The quarterly business review (QBR) is an important touch point for every business, especially fully customer-serving ones like managed services. QBRs allow businesses to display their effectiveness and how they can continue serving their customers’ needs. It also gives insight into customer success and highlights areas to improve for more continued success.
As you prepare for your next QBR, use these best practices to ensure you’re making the most of it for both you and your customers.
At their core, QBRs are not for you or your business; they are for your customers. Most QBRs that fall flat are one-sided presentations that focus too much on the business and not enough on what customers actually care about.
Prepare thoroughly to ensure that your customers know what to expect. Publish an agenda that clearly lays out your purpose and goals beforehand. It should cover three key areas:
The best QBRs speak directly to the audience in a way that resonates most with them. Start by inviting the correct stakeholders, with executive representation from both sides as well as other key decision makers. Research as necessary to ensure proper accommodation for each attendee. By engaging directly with each person in attendance, you’ll connect with both your customers and internal stakeholders so that everyone is engaged and on the same page.
Craft your data presentation using charts and graphs, visualizing data wherever possible. By highlighting wins first, you can display efficacy and get listeners excited about what you have to say. Don’t shy away from mistakes, but couch or sandwich them within your areas of excellence. This is also your opportunity to show your progress against industry benchmarks and highlight the specific customer’s health score.
It’s important to note that cobbling together data from multiple different management interfaces adds unnecessary overhead. By leveraging a SIEM, you can collect, aggregate, and correlate data to tell the full picture. Best of all, it is done in real-time to virtually eliminate the challenges of telling meaningful stories with your data.
With your slides created and data aligned, practice amongst your presenters. You should shoot to deliver the entire agenda in under an hour, so work together to be sure to hit the important points while cutting out fluff. And, again, you must incorporate time for feedback, so keep it in mind while practicing.
QBRs are always about prioritizing future improvement to ensure the best possible ROI and experience for your customers. Analyze your data to identify areas of improvement before your call. This not only showcases your preparedness but demonstrates your willingness to improve to meet customer needs.
As a part of your next steps planning, it’s important to schedule the next QBR in advance. Follow up is critical in maintaining progress velocity. It also lets your customers know that you are invested in incorporating their feedback.
QBRs are a keystone event for keeping customers informed and intaking feedback live. By preparing and tailoring your presentation, then driving for ways to improve, you will impress and engage your customers in your next QBR.
For more business tips on ways to drive customer engagement and success, read our blog.
