There’s no two ways about it, customer success is crucial to B2B success. Especially because it is 5 to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to retain existing ones. Accordingly, quarterly business reviews or qbrs have emerged as a pragmatic solution to the challenge of customer churn in modern B2B organizations.
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A quarterly business review (qbr) is a strategic review meeting with your clients and their executives that occurs (usually) every quarter. In this meeting, which is usually led by the customer success team and their managers, businesses review the efficacy of their services on the client’s business, discuss any improvements, future plans, redress client concerns, present the business’s progress, and all in all perpetuate good customer relationships.
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A productive QBR is designed with the client’s goals in mind, and to strategically align them with the customer success team’s goals. The most important aspect of a qbr is to open a dialogue between business and clients, and not to make a sales pitch to them. emphasizing too much on presenting the business’s progress will overshadow that agenda.
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1) Review frequency: though present in the name, a quarterly business review does not have to occur every quarter. Sometimes, businesses might require a longer time interval between meetings to ensure adequate value. One of the reasons could be that your business might require more time to produce quality content and data for effective reviews. Another reason may be the logistical challenges in arranging meetings with the right audience/stakeholders required for a meeting. If a business cannot produce consequential insights for a review, then there is no reason to hold one.
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2) Meeting agenda: creating an agenda forms a structure for your review, upon which your clients can base their expectations and questions on. A missing agenda risks your meeting attendance.A well-planned agenda that is organized and ahead of time for the clients is an essential component of a QBR. The contents of an agenda might include:
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3) Transparency: as discussed in the last point, having your attendees pre-approve your agenda before the review shows a great deal of transparency and builds trust with your customers. But besides that, being honest about your failures and shortfalls shows your business’s willingness to improve. At the end of the day, the goal of these reviews is to build your relationship with your clients, and sincerity goes a long way.
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4) Presenting the data: when it comes to presenting your business’s progress, showcasing your ROI could be at the cornerstone. Highlighting your ROI shows growth and the value retained in procuring your business’s services. It's also the perfect metric to underscore your track record & other progress in conjunction with your future goals.
Outside of ROI, presenting benchmark data is vastly appealing to your clients as they’re interested in learning where your business places itself among competitors every quarter. specific metrics that clients might require based on questions and the discussion from previous quarters also come in handy.
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5) Progress and future QBRs: After highlighting your business’s progress, putting forward the plans for your next qbr is a great segue. This could also be a good time to pitch in some future milestones, along with previews of new products and services. This is even a good opportunity to present innovations at a conceptual stage. Just remember to seek your client’s approval for your plans and future changes.
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Planning a QBR comes with its own host of problems. distinguishing your goals from your client’s. managing different expectations, adding value to your reviews and so much more. but to truly win over your clients, you would have to go over and beyond. go as far as asking your clients what it would take for them to opt out, for them to choose another service. and while most businesses wouldn’t ask that, you should, because your customer is another business’s prospect and if you don’t stick your neck out, your competitors will
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