Win-loss analysis programs can vary depending on the stage of your company. Some companies have a fully baked program with several dedicated personnel, while others have a lone product marketer trying to build it from the ground up. Wherever you’re at in your win-loss journey, here are some reasons why competitive intelligence and product marketing professionals use win-loss analysis and why you should too.

Monique Eddleton, the Head of Competitive Intelligence at Qualtrics, said win-loss is “one of the most invaluable programs that companies can run for a myriad of reasons.” Win-loss analysis can provide invaluable insights into your customers -- their motivations, their challenges, and what’s actually driving their buying decisions. It can also give you a better understanding of your competitive landscape -- insights into key or emerging competitors and how your customers perceive them versus you. Most importantly, competitive intelligence professionals can use win-loss analysis to highlight their differentiators in the eye of your customers.

"[Win-loss analysis is] one of the most invaluable programs that companies can run for a myriad of reasons.”

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From a product marketing perspective, win-loss analysis can help to build strategy. Many times, product marketers are only using CRM data to get an idea of why deals are being won or lost. If you can supplement that with interviews, you can gather qualitative data that adds some color and context to your existing insights. With that, you’re able to really get granular to find common themes. CRM data can give you the voice of sales -- your internal point of view -- on why you won or lost a deal or how the sales cycle went, but win-loss interviews give a 360 degree perspective of what’s happening throughout the entirety of the sales experience.

Rachel Barker, Head of Go-to-Market & Product Launches at Qualtrics, said that as a product marketer, using win-loss analysis gives her insights into customers they don’t have and helps them to understand where they’re losing customers. She said, “If we’re looking at the “why” they may or may not have purchased a solution, oftentimes I'm looking for things like, ‘was it the product? Was it the sales motion? Was it the price?’ Having that added texture from interviews can be really helpful in determining the “why”.

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Win-loss analysis can help provide context to not only why you’re missing certain opportunities but why you’re winning. “It covers a gamut of really key areas that make the difference between a customer coming on board or not, and that is really important.” -Monique Eddleton

“It [win-loss analysis] covers a gamut of really key areas that make the difference between a customer coming on board or not and that is really important.”

Clozd is helping Rachel and Monique at Qualtrics get the most out of their win-loss program. 

Qualtrics had previously been using data from their CRM, surveys, and customer advisory boards as part of their program, but using adaptive buyer interviews by Clozd helped give them a deeper understanding of how to win more. For more information on how Clozd can help your team build out a comprehensive win-loss analysis program, take a look at some of our other resources.