Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs): Using Data to Have Better Meetings
Structuring quarterly reviews so you're tracking progress, identifying problems, and planning ahead.
Every quarter, you meet to review how the business is doing.
But most QBRs are unfocused:
- 30 minutes of people presenting slides
- No clear decisions made
- Everyone leaves confused about what to do next
A good QBR uses data to:
- Assess past performance
- Understand what changed
- Plan for next quarter
The QBR Structure
Part 1: The Scorecard (20 minutes)
What happened last quarter?
Present your key metrics:
| KPI | Q2 Target | Q2 Actual | Status | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $225k | $234k | ✓ | ↑ +8% |
| Customer count | 200 | 234 | ✓ | ↑ +17% |
| Churn rate | 4% | 6% | ✗ | ↑ -2% |
| CAC | $1,500 | $1,200 | ✓ | ↓ -20% |
| NRR | 110% | 115% | ✓ | ↑ +5% |
Go through each:
- Green (on track): Quick acknowledgement. Move on.
- Yellow (watch): Explain why. What will we do?
- Red (problem): Deep dive. Root cause? Fix plan?
The scorecard should take 20 minutes. Not three hours.
Part 2: The Deep Dive (30 minutes)
Pick 2-3 biggest surprises and understand them deeply.
Example: “Churn doubled. Let’s understand why.”
Questions to ask:
- Which segments are churning? (SMB vs. Enterprise?)
- Which cohorts? (New customers vs. existing?)
- Which reasons? (Feature gaps? Price? Support?)
- Is this trend or noise? (One bad customer or systemic?)
Use data to answer. Don’t guess.
Part 3: The Retrospective (20 minutes)
What did we expect? What actually happened? What did we learn?
What we planned:
- Launch [feature] to improve retention
- Shift ad spend from [Channel A] to [Channel B]
- Hire two engineers
What actually happened:
- Launched [feature] late; adoption only 20% (vs. 60% target)
- Shifted spend; Channel B worked better (+30% ROAS vs. 2x ROAS expected)
- Hired one engineer; other hire fell through
Lessons learned:
- Feature launches take longer than estimated
- Channel B has more upside than we thought
- Hiring is bottleneck (plan for earlier in next quarter)
This retrospective prevents repeating mistakes.
Part 4: Next Quarter Planning (30 minutes)
Given what we learned, what should we focus on?
Set 3-5 OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) for next quarter:
Objective 1: Reduce SMB churn
- Key Result: Churn drops from 10% to 8%
- Owner: [CS Manager]
- Actions: (1) Improve onboarding for SMB, (2) Build [missing feature], (3) Outreach to 20 at-risk SMB customers
Objective 2: Grow MRR to $260k
- Key Result: +10% MoM growth
- Owner: [Growth Lead]
- Actions: (1) Scale Channel B spend, (2) Launch new feature, (3) Run customer expansion campaign
Objective 3: Improve CAC payback to <10 months
- Key Result: Payback drops from 11 to 9 months
- Owner: [Product Lead]
- Actions: (1) Reduce onboarding time, (2) Improve activation rate, (3) Test pricing changes
Each OKR should be specific and measurable. At the end of Q3, you’ll know if you achieved it.
Pre-QBR Preparation
Don’t go into QBR unprepared.
One week before:
Send pre-read materials:
- One-pager with metrics (scorecard)
- Deep dive on 2-3 issues (so people read beforehand)
- List of questions you want answered
People read before the meeting. The meeting is focused discussion, not information transfer.
Day before:
Sanity check the numbers.
- Are they accurate?
- Are there data errors?
- Can you explain any anomalies?
Walk through the presentation alone (or with a trusted colleague).
QBR Cadence
Monthly check-in (30 minutes): Quick metrics review. Any immediate issues?
Quarterly business review (2 hours): Full assessment. Planning for next quarter.
Annual planning (4-8 hours): Full-year review. Strategic planning. Budget allocation.
Don’t skip QBRs. They’re your chance to take stock and plan ahead.
Making It Data-Driven
Common QBR mistakes:
Mistake 1: Too much time on good news
30 minutes celebrating wins, 10 minutes on problems.
You know what’s working. Focus on what’s not.
Mistake 2: Speculating instead of investigating
“Churn is up, probably because of [guess].”
Actually investigate. Look at data. Talk to customers.
Mistake 3: No accountability
Owners not assigned to OKRs.
“We should improve churn.” — Who? By when?
Every OKR needs a clear owner.
Mistake 4: No follow-up
After QBR, nothing changes.
Use the OKRs to guide weekly/monthly priorities.
Check in on progress monthly.
The Takeaway
A good QBR:
- Takes stock of past quarter (what happened?)
- Understands surprises (why?)
- Plans for next quarter (what’s next?)
- Assigns clear ownership (who?)
Keep it focused. Use data. Make decisions.
We help you prepare QBR materials, identify the key stories in your quarterly data, and facilitate discussions that lead to decisions.