Case Study: Freshworks Cost of Complexity Assessment

Project goals / objectives

• Create a scalable assessment experience
  Develop a single quiz platform that could run across Freshworks websites, partner sites, and marketing campaigns without requiring separate builds.

• Enable consistent segmentation
  Ensure all respondents are categorized into the same four organizational archetypes using a unified scoring model.

• Track campaign and partner performance
  Capture a source parameter with each submission so responses can be analyzed by campaign, partner site, or landing page.

• Simplify partner integrations
  Allow partners to embed the assessment using a lightweight script without needing their own backend or hosting.

• Provide centralized reporting
  Create an admin dashboard where Freshworks could view results, analyze segmentation trends, filter by source, and export data.

Challenges

Freshworks’ Cost of Complexity initiative required a single assessment system capable of:

• Running across multiple websites and campaign landing pages without custom builds

• Segmenting respondents into four organizational archetypes using consistent scoring logic

• Tracking where each response originated (campaign, partner site, or specific page)

• Allowing partners to easily embed the assessment with minimal setup

• Providing a secure administrative interface for viewing and exporting results

The solution needed to be flexible enough to work across multiple digital environments while maintaining centralized reporting and analytics.

Solution / approach

Sandcastle developed a centralized assessment service with a lightweight embeddable JavaScript widget.

The quiz can be deployed on any approved website using a simple script and container element, while all scoring, data storage, and reporting are handled centrally.

This approach allows Freshworks to maintain a single scoring model and reporting system while enabling partners and campaigns to integrate the assessment easily.

Key implementation features include:

• A single quiz engine powering all deployments

• Easy embedding via script tag without requiring partner hosting or backend setup

• CORS protection to restrict embedding to approved domains

• Flexible display options supporting both modal overlays and inline page layouts

Key Features

Multi-format questions
Supports single-choice, multi-select, and matrix-style rating questions covering company direction, frustrations, communication patterns, and organizational metaphors.

Four organizational archetypes
Respondents are segmented into four categories:

• The Green Shoots

• The Sun Seekers

• The Canopy Builders

• The Trusty Roots

Source tracking
Each embed can include a data-source attribute, allowing submissions to be tagged by campaign, partner, or page and analyzed later in reporting.

Reporting dashboard
A password-protected admin interface provides summary statistics, segment distribution charts, filterable response tables, and CSV export capabilities.

Flexible deployment
The assessment can be displayed as a modal overlay or embedded inline, allowing it to adapt to different site designs and campaign pages.

Technology Stack

ASP.NET Core 8 · SQL Server · Vanilla JavaScript · Chart.js · REST API · CORS · Bearer Token Authentication

Results / benefits

• Centralized data and scoring
  A single scoring model ensures consistent segmentation across all campaigns and partner sites.

• Rapid campaign deployment
  New campaigns or partner integrations can launch the assessment with a simple embed snippet.

• Source-level insights
  Freshworks can compare engagement and responses by campaign, partner, or page.

• Partner-friendly integration
  No hosting or backend work is required for partner sites.

• Unified reporting
  A centralized dashboard provides a single location for viewing, filtering, and exporting assessment results.

Conclusion

The Freshworks Cost of Complexity Assessment demonstrates how a well-designed, embeddable application can transform a single campaign tool into a scalable marketing and insights platform.

By centralizing the quiz engine, reporting, and data storage, Freshworks can deploy the assessment across multiple websites, partners, and campaigns while maintaining consistent segmentation and reliable source tracking. The lightweight embed approach allows new deployments to launch quickly without requiring additional development or infrastructure.

With centralized reporting and source-level analytics, Freshworks now has clear visibility into how different campaigns and partners perform, helping their teams make more informed decisions and expand the initiative with confidence.