.svg)
Buyer Feedback
|
Product Leaders
Ready to win more deals?
Learn how we capture in-depth buyer feedback—and how it can transform your business.
Book a demoSummary
Summary
Key takeaways
Implementing a formal deal analysis initiative can feel daunting for revenue leaders. During a recent interview with Clozd, Sanjay Puri (VP of Product Marketing at Avalara) shared his top three pieces of advice for organizations looking to launch a successful post-decision interview program and build cross-functional credibility.
When Product Marketing Managers and revenue leaders decide to formally implement win-loss analysis, the most common hurdle is simply figuring out how to get the initiative off the ground.
To help organizations navigate this launch phase, we sat down with Sanjay Puri, the Vice President of Product Marketing at Avalara (NYSE: AVLR). Having spent years building demand generation engines and defining core product positioning for companies like Microsoft, HP, and Oracle, Sanjay understands exactly what it takes to build a revenue-driving feedback engine.
When asked, “What advice would you give to other product marketers looking to launch a post-decision interview program?” Sanjay shared the following three tips.
Sanjay Puri
VP Product Marketing, Avalara
1. "Start the damn program."
The biggest mistake organizations make is waiting for the perfect time, the perfect budget, or the perfect list of target accounts.
According to Sanjay: "The first tip is: start the damn program. It doesn't matter how big you make it. Start with a few interviews—two, five, ten, or twenty per month. Choose whatever number makes sense at a regular cadence that is right for your business and budget."
The goal is to establish a baseline of qualitative data. Once the executive team begins seeing the value of those initial interviews, securing the budget to scale the program becomes significantly easier.
2. Don’t "fire and forget."
A successful buyer feedback initiative is an operationalized program, not a one-time research project. B2B markets move fast, and your interview strategy must adapt to those changes.
"Continue to monitor the program closely," Sanjay advises. "It's not 'fire and forget.' Look at the results and then start to hone in on exactly what you want to achieve. Sometimes you go into it with a hypothesis, and other times you match the program with whatever your strategic drivers are. Then, fine-tune it until you are getting what you need out of the program."
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Your interview questions in Q1 might focus heavily on a competitor's new feature release, while your Q3 interviews might pivot to test the resonance of your newly launched pricing model.
3. Use buyer feedback to build credibility.
Internal alignment is often derailed by conflicting executive opinions. The most powerful tool a product marketer or revenue operations leader has is objective market truth.
"There is no better way for product marketers to gain credibility within an organization or to gather support for initiatives than bringing the voice of the customer into the equation," Sanjay explains. "Cite a customer testimonial, and all arguments come to an end because that's the end of opinions. Opinions, while very interesting, are not very valuable. Direct customer feedback is."
Bringing direct buyer feedback into executive meetings is one of the most effective ways to make yourself credible, align the product roadmap with actual market needs, and secure cross-functional buy-in.
Want to hear the full interview?To hear the complete conversation with Sanjay Puri, [watch or listen to the full webinar here].
Looking to implement interviews at your own organization?Post-decision interviews are one of the best ways for revenue leaders to gain comprehensive competitive intelligence, validate core messaging, and truly capture the voice of the buyer. [Learn more about starting your interview program with Clozd here].
.svg)
.svg)
