Challenge

Alteryx wanted precise, competitive comparisons between itself and other vendors in its space. After deciding the most effective strategy was to have a robust, voice-of-the-customer (VoC) feedback loop, Alteryx began implementing some level of win-loss data collection.

Soon after joining Alteryx, product marketing director Jason Klein—who was then a senior marketing intelligence analyst—took over the win-loss program from his manager. The primary issue Klein and Alteryx ran into was a lack of standardization in the process. Sometimes, a third-party consultant would conduct a few interviews, while other times, Alteryx would conduct them in-house. Because of this, the format of the interviews varied greatly, the insights were muddled, and cross-functional stakeholders could not easily identify relevant win-loss insights. “Our win-loss program wasn’t really standardized, and the final output wasn’t really engaging,” Klein said. 

Solution

To combat the lack of standardization they were facing, Alteryx’s team looked to outsource win-loss data collection and analysis. After evaluating Clozd, Alteryx decided to test the service with a 20-interview pilot. Clozd then presented findings from the pilot to Alteryx’s executives, product leaders, and sales leaders. 

“The leaders of these teams saw the value behind Clozd’s win-loss data immediately,” Klein said.

Clozd gave Alteryx a framework for conducting win-loss analysis in such a way that Alteryx and Clozd would have a partner relationship rather than a vendor-customer relationship. As Clozd conducts interviews, Alteryx gives the consultants feedback to fine-tune the interviews and data analysis. Whenever Klein provides feedback to the Clozd team, he knows that his ideas will be implemented immediately in the next interview. 

Results

“[Clozd] is a really rich source of voice-of-the-customer insights, where if we’re trying to test a hypothesis or do some research, we can use win-loss to pull some anecdotal evidence and some powerful quotes that can change a decision-maker’s mind just by seeing that perspective,” Klein said.

Win-loss analysis has become a rich VoC resource for Alteryx that drives company strategy. If they’re trying to test hypotheses or conduct research, internal stakeholders can pull evidence from the win-loss data Clozd provides to reach an informed decision. When Alteryx started using Clozd, they weren’t cloud-native—though their buyers were looking for a cloud-native solution. Quarter over quarter, Klein noticed that this issue had become an increasingly negative factor—to the point where Alteryx was beginning to lose a significant number of deals because of it. This insight was especially useful when Alteryx’s team made the decision to acquire a different vendor with excellent cloud-native capabilities. Very quickly, Alteryx has become recognized as a strong cloud-native vendor.

Clozd’s win-loss insights also uncovered the need for Alteryx to alter its messaging. Several customers and prospects said they were confused about how Alteryx was different from its competitors. This wasn’t because Alteryx’s product wasn’t differentiated, but because its messaging was unclear. This insight led Alteryx to explore new ways to market its product. “One of the things that we can really use win-loss going forward is with our new messaging framework,” Klein said. “We’ll be able to see how it’s resonating.”

Overall, Alteryx has made win-loss a part of its DNA.

‍“The Clozd platform is really what unlocked a lot of the value for us,” Klein said. Alteryx’s team finds value in the Clozd platform because it makes win-loss analysis very user-friendly. Each product manager can filter the interviews by their product name to see only relevant information, and having quick and easy access to actionable feedback that’s pertinent and personalized brings tremendous value to the organization.

Win-loss analysis is being used by teams throughout Alteryx’s organization—sales, product, engineering, leadership, and support. The insights Clozd provides drive improvements throughout the entire company. Klein has found that Clozd’s win-loss data helps the sales team specifically. 

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Word of Clozd’s value has spread organically throughout Alteryx. Over time, more teams and individuals have requested to be added to the Clozd platform so they can have direct access to the powerful data it provides. Every quarter, Klein and the Clozd program manager build a win-loss report to be included in a newsletter that’s distributed to the majority of Alteryx’s employees.

Moving Forward

“We’ve seen a ton of value out of win-loss with Clozd,” Klein said. Moving forward, Alteryx wants to adopt more of Clozd’s win-loss practices. Klein believes the next step for Alteryx is to start conducting seller interviews on the same accounts where buyer interviews have already been completed. In his new role as product marketing director, he intends to be the number one consumer of the win-loss data Clozd provides.

“I’ve been on a good career trajectory here at Alteryx,” Klein said. “ I don’t think I’d be here as quickly without Clozd. Me being ‘the win-loss guy’ has accelerated my career growth.”