Gainsight's Quarterly Business Review (QBR)

Quarterly Business Reviews or QBRs play a crucial role in the ongoing success of a company by providing a structured framework for evaluation, planning, and adjustment. Quarterly business review meetings provide organizations with the space necessary to evaluate the company's performance over the previous quarter, analyze market trends, identify opportunities, and address challenges to ensure the company is on the right track, and ensure that the activities and initiatives of different departments align with the overall goals and objectives of the organization. This is a space where teams can come together to evaluate their performance and plan for a successful future. 

Quarterly business reviews are vital for keeping your business on track and identifying areas for growth. But, without a structured meeting agenda template, these meetings can easily become disorganized and unproductive. That's where Fellow’s Quarterly Business Review Meeting Agenda Template comes in! With this template, you can make sure your quarterly business review meetings run smoothly from start to finish by: 

• Tracking progress on key metrics and KPIs
• Discussing and making data-driven decisions to drive growth
• Setting clear goals and objectives do discuss during the meeting
• Identifying challenges and opportunities to address in the upcoming quarter

Key sections of a Quarterly Business Review

A quarterly business review or QBR meeting is. Strategic session where team members come together to evaluate performance, discuss goals, and plan for the upcoming quarter. A well-structured quarterly business review meeting agenda template will typically include the following sections: 

1. Introduction 

This section of the quarterly business review template is where the meeting facilitator will briefly welcome meeting participants and set the tone for the quarterly business review meeting. The meeting facilitator should reiterate the purpose of conducting a business review and reviewing quarterly performance.

2. Agenda Review 

This section of the quarterly business review template is where the meeting facilitator will review the meeting agenda with the group. This section of the business review template should be used to provide meeting participants with an overview of what they can expect during the meeting by managing expectations and providing clarity on the topics that will be covered. 

3. Review of Previous Quarters Goals 

This section of the quarterly business review template is where your team will dive into your goals from the previous quarter. You can use this time to celebrate your wins and cover any goals that may not have been met. It's important to get granular and identify why certain goals may not have been achieved. 

4. Financial Performance

Analyzing your financial performance from the previous quarter is a crucial component that must be included when presenting quarterly business reviews. This section of the quarterly business review template is where your team will dive into your financial metrics and KPIs for the previous quarter. 

5. Operational Highlights 

This section of the quarterly business review template is where you and your teammates will discuss operational challenges and achievements. You can use this time to discuss key projects, milestones, and any significant operational changes that occurred during the quarter. 

6. Sales and Marketing Review 

When conducting a business review, it's important to dive into all facets of the business, including sales and marketing. This section of the quarterly business review template is where your team will discuss the achievements and pitfalls of your sales and marketing efforts. Topics that may be discussed include but aren’t limited to lead generation, customer acquisition, conversion rates, and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

7. Customer Feedback 

This section of the quarterly business review template is where you and your teammates will review customer satisfaction and feedback. It's important to discuss any notable customer success stories, address customer complaints or concerns, and analyze feedback to identify areas for future improvement. 

8. Market Trends and Competitor Analysis 

When presenting a quarterly business review, it's important to look outward, and analyze industry trends and any changes that may be occurring in your respective industry. This section of the quarterly business review template should be used to analyze the competitive landscape and identify any opportunities or threats that may impact your business in the upcoming quarter. 

9. Quarterly Goals for Upcoming Quarter 

This section of the quarterly business review template is where you and your teammates will outline your goals and objectives for the upcoming quarter. It's important to use this time to define key performance indicators and metrics that can be used to measure success. 

10. Resource Allocation and Budgeting 

The resource allocation and budgeting section of the quarterly business review template is where your team will get granular and allocate your resources for the upcoming quarter. Take the time to review your budget and allocate your resources in alignment with your goals and objectives. 

11. Open Discussion

This section of the quarterly business review template is where you will open the floor to collaborative discussions. During this time, it's important to encourage your teammates to be part of the conversation. 

12. Next Steps and Action Items 

If you take any best practices for business reviews into consideration, take this one. The next steps and action items section of the quarterly business review template is where key takeaways, action items, responsibilities, and deadlines will be summarized. This section of the quarterly business review template will foster alignment and accountability. 

13. Closing Remarks 

The closing remarks section of the quarterly business review template is where the meeting facilitator will provide their closing remarks, thank participants for their time, and reinforce the importance of conducting a business review. 

Best Practices for Planning for Quarterly Business Review

Quarterly business reviews are essential for evaluating your company's progress and setting goals for the future. To make the most out of your quarterly business review meetings, follow these steps: 

1. Set Meeting Objectives

Before the meeting, determine the key objectives you want to achieve. This may include reviewing financial performance, analyzing customer feedback, assessing marketing strategies, or discussing team productivity. 

2. Review Previous Goals and Outcomes

Start the meeting by reviewing the goals you set during the previous quarter's review. Evaluate the outcomes and progress made towards each goal and identify any wins or areas for improvement. This will provide valuable context for the current review and help you track your organization's overall growth.

3. Analyze KPIs

Next, analyze your KPIs. This may include metrics pertaining revenue, customer acquisition, customer retention, website traffic, or social media engagement. Use data and analytics to evaluate the performance of each KPI and identify trends or areas that need attention during the upcoming quarter. 

4. Discuss Challenges and Opportunities

Engage in a constructive discussion with your team about the challenges and opportunities your business is facing. Encourage everyone to share their insights and perspectives. It's important to use this time to identify any obstacles that may be hindering progress and brainstorm potential solutions as a team. 

5. Set Goals and Action Items 

Based on the insights gained from the review, set new SMART goals and action items for the upcoming quarter. Ensure teammates understand their unique responsibilities and their due dates. This will help keep everyone accountable and focused on achieving shared goals during the upcoming quarter. 

Why this Quarterly Business Review Template is better in Fellow

‍Are you planning a quarterly business review meeting and need a meeting agenda template to get started? Try this quarterly business review template in Fellow.

With Fellow, getting started with a quarterly business review template is as simple as choosing from one of hundreds of pre-built templates complete with recommended talking points, tweaking it with custom headers and talking points unique to your meeting, and bringing it to life during your next quarterly business review!

When you choose to leverage a business review template in Fellow, it automatically connects with your calendar and shows up side-by-side in your meeting calls for the ultimate distraction free meeting experience! And if you don’t have the capacity to build out your own talking points, you can leverage Fellow’s AI agenda builder to add talking points to your sections in a matter of minutes.

‍

Quarterly Business Review FAQs

1. What is the difference between a quarterly business review and annual planning sessions? 

While annual planning sessions focus on long-term strategies and goals, quarterly business reviews of QBRs are conducted quarterly to review and adjust these plans based on recent performance and changes in the business environment. QBRs provide a more frequent and dynamic assessment whereas yearly planning sessions are more fluid. 

2. What key metrics are discussed during a quarterly business review? 

Common metrics discussed during quarterly business review meetings include financial performance indicators (revenue, expenses, profit margins), customer satisfaction scores, key performance indicators (KPIs) related to business objectives, and any other relevant metrics specific to your organization.

3. How can I measure the success of a quarterly business review? 

Success in quarterly business review meetings can be measured by the achievement of goals set during the meeting, improvements in key performance indicators, successful problem resolution, and positive impacts on overall business performance. How you measure success will depend on the unique goals and KPIs you have set for your team. 

4. How can I facilitate an effective quarterly business review? 

To ensure productive quarterly business review meetings, organizations must establish a comprehensive meeting agenda, encourage open communication, focus on data-driven discussions, involve key stakeholders, and follow up on action items identified during the meeting.

5. What are common challenges when conducting quarterly business reviews? 

Common challenges that often arise during quarterly business review meetings include sourcing accurate and timely data, ensuring active participation from all relevant stakeholders, addressing conflicting priorities, and effectively balancing the review of past performance with future planning.