Quarterly Business Reviews: 10 Reasons Why Product Managers Should Participate

Regardless of industry or an organization’s size, as Product Leaders traverse their leadership role, their ultimate goal is to build world-class products and to impact and empower the people around them. Successful leaders understand that collaboration is crucial to realizing their goals fully.  

At the heart of an effective and productive cross-functional team is a Product Leader who participates in quarterly business reviews (QBR). 

What are Quarterly Business Reviews (QBR)?

Quarterly business reviews (QBR) are periodical gatherings with customers or multi-disciplinary teams such as Sales, Relationship Managers, or Customer Success to discuss their products and relationships. These discussions intend to ascertain and extrapolate our product and/or services' effect on our customer‘s businesses. Reviews are critical in organizations that cater to B2B and B2D clients.  Another reason these consultations are meaningful is to garner enhancements needed to help our clientele manage and grow their businesses. 

QBR get-togethers are frequently led by Sales, Relationship Managers, or Customer Success Managers. They are invaluable and instrumental in these teams' selling, cross-selling, customer satisfaction, and retention responsibilities. This is why Product Leaders and their leaders must participate in these sessions. 

10 Benefits of Quarterly Business Reviews for Product Leaders

Here are my ten benefits as to why Product Leaders should partake, engage, sit in on, and even present during these roundtables: 

1. The exchanges and assessments during QBRs help Product Management teams and their leaders discern their customer’s business objectives and goals.  

During QBRs, Product Managers can review usage metrics, discuss feature requests, and solicit feedback on the Product roadmap. This information helps Product Managers prioritize development efforts and identify areas for improvement. Additionally, QBRs provide a forum for Product Managers to educate their customers on new features and functionality and to discuss strategies for leveraging the product to achieve business objectives.

2. QBRs provide Product Management teams with insights into the motivations and impetus of other functions like Sales, Relationship Managers, or Customer Success teams. 

By engaging in these reviews, Product Managers can learn more about the tactics and strategies used by the above teams to drive customer engagement and adoption. They can also uncover potential misalignments between the product offering and the customer's needs. Additionally, QBRs provide a platform for cross-functional collaboration, allowing Product Management teams to work more closely with sales and customer success teams to develop a shared understanding of the customer and their needs.

3. Participating in QBRs helps foster a successful and robust underpinning and footprint with your customers, Sales, Relationship Managers, or Customer Success teams. In addition, it demonstrates investment in their success. 

By actively participating in the process, Product Management teams can better understand the customer's needs, expectations, and business objectives. They can also establish themselves as a trusted partner and mentor, providing valuable insights and guidance on product strategy and development. By fostering open communication and collaboration, Product Management teams can help ensure their customers' ongoing success and build a strong underpinning and footprint for their organization.

4. Partaking in QBRs helps to build trust with your customers, Sales, Relationship Managers, or Customer Success teams. It demonstrates your willingness to roll up your sleeves and help solve the problems and challenges they face and that you see it through. 

Product Management teams can demonstrate their willingness to solve problems and overcome challenges collaboratively. By actively listening to customer feedback and concerns and offering creative and practical solutions, cross-functional teams can establish themselves as trusted partners and advisors. This level of engagement and commitment helps build confidence and trust, demonstrating to customers and partners that Product Management teams are invested in their success and willing to go the extra mile to see it through.

5. Customer, Sales, Relationship Managers, or Customer Success QBRs are of immeasurable worth because they help the Product team gather and understand product and service feedback. 

Engaging with these key stakeholders allows Product Management teams to understand better how their products are being used, what features are most valuable, and where there may be room for improvement. These reviews also provide an opportunity to identify emerging trends and potential areas of innovation, helping Product Management teams stay ahead of the curve. By leveraging the insights gathered during QBRs, Product Management teams can make more informed decisions about product strategy, prioritize development efforts, and ultimately deliver more value to customers and the organization. As such, QBRs are critical to an effective Product Management strategy.

6. Product teams gather and identify industry and marketplace conditions, trends, and their impact on customers' business. 

Quarterly business reviews (QBRs) are a valuable opportunity for product teams to gain insights into industry and marketplace conditions and emerging trends that may impact their customer's business. By actively participating in these reviews, Product Management teams can identify potential opportunities for innovation and growth and develop strategies for responding to changing market conditions.

7. A benefit of attending QBRs is that Product teams can partner with their customers (especially power users) to join focus groups and advisory boards or participate in other customer activities you might have in the future. 

Product teams can gain valuable insights into their customers' needs, preferences, and pain points by participating in focus groups, advisory boards, and other customer activities. This information can help Product Managers identify new features or improvements to existing products that align with their customer's needs, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

8. QBRs enable Product teams to share updates to their publicly-facing roadmap and discuss how impactful the execution of the features and enhancements will be for their customer’s businesses and how it will aid them in growing and managing their businesses. 

This information can help Product Managers prioritize product development efforts and ensure that their roadmap aligns with the needs of their customers. Additionally, by discussing the potential impact of new features and enhancements, Product teams can demonstrate their commitment to helping customers grow and manage their businesses, which can enhance the customer's perception of the product and the company as a whole.

9. Keeping an open mind to commentary and recommendations will help us think about our products and services differently, as we are too close sometimes to see the needed changes. 

As a Product Leader, it's essential to maintain an open mind regarding customer and team members' feedback. Being too close to a product can make it difficult to see changes, so soliciting input from sources can provide valuable insights and opportunities for improvement. In addition, by actively seeking and considering feedback, Product Leaders can discover new perspectives and ideas they may have yet to consider. This can lead to a fresh approach to product development and an improved understanding of customers' needs and preferences. 

10. Ask Sales, Relationship Managers, or Customer Success Managers what value you can add to these discussions and come prepared to discuss roadmap, metrics, and benchmarks. 

Product Managers should come prepared to share information about the Product roadmap, metrics, and benchmarks that can help them understand customer needs and preferences. By working with these customer-facing teams, Product Managers can gain insights into customer pain points, challenges, and choices, which can help inform product development efforts. Additionally, sharing roadmap information and performance metrics can help build customer trust by demonstrating the company's commitment to continuously improving the product and delivering value to customers.