provider Tools portal as part of your widget design

Do I need to create a new sourcing link for the widget or can I choose from any of the existing sourcing links?

Yes you are able to select from any of your existing sourcing links. However we suggest generating a custom review-sourcing link to highlight on your widget, for you to be able to see how many reviews are submitted from your widget.

Note: Do not offer gift card incentives as part of the link, to ensure that spammers do not find and take advantage of the opportunity.

What are the key things to consider when deciding about where the widget will live on the website?

Host widget on a public page, easily accessible to users in one or two clicks. Any page that requires a login or is not publicly accessible does not meet the program requirements.

There are certain things to consider when speaking with your team about where the widget will live on your website:

  1. Is the widget listed on a public page?If the widget lives on a customer portal or page where a login is needed, and it is not available to the public, it will not fulfill the program requirements.
  2. Is your widget listed on your homepage, or applicable product page? If yes, then you’re on your way. You’ll drive more prospects to read your reviews from a trusted third party, and your customers will be more likely to submit a review.
  3. Can you easily navigate to the page where the widget lives from your homepage in one or two clicks? For example, if the widget is placed on a landing page that is not linked to on your website’s navigation bar, it will not be accepted by our team.
  4. Is your widget placed prominently on your website, or does your eye skim over it? As part of the requirements, your widget should be easily identified and recognized by anyone visiting your site. If your widget is hidden on the bottom corner of your website or grouped with something else so your eye can easily miss it, please reconsider the placement.
  5. Should you put the widget on regional websites? Or multiple websites if you have them split? The spirit of the Customer First Program is to enable all of your customers to write a public review on Gartner Peer Insights, and allow your prospects to read your vetted, honest reviews from customers. The more places you insert your widget, the better your chances of soliciting additional reviews from a wide array of customers, and the more traffic you’ll drive to your reviews from prospects. Keep in mind that at this time, the Gartner Peer Insights reviews are written and published in English only, and the widgets are supported in English only.

Sourcing your reviews

What are the sourcing strategies we’ll need to implement as part of the Customer First Program?

We have identified the most commonly leveraged programmatic sourcing strategies as best practices that result in the highest number of reviews submitted by customers. When implemented, these strategies typically yield reviews that are most representative of your larger customer-base experience. These strategies can be integrated as part of your marketing strategy to ensure that all of your customers have equal access to submitting a Gartner Peer Insights review.

    Step 1 (required): Integrate the review-sourcing widget prominently on your public-facing website. Learn more about widgets.

    Step 2 (required): Pick at least one of these programmatic sourcing strategies to implement:

  • Email an invitation to review to all customers as part of your NPS survey (typically twice per year).
  • Integrate with your events strategy (user conferences, industry events, digital events).
  • Include a link in customer communications (customer portal, blog posts, monthly newsletters)
  • Integrate with the customer onboarding process (email an invitation to review a solution after each deployment)
  • Include in the support ticket resolution workflow as part of a follow-up ticket resolution survey.
  • Include an invitation to write a review in the email signature of all customer-facing associates.
  • Other (please specify).

You will need to submit proof of the strategies implemented so our team can validate your integration of the strategy.

My team has a unique way of soliciting unbiased reviews at a programmatic level, but it is not listed as an option. What should we do?

We recognize that some programmatic sourcing strategies align to some organizations better than others. We have included a space for “Other” so you can identify how you will solicit reviews. In these cases, our team will have to approve your sourcing strategy. If it is not approved, you’ll need to integrate a different method.

If you have specific questions about sourcing strategies, please reach out to your Program Manager or email us at PeerInsightsVendorSuccess@gartner.com

Should we include a review-sourcing link from the back-end Technology Provider Tools portal as part of the ask to write a review on Gartner Peer Insights?

Yes! We cannot stress enough how important it is to insert a custom review-sourcing link into your ask for a review. These review-sourcing links can be generated directly from the Technology Provider Tools and should be inserted/hyperlinked/included in the CTA to “Write a review.” These links come with custom reporting so you are able to see how many reviews came directly from your efforts, and our team can track reviews sourced from your efforts in order to unlock your Readership Analytics.

We haven’t previously used the Gartner review-sourcing links when we ask our customers for reviews. Is this going to be a problem?

Yes, you must include a Gartner review-sourcing link as part of your outreach to your customers. If you do not, our team cannot differentiate between reviews sourced from your efforts vs. organically vs. Gartner efforts, and we will not be able to accurately provide you with Readership Analytics.

Readership Analytics are only available once you reach 25 published reviews from your sourcing efforts identifiable by Gartner from sourcing links created with our Technology Provider Tools. You can visit the Technology Provider Tools portal and create a new sourcing link.


Other questions

Do I have to recommit to the Customer First Program within a certain time?

We ask that all organizations recommit to the Customer First Program at the start of every calendar year. Our team will reach out directly to the individual who originally committed for the organization. If that person is not reachable, we will attempt to contact another person named on the original form.

What if we no longer want to participate in the Customer First Program?

Your participation in the Customer First Program is completely voluntary. To remove your organization from the Customer First Program, please contact your Program Manager or email us at PeerInsightsVendorSuccess@gartner.com

Will we need to participate in anything else to be involved in the Customer First Program?

No. We may reach out for feedback on the Customer First Program, or with options to join future pilot programs around new offerings, all of which are voluntary.