Should Quarterly Business Reviews Really Be Quarterly?

Many business people swear by the quarterly business review (QBR). The process involves meeting with your client on a quarterly basis to discuss how they are getting along with their services. Pain points and sources of satisfaction are touched upon to determine the best methods moving forward. 

While it’s advisable to keep an open line of communication with your client, questions arise in terms of whether these meetings need to be quarterly. If the meetings are difficult to arrange and bring little value to the client, they may be doing more harm than good. This article will discuss the topic of whether QBRs really need to be quarterly and how you can strike the perfect balance. 

What are the Problems with the Quarterly Business Review?

Scheduling Difficulties: In today’s fast-paced world of business, finding the time for a QBR could be the biggest challenge. You can waste a lot of time trying to find out what works best for all parties. And if your account isn’t a priority for your client, they may end up canceling. 

Little Value: When the meeting finally does happen, it may not hold much value for either party. You may be forcing these meetings in accordance with conventions when there’s really not much to discuss. If your client has nothing new to share since the last meeting, forcing the meeting won’t result in the value you are looking for. Unless your customer has a major strategic shift to fill you in on, the review's purpose is simply to keep you on track. This quick discussion might not be necessary every quarter if things are going smoothly. 
Annoying the client: It’s possible that your client may become annoyed by having to schedule these meetings that don’t hold a lot of value. They may stop attending. They may even decide to stop taking your feedback or helpful strategies for them into consideration.You don’t want to diminish the trust you’ve built with the client in order to facilitate a meeting with no value. 

QBR Alternate Solutions

QBRs can do more harm than good. But that doesn’t mean you should give up on communication with your clients. 

The aim is to strike that perfect balance similar to the 3 Bears fairy tale. The porridge should be neither too hot nor too cold, it should be just right. Here are some tips that will help you achieve that goal. 

Communicate on an ‘As-Needed’ Basis: Eliminate the need to communicate with clients quarterly by sharing information with them on an ‘as-needed’ basis. This can come in the form of sharing snapshots and documents and virtual messaging that doesn’t take as much time as a meeting. It’s low maintenance and it provides them with the information they require in real-time. 

Make it Easy: Always being open and available for clients to give any kind of feedback (good or bad) on their terms. Always be living with a consultative mindset. The more you listen, the more you learn. These kinds of conversations can help you and the client strengthen the relationship and the continued success. Schedule a Strategic Account Review: Bigger clients may need more attention. If this is the case, limit meetings to 2-3 a year including a strategic account review (SAR). Your SAR should serve to review what you have done for your client as well as your future plans to improve. It gives you a good opportunity to upsell as you can discuss new and existing products you have available that may be suited to your client’s needs.

How Engage Can Help

If you are looking to eliminate QBRs and create a more efficient way to communicate with clients, Engage is an ideal solution. 

Engage is a centralized workspace that connects internal and external teams to ensure everyone is on the same page. It allows for the sharing of reports, Mutual Action Plans (MAPS), proposals, agreements, and other documents. It helps you communicate with clients in a virtual format causing minimal disruption to their busy lives. 

It’s advisable to communicate with clients regularly. But if QBRs are causing stress, they could be doing more harm than good. Engage presents a simple alternative that keeps clients in the loop without taking up much of their time. 

How to Move Forward

The strength in a current client relationship is trust. You need to find the right balance. Once you find it, you can optimize it into a centralized, collaborative environment.