Alteryx Win-Loss Insights: How Competitive Intelligence Drives Strategy

Question 1

Just tell us about yourself and your role there at Alteryx.

Accepted Answer

I'm a senior product strategist, primarily focusing on competitive intelligence. I've been at Alteryx for three years, and part of my role involves win-loss analysis, which is how the partnership with Clozd came about.

Question 2

Tell us about the win-loss program at Alteryx and how you utilize it. Let's get into the details.

Accepted Answer

The partnership started before I joined Alteryx and has been going on for about five years now. It's really grown over that time, especially in the three years I've been part of the team. By working with Clozd month in and month out, they get to know our business more each month, which helps fine-tune the research they conduct for us.

Question 3

How have you seen the program evolve over that time? Obviously, you said five years is a long time to be doing a win-loss program. How has it evolved over those years?

Accepted Answer

Our product portfolio has significantly evolved over those five years, and because of that, the win-loss program has evolved as well. Our partnership is unique in that we interview on a quarterly basis on niche topics, which helps reinforce our product roadmap and go-to-market initiatives.

Question 4

Can you tell us more about that? How do you target those different areas each quarter? How do you go about deciding which ones to go after or not go after? How has that process been on your side?

Accepted Answer

With any successful technology investment, it requires buy-in from the top down. On a quarterly basis, we meet with product and sales leadership to identify areas of interest. Some quarters focus on product enhancements, others on go-to-market strategies or customer success. The focus depends on leadership priorities.

Question 5

Is it every quarter you switch for sure? Are there some quarters you guys stay the same because you want to learn more? How do you guys go about that? Is there a certain cadence you kind of look for?

Accepted Answer

We try to focus on the same scope of research in the same quarter each year, but we don't replicate the same scope after each quarter. This allows us to gather different types of information from win-loss analysis. The scope from Q1 to Q2, for example, will vary drastically.

Question 6

What have been some of the benefits you've found by being able to switch the focus and the scopes on a kind of regular basis?

Accepted Answer

Doing win-loss analysis on a quarterly basis allows us to cover multiple areas of research each year. After each year, we can see trends across the different scopes, which helps us cover more ground than focusing on just one area per year.

Question 7

What do you look for in regards to competitive intelligence from win-loss?

Accepted Answer

There are three core pillars: pricing information (since discounting practices can vary), understanding why customers prefer our product over competitors, and collecting customer testimonials and references. These help us understand product differentiation and customer decision-making.

Question 8

How do you utilize the feedback from Clozd and Crayon together?

Accepted Answer

Before the integration, we used insights from Clozd win-loss reports and embedded them into our battle cards on Crayon. With the new integration, we can directly embed those insights into battle cards, giving sellers real-time information. For example, we recently updated a battle card in real time after winning a significant deal and learning about product differentiators.

Question 9

Have there been any areas where you guys have taken action based on the insights that you've gotten from win-loss?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for example, we learned about a competitor's takeout campaign through a win-loss report and were able to provide sales with talk tracks to navigate that campaign. This allowed us to respond quickly, rather than finding out later when it could have had a bigger impact.

Question 10

What are some suggestions or recommendations you would have for somebody that was just starting off on a win-loss program?

Accepted Answer

First, secure buy-in from leadership, as the distribution of insights depends on having a strong champion. Second, start small—focus on two or three areas you want to answer, and expand as you gather more information. Start small and have top-level buy-in.

Question 11

Is there anything else that you want to share about win-loss and how it's impacted yourself and your career?

Accepted Answer

Information is key, especially in the data and analytics space. The insights from the Clozd partnership provide unique information that analyst firms can't offer, such as why customers love our products versus the market. We value the partnership and look forward to future progress.

Alteryx Win-Loss Insights: How Competitive Intelligence Drives Strategy

Alteryx captures win-loss insights from different segments—and uses them to refine competitive strategy

Spencer Hong

Sr. Product Strategist, Competitive Intelligence

Q&A