Successful companies share a couple of common traits: they are always looking for new ways to improve. They continually ask the questions that lead them to these improvements. Questions like:

“Is there a better way to defend against new competitive pressures in the marketplace?”

“How can we achieve stronger market share?”

“Why are we failing to get the customers we should?”

These are three of the most frequently-heard questions we get at Primary Intelligence, and our research shows the answer is seldom limited to just one causal factor.

What have we found?

Successful Companies Use Win Loss Analysis

These problems are generally not confined to sales team performance. Instead, they typically stem from failing to meet customer needs through some combination of features.  Poor messaging, deal structure, failing to understand and meet customer priorities, and other factors all play a role in failing to meet sales and new customer acquisition goals.

But how do you know which of these problems (or which combination of these problems) is keeping your company from reaching its goals? And how do you discover what steps to take to solve them?

A Clear Path

Win Loss Analysis can provide you with a clear path to the answers you seek. In the past, win loss analysis has been used solely as a way to evaluate and adjust sales performance, but more and more companies are discovering the usefulness of win loss analysis as a tool to be used for much broader, more strategic purposes.

Win Loss Analysis is Like Your SWAT Team for Competitive Intelligence.

When done correctly it will identify hidden issues with your service or product, and give you a highly accurate and cost-effective diagnostic tool for developing compelling value propositions that resonate with your target market.  Win loss pinpoints what makes your customer buy from you, and what holds your prospects back from buying from you. It’s like having your very own SWAT team.

Because, with this information, you can align – or realign – your value proposition to anticipate objections quicker and faster than your competitors can. Which also means, you will close more sales, more easily.

And with the right combination of program features, you’ll have a “red dot” laser focus to inform your strategies. Primary Intelligence’s win loss analysis services, for example, give your company the information necessary to focus on specific areas for improvement in your competitive capabilities.

3 Ways to Use Win Loss Analysis

1: Define the Problem.

A properly implemented Win Loss program gathers information from current customers and internal salespeople, and provides direct feedback from the field. With this data, your company learns, deal by deal, why your bid was either won or lost.

Your company gains priceless insight into the mind of the customer. You learn what motivated them – features, price, service, or other factors – to buy/not buy. Instead of anecdotal reports, you can diagnose your weaknesses and strengths against actionable data. Your sales team gains new insights into what customers really care about, and are able to re-align your current value proposition accordingly.

2: Tighten Your Value Proposition.

Customers decide to buy from you when you offer them the right balance between perceived benefits and price. To clear profits, your company must strike the right balance between investment and ROI. (For more insights on benefits and price, download our industry report, Changing Your Sales Outcomes.)

If your company is investing in features that don’t match your customers’ needs (especially while not investing in those that do), everyone loses. Especially you. Win loss properly gives you a winning proposition for everyone by offering your customer maximum value and your company, maximum profit.

Win loss analysis data helps your company make the right decisions – to change deal structure, shift message focus, phase in or emphasize features that add customer value, or to phase out those features that customers value less. And making the right decisions allows your company to optimize operations, win more customers, and significantly boost profitability.

3: Go Beyond Sales Enhancement.

We encourage our clients to capitalize on the full range of potential from their investment. Our clients are using win loss data to inform their current marketing strategy, and anticipate their future marketing strategy.

As times change, customer needs change, too. The features that are most desirable today, may be completely obsolete in two or three years. Instituting a continuous examination of wins and losses helps our clients stay ahead of changing market desires – and their competition.

With formal evaluation systems in place, our clients can provide compelling evidence of value delivered. At the same time, they are expanding their market share by developing products and features to exploit the data trends revealed through our analysis.

Our clients also use the data we gather for them to develop and/or enhance the products and services that are “most valued” by their customers, thereby creating value-added features that their customers are willing to pay more for, and increasing their margins.

Win loss analysis helps our clients capitalize on their strengths, grow their customer base, offer their customers and prospects optimal benefits, increase their margins, and optimize their operations. It’s a powerhouse tool that – used to its full capacity – leaves your competition choking on your dust.

If you’re looking for better customer intelligence, a better win rate, and a better competitive advantage – contact us today for a free demo of how you can power up your capabilities with a Win Loss Analysis program.