Electronic Survey Distribution via Third-Party Content Placeholders

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional electronic survey systems are limited in reaching a broad audience and cannot distribute surveys to anonymous respondents or interface with digital communication channels outside of email or popup surveys on an entity's own website, failing to capture a comprehensive understanding from diverse respondents.

Innovation Solution

The system distributes electronic surveys via third-party content providers, allowing surveys to be packaged and administered within third-party digital communication channels, matching survey characteristics with those of the content and respondents to select relevant questions for display within survey placeholders.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If conventional electronic survey systems distribute surveys only through entity-owned websites or email lists, then the distribution process is simple and controlled, but the respondent pool remains limited and excludes anonymous or unconnected users

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverespondent pool sizeVSAvoiddistribution system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces third-party content providers as intermediaries between the survey administrator and potential respondents. These third parties host survey placeholders within their own digital content, enabling the survey system to reach anonymous users across multiple external platforms without requiring direct relationships or email lists. This intermediary approach expands the respondent pool while managing complexity through standardized integration protocols

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The survey system is designed to operate across multiple distribution channels simultaneously - entity websites, third-party content platforms, and digital communication channels. The system universally packages surveys in a format that can be distributed through any of these channels, allowing a single survey to reach diverse respondent pools through multiple pathways without requiring separate systems for each channel

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If surveys are distributed through multiple third-party channels with different content characteristics, then the respondent diversity increases, but selecting relevant survey questions becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesurvey distribution versatilityVSAvoidsurvey selection process complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes parameters by packaging survey questions with associated metadata characteristics that describe their relevance to different content types and respondent profiles. When a survey placeholder is encountered, the system retrieves these parameter descriptions and compares them against the third-party content characteristics to automatically select the most relevant questions, managing complexity through parameterized matching rather than manual selection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback loops where survey performance data from different third-party channels is continuously analyzed. This feedback informs adjustments to the survey packaging and selection algorithms, allowing the system to learn which question combinations perform best in different content contexts. The feedback mechanism enables automatic optimization of survey selection across diverse channels without increasing operational complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Quantity of substance

If the system packages and distributes surveys through third-party digital communication channels, then reach to anonymous respondents improves, but the ability to ensure survey relevance to specific content contexts decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepotential respondent reachVSAvoidsurvey-content matching precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-packaging survey questions with detailed characteristic metadata before distribution. This advance preparation includes tagging questions with information about their optimal content contexts, target respondent profiles, and relevance criteria. When deployed across third-party channels, this preliminary packaging enables automatic matching algorithms to efficiently connect surveys with relevant content and respondents, maintaining precision despite broad distribution

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11775994B2Distributing electronic surveys via third-party content

Publication Date: 2023.10.03 QUALTRICS LLC

AI summary

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to administration of an electronic survey via third-party content. For example, an electronic survey system receives a request to provide an electronic survey within a survey placeholder of a third-party webpage provided to a client device associated with a respondent. The survey system determines characteristics of the webpage or the respondent. The survey system then selects an electronic survey by comparing the characteristics of available electronic surveys to the characteristics of the webpage or the respondent. Additionally, the survey system provides electronic questions from the selected electronic survey for display within the survey placeholder of the webpage. The survey system also administers the electronic survey within the survey placeholder without redirecting the respondent client device away from the third-party webpage.