National Research Corporation (NRC): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're digging into a healthcare analytics firm that's built its moat on recurring revenue, and frankly, that's the right place to start when assessing long-term value. While we saw a slight dip in the Q3 2025 revenue of $34.6 million, the real story is the $141.7 million in Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV) they've locked in across more than 1,600 hospitals. My take, based on two decades in this seat, is that this resilient, subscription-based model-even with some near-term noise-makes the forward-looking contract value the only number that truly matters for your valuation model. Let's break down exactly how National Research Corporation stitches this all together across their nine building blocks below.

National Research Corporation (NRC) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're analyzing National Research Corporation (NRC) Health's Business Model Canvas, and the Key Partnerships block shows a clear reliance on established healthcare entities and strategic technology integrations to deliver its experience management platform. This network is crucial, especially as the company reported a Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV) of $141.7 million as of Q3 2025, up 8% year-over-year, indicating that these relationships are locking in future revenue streams.

The foundation of NRC Health's market penetration rests on deep, long-term relationships with major healthcare providers. These partnerships provide the scale necessary to gather the data that powers their Market Insights solution, which harnesses the power of more than 300,000 consumer voices annually using over 200 unique metrics.

Strategic alliances extend beyond direct provider contracts into associations and research bodies, though specific financial details on these alliances aren't always public. Still, the success in the provider space is validated by external recognition; NRC Health received the 2025 Best in KLAS Award for Healthcare Experience Management.

The technology stack relies heavily on proprietary development and external software integration. The Huey AI engine is built on open-source large language models (LLMs) but is heavily fine-tuned with NRC Health's custom data, ensuring security by hosting models exclusively on their own servers. This aligns with the NIST AI Compliance framework, with progress toward HITRUST AI certification.

For broader capabilities, NRC Health formalized a partnership with Medallia to bolster its Consumer Experience (CX) and Employee Experience (EX) offerings, gaining access to scalable journey listening tools and sophisticated contact-center offerings. This complements their internal development, which includes products powered by Huey, such as nGage and nAct.

Collaborations focused on enhancing the patient experience demonstrate the real-world application of NRC Health's platform, often involving systems with significant regional reach. For instance, the partnership with Mosaic Life Care aims to elevate experience across its system, which serves a population of approximately 270,000 and is the largest employer in its region with over 5,000 employees.

Another key relationship is with Renown Health, which selected NRC Health to deliver Human Understanding to its patients and employees. Renown Health, which serves over 1 million people across 100,000 square miles in Nevada, reported providing $196.1 Million in Community Benefit in Calendar Year 2024, showing the scale of organizations prioritizing experience improvement.

Here are the key patient experience collaborations:

• Renown Health: Focus on data-driven insights and service recovery capabilities.
• Mosaic Life Care: Focus on elevating patient and employee experience across its system.
• UC Health: Utilizes Market Insights to inform business decisions and build loyalty.
• BJC Health System: Unifying feedback across its hospitals, clinics, and academic partners.

Finance: review the sustainability of the 33% quarterly dividend increase announced in Q3 2025 against the $13.8 million cash flow from operations for that quarter.

National Research Corporation (NRC) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the operational engine driving National Research Corporation (NRC) as of late 2025, based on their latest reported performance metrics. The key activities are clearly focused on product modernization, aggressive sales execution, and proprietary research delivery.

Continuous development of AI-enabled experience management platform

The technology focus is squarely on modernizing the platform to support AI-driven innovations. This is critical for creating a more natural way to collect, analyze, and deliver feedback to clients. While specific R&D expenditure isn't isolated in the latest filings, the strategic priority is clear: embedding AI to accelerate feedback analysis and service recovery. This platform evolution supports the subscription business model, which is showing renewed strength.

Conducting proprietary market research, e.g., the 2025 Experience Perspective Report

NRC Health continues to produce premier market research, with the 2025 Experience Perspective Report being a major output. This research provides the foundation for their value proposition. For example, the report quantified a key finding: consumers are nearly 300% more likely to recommend a healthcare organization when they trust it. This trust framework breaks down into three foundational elements for clients to focus on:

• Reliability
• Competence
• Respect

Maintaining and expanding the direct sales force for new client acquisition

The sales engine is definitely firing, evidenced by strong momentum in both new logos and expansion within existing accounts. The best quarterly cross-sell/upsell activity in six years was recorded in Q3 2025. This activity included several large wins, such as a competitive takeaway with a top-50 health system resulting in a greater than $1 million Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV) expansion. Also, TRCV losses and downsells were reduced by nearly 50%, showing the sales force is both acquiring and retaining high-value contracts. Honestly, selling more to an existing client is usually a higher-margin revenue stream than new acquisition.

Data collection, analysis, and delivery of actionable insights to clients

The core value delivery hinges on translating data into action. The operational efficiency supporting this is strong; cash flow from operations surged by 46% year-over-year to reach $13.8 million in Q3 2025, representing 40% of the total revenue for that quarter. This robust cash generation underpins the ability to deliver continuous service.

Here's the quick math on the financial results underpinning these activities for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025:

The subscription core is demonstrably healthy, as the TRCV growth of 8% year-over-year is the strongest seen since 2020. Furthermore, the company signaled confidence by raising the quarterly dividend by 33% to $0.16 per share, payable in January 2026, while also repurchasing 618,264 shares for $9.3 million in the quarter.

National Research Corporation (NRC) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets National Research Corporation (NRC) relies on to generate revenue and maintain its market position as of late 2025. These aren't just line items on a balance sheet; they are the engine driving that $141.7 million Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV) base.

The first, and perhaps most crucial, resource is the proprietary Human Understanding® framework and its associated intellectual property. This isn't just a marketing slogan; it's the conceptual foundation for how NRC Health approaches the market. It represents over 40 years of expertise in humanizing healthcare experiences, focusing on treating individuals-patients, consumers, and employees-as unique people, not just data points. For instance, an NRC tally from 2024 indicated that only 38% of people who were patients in the prior year reported being treated as a unique person, which highlights the gap this framework aims to close. The framework is a call to action within the concept of next-generation Human Understanding, which requires awareness of demographically based gaps in care experiences. It boils down to three core behaviors: Connect with me, Listen to me, Partner with me.

Next, you have the comprehensive, healthcare-specific data platform and analytics engine. This is the technology that operationalizes the Human Understanding® philosophy. It's a next-generation suite of AI-enabled products designed to create a natural way to collect, analyze, and deliver feedback across the entire experience spectrum. This platform supports four solution categories: Patient Experience, Consumer Experience, Employee Experience, and Market Experience. The technology is engineered exclusively for healthcare, which is a key differentiator in a regulated industry. For example, UCI Health used real-time data from NRC Health to address communication gaps and build a cohesive care team.

The tangible result of these resources is seen in the financial metrics, particularly the contract value base. As of Q3 2025, the Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV) base stood at $141.7 million. This figure marked the fourth consecutive quarter of sequential TRCV growth, which is defintely a strong indicator of customer satisfaction and expansion activity. Here's a quick look at the surrounding financial strength from that same period:

Finally, industry recognition serves as a powerful, external validation of these key resources. NRC Health was honored with the 2025 Best in KLAS Award for Healthcare Experience Management. This is the second time in three years they have received this specific award, which KLAS Research considers the equivalent of the Oscars of the Health IT Industry. This recognition underscores the market's perception of their platform and expertise. The award specifically recognizes top-performing solutions that help healthcare organizations measure and improve the experience for patients, family members, clinicians, and staff.

You can see the tangible outputs of their intellectual property and platform in their operational achievements during Q3 2025:

• Net retention reached its highest level since 2020.
• Cross-sell/upsell activity was the best quarterly customer expansion activity seen in six years.
• The quarterly dividend was raised 33% to $0.16 per share.
• The company repurchased 618,264 shares for $9.3 million during the quarter.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

National Research Corporation (NRC) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at the core value National Research Corporation (NRC) delivers to health systems, which is all about turning data into measurable experience improvements. Honestly, the numbers coming out of their late 2025 reporting show a clear focus on recurring revenue stability.

Providing data-driven insights to enhance patient and employee experiences is central. Their 2025 Experience Perspective research shows that when patients highly trust their provider, they are 300% more likely to recommend that organization. Furthermore, the data suggests that employees who trust their organization are 15 times more likely to recommend it as a place to receive care. This directly links experience quality to market reputation and workforce stability.

Improving patient loyalty and driving revenue growth for health systems is the financial outcome of that trust. For the third quarter ending September 30, 2025, National Research Corporation (NRC) reported total revenue of $34.6 million, growing 2% quarter-over-quarter. The Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV) finished at $141.7 million, marking an 8% year-over-year increase, which was their strongest growth since 2020. This momentum is supported by tangible wins, such as a TRCV expansion over $1 million with a top-50 system and two cross-sells approaching $1 million each. They also managed to reduce TRCV losses and down sells by nearly 50%.

Here's a quick look at the financial health underpinning these value drivers as of Q3 2025:

The value is delivered through offering a unified platform for patient, consumer, and workforce engagement. This platform is explicitly built around three core pillars of differentiation: insights, engagement, and enablement. This holistic approach helps clients better understand and respond to the experiences of all key stakeholders. This focus on comprehensive experience management earned NRC Health the 2025 Best in KLAS Award for Healthcare Experience Management.

Benchmarking client performance against over 1,600 hospitals and 12,000 care sites provides the necessary context for improvement. This extensive dataset allows clients to compare their performance metrics, such as HCAHPS results, against a massive peer group. For instance, Inpatient Preview Reports for data refreshed through Q4 2024 were available through the HQR Portal until December 23, 2025, allowing for timely goal setting before the January 2026 public reporting refresh. This level of comparative data is defintely crucial for setting achievable, market-relevant targets.

The core value propositions translate into tangible client actions:

• Gain insights from millions of patient/consumer feedback points.
• Improve employee trust metrics by 15 times recommendation likelihood.
• Drive revenue growth via TRCV expansion deals exceeding $1 million.
• Benchmark against over 12,000 care sites for context.
• Achieve 31% Adjusted EBITDA margins on Q3 2025 revenue.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

National Research Corporation (NRC) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how National Research Corporation (NRC) keeps its healthcare system clients locked in and driving value from their subscription contracts. The focus here is definitely on long-term commitment, which makes sense given their Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV) is the key forward-looking metric.

Dedicated account management for long-term, subscription-based contracts

The entire model hinges on those renewable contracts, which totaled $141.7 million as of Q3 2025. Management views this TRCV as the leading indicator of recurring revenue for the next 12 months. The commitment to these long-term relationships is evident in the strong retention figures they achieved through Q3 2025, which is what keeps that TRCV base solid.

Here's a snapshot of the relationship health metrics as of late 2025:

That recent expansion activity included an over $1 million TRCV expansion with a top 50 health system, plus two nearly $1 million cross-sells. That's concrete proof of deepening partnerships.

High-touch, consultative service to interpret data and implement best practices

NRC Health doesn't just drop off data; they position themselves as an integral part of the client's improvement cycle. They talk about their 'differentiating service and client success we deliver day in and day out'. This high-touch approach is supported by the resources they dedicate to service delivery. For instance, direct expenses, which cover much of the service delivery and implementation costs, were reported at $12.974 million in Q2 2025. The CEO noted that new clients chose NRC based on the 'depth and integration of our capabilities and the human centered nature of our customer service model'.

Fostering authentic partnership to drive continuous improvement

The language used by management consistently points toward a relationship built on trust and partnership, not just vendor status. They earn trust through 'authentic partnership, exceptional service, and unmatched expertise'. This philosophy directly translates into the financial outcomes you see in the retention table above. When customers feel like partners, they don't churn, and they expand their usage. The goal is to help healthcare organizations 'better understand, anticipate, and respond to the experiences of their patients and employees'.

Key elements of this partnership focus include:

• Emphasizing the human centered nature of the service model.
• Focusing on operational priority one: delivering excellence in client partnership.
• Driving data-driven decisions that lead to smarter investments for the client.

Annual client conference (HUB26) for community and thought leadership

Community building and thought leadership are cemented through flagship events. While the most recent event in late 2025 was HUB25, held October 15-17, 2025, in Orlando, the next major gathering, HUB26 | Human Understanding Beyond, is set for September 2-4, 2026, in Nashville. The submission window for speakers for HUB26 closes on January 12, 2026. These events are designed to inspire leaders around core themes like community engagement, consumer experience, and employee experience, reinforcing NRC Health's position as an industry thought leader.

National Research Corporation (NRC) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how National Research Corporation (NRC) gets its subscription-based analytics and insights to healthcare executives. The channels are a mix of high-touch human interaction and scalable cloud delivery, which is key to their recurring revenue model.

Direct sales force engagement with healthcare executives

The direct sales force is central to landing and expanding the subscription base, which is reflected in the strong forward-looking metrics. The sales team reorganization in 2025 has been a focus area, aiming to improve win rates and the average deal size. You saw evidence of this in the Q3 2025 results where cross-sell/upsell activity was noted as the best quarterly customer expansion activity in six years. The company also made strategic acquisitions to bolster its direct offering; for instance, the purchase of Nobl, Inc. in August 2025 for $7 million was specifically aimed at strengthening real-time feedback capabilities. New client wins contributed $419,000 in revenue during Q2 2025, showing the direct sales channel is converting pipeline into booked business.

The success of this channel directly impacts the Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV), which hit $141.7 million as of Q3 2025, growing 8% year-over-year. That's the number management watches closely. Honestly, the entire business is built on converting these executive relationships into long-term contracts.

Cloud-based software platform for solution delivery and client access

The delivery mechanism is almost entirely a cloud-based software platform, which supports the subscription revenue stream. This platform is where healthcare systems access the analytics and insights needed to measure and improve patient and employee experiences. The high gross profit margin, likely north of 60%, is a direct result of this scalable delivery model. Client access is controlled and secure, as evidenced by the login portals that restrict access to authorized users only, acknowledging the presence of Protected Health Information (ePHI) in some reports.

Here's a quick look at the subscription health metrics that this channel underpins:

Digital solutions like nGage and MyStory for real-time feedback

NRC Health uses specific digital tools to capture data across the patient journey, moving beyond traditional surveys. These tools are integrated into the platform for real-time insight generation. For example, nGage is used for cross-journey conversational listening, capturing CAHPS and real-time feedback. Then there's MyStory, which integrates patient-generated contextual data directly into the Electronic Health Record (EHR). The company is also pushing next-generation AI-enabled products, like those powered by Huey™, to create a more natural way to collect and analyze feedback. One client, UCI Health, used real-time data from NRC Health to address communication gaps.

The digital suite also includes:

• nQuire: AI-powered smart feedback using natural language prompts.
• Rounding: Intelligent and predictive rounding conversations.
• nAct: Assisted service recovery that delivers outcome layers with empathy.
• Compliment Sharing: Quick sharing of positive patient feedback with care teams.

Industry events and thought leadership content (reports, webcasts)

Thought leadership content serves to establish National Research Corporation (NRC) as the authority in the healthcare experience space, which supports the sales channel by generating awareness and credibility. The company published its 2025 Experience Perspective report, which focuses on the evolution of trust in healthcare, combining executive expertise with feedback from millions of patients and consumers. They also promote their annual flagship experience management event, HUB26 | Human Understanding Beyond, scheduled for September 2-4, 2026. Management has also been active in direct communication, with introductory calls for the new CEO held on June 9 and 10, 2025, and an earnings call held on October 28, 2025, to discuss the Q3 results. The company also offers webcasts and case studies as part of its content strategy.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

National Research Corporation (NRC) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at National Research Corporation (NRC) and trying to map out exactly who is paying for their experience improvement solutions as of late 2025. Honestly, the customer segments are clearly defined by the healthcare ecosystem's need for data-driven insights to manage patient and employee trust.

The entire business model hinges on securing and growing the Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV), which, as of the third quarter of 2025, stood at a strong $141.7 million, up 8% year-over-year. This value is spread across the core groups we need to focus on.

Large US Hospitals and Integrated Health Systems (the top 400 largest are the sweet spot)

This group represents the bread and butter for National Research Corporation. They are the primary users of the analytics and insights designed to elevate patient experience and workforce engagement across complex, multi-site operations. While I don't have the exact count of the top 400 systems currently under contract, the focus on this tier is clear because they have the most significant financial stakes tied to quality metrics and patient satisfaction scores.

The market they operate in is massive. In 2024, the broader patient engagement solutions market was valued at USD 25.0 billion, and healthcare providers accounted for a 54.06% share of that. This suggests the potential for growth within this segment is still substantial, even for an established player like National Research Corporation.

Long-term care and post-acute care facilities

This segment is critical because experience measurement extends beyond the acute hospital setting. National Research Corporation's solutions are used to measure and improve experiences in these specialized settings, which often face unique regulatory and satisfaction pressures. The company's history includes work in performance measurement tools that directly apply here, helping these facilities manage community perceptions and patient loyalty.

Healthcare Payers and managed care organizations

Payers are an increasingly important segment. They need the same level of insight into the consumer experience to manage risk, guide members to high-quality providers, and succeed in value-based care arrangements. National Research Corporation provides analytics and insights that facilitate revenue growth for payers by helping them understand patient engagement and satisfaction across their networks.

Healthcare executives focused on quality, patient safety, and finance

This group represents the key decision-makers and budget holders across the other segments. They are the ones driving the investment in solutions that bridge silos between brand, consumer, patient, and employee experience. The focus on trust, as highlighted in the 2025 Experience Perspective, speaks directly to the C-suite concerns regarding reputation and financial performance. The company's Q3 2025 Adjusted EBITDA margin of 31% shows that the subscription model is attractive to finance leaders who value predictable, high-margin recurring revenue.

Here's a quick look at the financial context supporting the value proposition to these segments as of Q3 2025:

The company's success in reducing TRCV losses and down-sells by nearly 50% over the past year is a direct result of strengthening relationships with these core customer groups through superior service and client success efforts.

You'll want to track the cross-sell and upsell momentum, which contributed to the TRCV growth during the quarter. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk rises, so the efficiency of the customer success organization in embedding these solutions is key to retaining the value tied to these segments.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

National Research Corporation (NRC) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

High fixed costs associated with R&D for platform and AI development.

Significant investment in sales force expansion and marketing.

Compensation and data processing costs for analytics and service delivery.

Operating expenses were reduced by 6% year-over-year in Q1 2025.

You're looking at where National Research Corporation (NRC) is spending its capital to maintain and grow its analytics platform and service delivery. The cost structure shows a clear push toward growth in sales capacity, while management has been focused on efficiency in other areas.

The acceleration in sales force expansion in Q1 2025 suggests a corresponding increase in variable compensation and marketing spend to drive new client wins, which was noted as a positive driver for Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV) growth.

• Sales Force Expansion: Accelerates in Q1 2025.
• Executive Compensation: Cited as a primary driver for the YoY increase in SG&A in Q2 2025.
• Automation Initiatives: Contributed to the slight decrease in Direct Expenses in Q2 2025.
• Dividend Declared: Quarterly cash dividend of $0.12 per share declared in April 2025.

To be fair, the significant rise in SG&A to $17.7mm in Q2 2025, largely due to non-recurring executive compensation, masks the underlying efficiency efforts, such as the 3% drop in direct expenses.

The cost structure is currently being managed with a focus on efficiency, as evidenced by the 6% operating expense reduction in Q1 2025, even as the company aggressively invests in its revenue-generating engine.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

National Research Corporation (NRC) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the revenue side of National Research Corporation (NRC) and seeing a model heavily weighted toward long-term commitment. The foundation of the revenue streams is definitely the recurring subscription fees for platform access. This is the engine that drives visibility into future performance, best measured by the Total Recurring Contract Value (TRCV).

As of the third quarter of 2025, the TRCV, which management views as a projection of subscription revenue for the next 12-month period, hit $141.7 million. This figure represents an 8% year-over-year increase, marking the strongest TRCV growth National Research Corporation has seen since 2020. This strong forward indicator suggests the core platform access revenue is resilient and growing.

For the immediate period, the total revenue reported for the third quarter of 2025 was $34.6 million. This was a 2% increase sequentially from the prior quarter. While the business is subscription-centric, revenue also comes from advisory services and custom research projects, which are embedded in the overall analytics and insights offering that healthcare systems use for experience improvement.

Here's a quick look at the key financial metrics surrounding that revenue for Q3 2025:

The commitment to shareholders is also a clear financial output. For the full year 2025, National Research Corporation returned a total of $28.1 million to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases. This capital allocation strategy is supported by strong operational cash flow, which surged 46% year-over-year to $13.8 million in Q3 2025.

The capital return activities in Q3 2025 included:

• Repurchased 618,264 shares at an average price of about $14.99 per share.
• Declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per share, a 33% increase from the prior dividend.
• The weighted average fully diluted share count for the quarter was 22.1 million shares.