# NATIONAL RESEARCH CORP

> Clarifo company profile — qualitative business description generated from
> the company's filings. Financial statements, charts and ratios are
> available on Clarifo (https://www.clarifo.com/fi/companies/NATIONAL RESEARCH CORP).

## Overview

National Research Corp. provides subscription-based healthcare market research and patient/consumer experience solutions that help hospitals and health systems measure performance, brand perception, employee engagement, and patient feedback. The company sells recurring digital and survey-based services, with growth driven by renewals, cross-sell into existing accounts, and new customer wins across the U.S. healthcare market.

## Products & services

• Patient Experience solutions
• Consumer Experience solutions
• Employee Experience solutions
• Market Experience solutions
• Market Insights syndicated healthcare consumer database
• Voice-of-customer and brand measurement tools

- **Patient Experience** (35%) — Subscription tools and surveys that measure patient feedback, service recovery, and care transitions.
- **Consumer Experience** (20%) — Solutions that capture consumer opinions and preferences to support healthcare marketing and growth.
- **Employee Experience** (15%) — Engagement and feedback tools used by healthcare organizations to assess workforce experience.
- **Market Experience** (20%) — Brand, awareness, and competitive intelligence products for healthcare market positioning.
- **Professional Services and Other** (10%) — Non-subscription arrangements, implementation support, and adjacent services.

- Patient Experience solutions for healthcare providers
- Consumer Experience solutions for healthcare organizations
- Employee Experience solutions for engagement and feedback
- Market Experience solutions for brand and market tracking
- Market Insights syndicated survey database
- Voice-of-customer, reputation, and service recovery tools

## Customers

The core customer base is U.S. healthcare organizations, especially hospitals and health systems that need recurring measurement of patient experience, brand strength, and workforce engagement. The company also serves healthcare marketing, quality improvement, and strategy teams that use its data to improve service lines, reputation, and consumer choice. Its subscription model is reinforced by renewals, upsells, and enterprise-wide adoption across large health systems.

- **Large U.S. health systems** (primary) — Buy multiple solutions to measure patient, employee, and market experience across enterprise operations.
- **Hospitals and provider organizations** (primary) — Use patient experience and service recovery tools to improve care delivery and satisfaction.
- **Healthcare marketing and brand teams** (secondary) — Buy market and consumer experience products to assess awareness, perception, and campaign effectiveness.
- **Quality improvement and operations teams** (secondary) — Use survey and workflow tools to identify process gaps and improve performance.
- **Existing customers expanding usage** (primary) — Add modules and use cases over time, which is a key source of organic growth.

- Hospitals and health systems buying patient and consumer feedback tools
- Healthcare marketing teams using brand and awareness measurement
- Quality improvement teams tracking service recovery and care transitions
- HR and employee engagement teams using workforce experience surveys
- Strategy leaders seeking competitive and market intelligence
- Existing customers buying additional modules through cross-sell

## Geography

The business is overwhelmingly U.S.-focused, with Market Insights covering healthcare consumers across the contiguous United States and a customer base concentrated in American healthcare systems. The reports do not disclose meaningful non-U.S. revenue, so geographic exposure is mainly tied to U.S. healthcare spending, hospital budgets, and domestic regulatory and operating conditions.

- Revenue is primarily generated in the United States
- Market Insights covers consumers across the contiguous U.S.
- Customer base includes major U.S. healthcare systems
- No material non-U.S. operating footprint is disclosed
- U.S. healthcare spending and budgets drive demand

## Strategy

Management is focused on rebuilding recurring revenue growth by improving retention, expanding contract value with existing customers, and adding new customers. The company is also pushing new solutions and use cases, while using acquisitions and automation to broaden capabilities and lower the cost base.

- **Grow recurring contract value** (short-term) — Renewals and upsells are the main engine of revenue and visibility.
- **Win new customers** (short-term) — New logos offset churn and support broader platform adoption.
- **Expand product set and use cases** (medium-term) — New solutions can deepen customer relationships and open adjacent markets.
- **Pursue acquisitions and investments** (medium-term) — M&A can add capabilities and access to complementary end markets.

- Increase contract value through cross-sell and upsell
- Add new customers across healthcare end markets
- Launch new solutions and use cases tied to healthcare trends
- Pursue acquisitions that add adjacent capabilities
- Improve efficiency through automation and lower-cost support
- Use TRCV as a leading indicator of future revenue

## Risks

The company depends on subscription renewals and customer retention, so weaker sales execution or lower renewal rates can quickly pressure revenue. It also faces cybersecurity, privacy, and reputational risks because its solutions rely on sensitive healthcare data and remote access. Competition from larger market research and healthcare analytics firms, plus execution risk around new product development and acquisitions, can affect growth and margins.

- **Customer renewal and retention risk** [high] — Most revenue comes from renewable subscription agreements, so churn or downsells directly affect revenue.
- **Cybersecurity and data privacy risk** [high] — Remote work, personal devices, and third-party systems increase exposure to phishing, breaches, and unauthorized access.
- **Competitive pressure** [medium] — The company competes with larger firms such as Press Ganey and Qualtrics as well as internal customer solutions.
- **Reputational harm** [medium] — A service failure, data incident, or poor customer outcome could damage trust in a relationship-driven business.
- **Execution risk on acquisitions and product innovation** [medium] — Growth depends partly on new solutions and acquisitions, which may not integrate or scale as expected.

- Renewal and retention weakness can reduce recurring revenue
- Cybersecurity risk is elevated by remote work and sensitive data
- Privacy breaches could trigger legal claims and customer loss
- Competition from larger analytics and survey firms is intense
- New product and acquisition execution may not translate into growth

## Accounting

Revenue recognition is the key accounting judgment because the company sells renewable subscription agreements and some fixed non-subscription arrangements. Management must estimate variable consideration, contract terms, and total costs, so changes in assumptions can shift both the timing and amount of revenue recognized. Investors should also watch stock compensation, acquisition-related amortization, debt interest expense, and any tax uncertainty provisions because these items have recently affected reported earnings.

- **Revenue recognition for subscription agreements** — Could shift revenue between periods
- **Fixed non-subscription contract accounting** — Can affect gross margin and operating income
- **Acquisition-related intangible amortization** — Higher depreciation and amortization
- **Stock-based compensation and executive transition costs** — Distorts comparability of operating expenses
- **Income tax uncertainty** — Can affect tax expense and liabilities

- Subscription revenue estimates affect timing and amount of recognized revenue
- Variable consideration assumptions can change reported revenue
- Fixed non-subscription contracts require cost and margin estimates
- Acquisition intangibles increase amortization expense
- Stock compensation and executive bonuses affect SG&A
- Debt borrowings increase interest expense and other expense

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*Last updated: 2026-04-28T20:28:09.896364+00:00*
