The study also measures plan vitals across the segments, and probes for practical marketing intelligence, like why sponsors choose to change providers—and what competitor would not want to know that?

This year, Empower Retirement was the provider most associated with "good value for the money." Ascensus, Fidelity, new entrant Betterment, and OneAmerica rounded out the top five, in that order.

Fidelity and Vanguard were top providers among the larger segment of the market, "benefiting from their well-earned reputation for being easy to do business with, along with providing the greatest value for the money," said Linda York, senior vice president of the Financial Services division at Market Strategies.

The study shows that plan sponsors are more focused on fees than ever before.

"For the first time the aspect of reducing plan costs outranks all other priorities upon which plan sponsors are directing their attention," noted Julia Johnston-Ketterer, a senior director at Market Strategies and co-author of the report.

Market Strategies allowed Benefitspro a quick look into the study. Here is a small portion of the report's findings.

Information on obtaining access to the full findings can be found here.

Read on for the 4 key areas that affect plan sponsor decisions:

1. Primary focus of plan sponsors

Among all plan sizes, 22 percent of sponsors said reducing plans costs was the number one concern this year, which was up from 2014. No other area of focus was the top concern for more sponsors. More than half—55 percent–of sponsors put reducing cost as one of their top three goals, also an increase from last year.

Ensuring compliance was the top concern for 19 percent of sponsors, but overall sponsors concern for compliance issues waned this this year, as only 44 percent listed it as a top three concern, a decrease from 2014. That may indicate the years of focusing on compliance have given sponsors a better grasp on the regulatory climate.

Two other areas of focus saw notable change in this year's report. Adequately preparing participants for retirement was a top three concern for 43 percent of sponsors, up from two years ago.

Also of note: 23 percent of plan sponsors said reevaluating their service provider was a top three concern, up from 2014.

2. Reasons for switching service providers

Not surprisingly, administration fees were the top reason given for changing providers—13 percent of sponsors said as much, more than for any other reason.

The quality of investment options, and the fees associated with those investments, were also top reasons for changing providers.

For all of the affect technology is having on participant experience, few sponsors cited the online experience of participants as a reason for firing incumbent providers.

The quality of education and the advice participants get was a top consideration for only 3 percent of sponsors when deciding to change providers.

3. Top challenges to offering a successful plan

Managing costs was a top three concern for 40 percent of sponsors. Educating participants was voted a top challenge for 31 percent of sponsors, which was down from the past two years.

Increasing deferral rates was only considered a top challenge by 6 percent of sponsors, which may indicate an area that sponsors could use improved education.

Offering high-quality investment options, increasing participation, and ensuring participants are adequately prepared for retirement were also considered top challenges by sponsors.

4. Top challenges in managing plan costs

For 65 percent of sponsors, investment fees were a top three concern, with recordkeeping and plan administration fees the primary challenge for 28 percent of sponsors—tops among the list of concerns in managing overall plan costs.

Fees to plan advisors was a top three challenge for half of sponsors, while participant communication and education fees were a top three challenge for only 32 percent of sponsors.