15 Innovations from Primary Intelligence
We are never satisfied with the status quo at Primary Intelligence. From the time we started in CEO Ken Allred’s basement 15 years ago to today, it’s been part of our DNA to evolve, innovate, and uncover the next improvement to help our clients increase their win and revenue retention rates. We’re especially proud of these 15 innovations.
Collecting win loss intelligence from decision makers
Introduced in 2000
It seems obvious now – talk to the people who actually made the decision about why they selected you or not – but back when Ken Allred introduced this concept in 2000, it was essentially unheard of to interview decision makers for Win Loss Analysis. Today it’s become standard in the industry. Fifteen years later, we still know it’s the best source.
Recording buyer and customer interviews
Introduced in 2001
When speaking to decision makers, Primary Intelligence recognized from the start how important it was to precisely document what buyers told us, and so recorded and transcribed every phone discussion. In doing so, interviewers could better focus on what the buyer was saying during the discussion, as well as capture more complete information, leading to richer analysis and insights.
Organizing the decision-making process into “Decision Drivers”
Introduced in 2002
The process B2B buyers go through to make a purchase decision is often complex and variable. After analyzing hundreds of purchase decisions, though, Primary Intelligence identified commonalities that seemed to hold true for most decisions. Buyers were analyzing (either consciously or unconsciously) each vendor’s solution performance, perception of their company (brand), the sales experience, and pricing. These four areas were identified as Decision Drivers and implemented into every Win Loss interview. A modified set of “Experience Drivers” were later added into Primary Intelligence’s Customer Experience offering.
“Opportunity profiles” to detail what happened in a deal
Introduced in 2002
Profiles provide a complete understanding of what happened in a sales opportunity or customer account. Primary Intelligence’s profiles have gone through many iterations over the years, thanks to feedback from our clients, but the core concept hasn’t changed: profiles help sales, marketing, and product leaders quickly and precisely understand why they won and lost a deal (or why a customer had a certain experience). Today each profile includes a full transcript of the buyer’s feedback, opportunity demographics to provide context, scoring to compare the deal with other deals, and analysis of the findings to explain what it all means.
Predictive Analytics for future sales opportunities
Introduced in 2004
Win Loss Analysis teaches you what to do in future sales opportunities to win more business. So, clearly it makes sense to predict what, exactly, your advantage will be in the future based on how you performed in the past. Primary Intelligence introduced predictive analytics to measure which areas have the most impact on outcomes and what type of impact an improvement in that area would have. This innovation embodies our core focus for win loss analysis: helping clients win more deals in the future.
Transparency into scheduling activity
Introduced in 2005
We’re certainly not the first company to be transparent about our activities, but we’re the first to do so in Win Loss and Customer Experience Analysis. Primary Intelligence started tracking our interview scheduling efforts through software early on, and introduced a way for clients to see those details in 2005. Since then, we have offered even more insights by giving clients a way to see all notes, call dates, and even success metrics.
Competitive Advantage Score
Introduced in 2005
When engaging in a competitive sales opportunity, it’s essential to understand how you stack up against the competition on your product, brand, and sales experience. Primary Intelligence introduced the Competitive Advantage Score as a single number comparing the buyer’s perception of our clients (captured through a series of ratings and rankings) to each competitors. At a glance, clients can understand if they had an advantage or disadvantage. The score provides easy comparison of one deal to another, even if the details vary. We also aggregate the score, allowing clients to stack rank the competition, so they can tackle the fiercest competitors first.
Outcome and experience strength labels
Introduced in 2005
While a simple “win” or “loss” label can explain the outcome of a deal, Primary Intelligence introduced qualitative “strength” labels in an effort to more precisely explain the outcome. Based on buyer feedback, wins and losses are assigned one of three labels: Strong, Moderate, and Weak. Strong Wins, for example, indicate a decisive victory, while a Weak Loss signals a potential win-back opportunity. A similar concept was later added into Primary Intelligence’s Customer Experience offering.
Sending web surveys prior to buyer phone discussions
Introduced in 2006
From the start, Primary Intelligence was convinced in the value of collecting both quantitative and qualitative insights from buyers to better answer the WHAT and WHY elements of a decision. When the company first started, this mix of questions was all completed over the phone. In an effort to improve the experience for respondents, in 2006 the company began sending decision makers an online web survey prior to the phone discussion. The survey included many of the quantitative questions, which were easier to read through and answer online. This also provided Primary Intelligence interviewers the ability to review the responses and tailor the phone discussion for each respondent, depending on their answers in the survey.
TruVoice™ Software
Introduced in 2010
Software has always been at the core of Primary Intelligence’s services because it provides a way to provide better and more efficient results. We’ve created our own software since nearly the beginning, and TruVoice represents the best work we’ve done so far. It serves as a platform to manage, understand, and act on Win Loss and Customer Experience data, driving many of the outcomes we deliver.
Managed Services for Win Loss & Customer Experience
Introduced in 2013
Services that are fully “managed” by a vendor have been around in the B2B world for a decade. Primary Intelligence added the concept to Win Loss and Customer Experience programs in response to an increasing need to help clients drive outcomes. When we fully manage a program, we take the reins from start to finish to implement, manage, and deliver the strongest programs possible.
Outcome insight statements
Introduced in 2014
For years Primary Intelligence has been identifying why clients win and lose deals. In 2014, the insights became more relevant and actionable with the introduction of insight statements: focused, concise, and actionable sentences written by our analysts to describe the most important findings. The statements are tagged with supporting evidence (comments, ratings, selected answers, etc.) from the interview, producing a “structured” set of data that can be analyzed for trends.
Likelihood of Future Business Score
Introduced in 2015
The purpose of Customer Experience Analysis is to retain revenue and grow customer accounts. Primary Intelligence introduced our Future Business Score to predict the likelihood current customers would do business with our clients again in the future. Specifically, the number describes how well expected benefits were delivered. After all, a vendor that doesn’t deliver expected benefits won’t last long.
Discovery Sessions to collect sales and account manager insights
Introduced in 2015
To understand what caused a buyer’s decision or customer’s perceptions, you need to uncover root causes. The best method of doing this is asking sales and account managers who were directly involved in the opportunity. Primary Intelligence introduced Discovery Sessions to provide a focused forum to uncover those root causes from those internal sources. The root causes are then coupled with buyer insights to teach clients how to win more deals and retain more revenue.
Industry Insights
Introduced in 2015
Sometimes you need more than your own experience to understand where to improve. Primary Intelligence introduced the Industry Insights research team to uncover the best practices companies are employing to deliver a superior sales experience, product, and brand. Industry Insights research reports are based on the 25,000+ interviews Primary Intelligence has conducted to date as well as new data, such as how companies are conducting Win Loss and Customer Experience Analysis.