How a third-party market research firm can optimize your win/loss analysis

A win/loss analysis can tell you a lot about how your customers perceive your business and its products. Conducting one involves three main steps: gathering data, analyzing it, and taking actions based on it. Internally run win/loss analyses often fall short for several reasons. An easy solution is to hire a third-party market research consultant.

Benefits of Using a Third Party to Conduct Win/Loss Interviews

Lack of Bias

Insiders often hold inherent bias that can skew the conversation in favor of your company. This bias can seep into everything from the way questions are worded to the order of answer options offered to customers. For example, an employee might ask: "X is known for its ease of use — how did you feel the functionality of X compared to competitors?" whereas a third-party would remove bias by simply asking: "How did you feel the functionality of X compared to competitors?" An experienced consultant will solicit more honest feedback by eliminating bias.

Company Bandwidth

Conducting a win/loss analysis is more of a time commitment than you might think — there's scheduling, interviewing, transcribing, and analyzing. It's not uncommon for a company to fervently begin a win/loss analysis only to abandon it. Hiring a third-party research consultant takes the time burden off your company so you can focus on running your business.

Customer Candidness

Having a member of your sales team conduct your win/loss analysis may inhibit honest answers. Your prospects might feel uncomfortable delivering negative feedback to someone they have already built a relationship with. By hiring a third-party, you show your customers how important their honest opinion is to you, creating a positive "halo effect."

Uncover More

A third-party market research consultant can help you discover meaningful findings that cover every aspect of the customer journey — from what prompted the evaluation and who was involved in the decision-making process, to their sales experience, key decision criteria, and early implementation satisfaction.

Action from Insights

Simply conducting the research isn't going to do you much good — it's what you do with the data that really matters. A third-party partner can help you turn the insights you gain into immediately actionable recommendations for your business.