How to turn unstructured content of an interview into actionable data
Read MorePeer Survey Professionals
Customer Interviews and Win/Loss Analysis
Get the outside-in perspective on why you win and lose deals.
Peer-level, confidential interviews give you detailed and frank feedback.
PSP helps you prioritize the actions that will win you more business.
Services
Market Test Interviews
Market Test Interviews gauge interest in new offerings. The focus is on customer problems, existing solutions, and reaction to proposed offering.
Pre-decision Interviews
Pre-decision Interviews find out why prospects do not advance beyond a download or a pilot. The focus is on customer needs, alternatives, and sales engagement.
Win/Loss Interviews
Win/Loss Interviews determine how and why customers make their competitive choices. The focus is on buyer criteria and vendor ratings, gathering critical comparative feedback about your product, marketing and sales engagement.
Churn Interviews
Churn Interviews find out why customers do not renew contracts. The focus is on customer needs, satisfaction, competitors and substitutes.
Why PSP?
Peer-level Interviews
We only use executive-level interviewers with requisite technical and business domain knowledge to conduct interviews of your customers. Senior-level decision-makers respond to and appreciate the meaningfulness and efficiency of our peer-level interviews. A consultative, peer-to-peer style puts our respondents at ease and encourages them to talk freely about their experiences with an equal.
Blind, Anonymous Interviews
Anonymous interviewing encourages respondents to speak freely. We conduct both blind and non-blind interviews. Wherever possible, we recommend the use of blind and anonymous interviews because they are the most objective source of customer opinion available. With respondent permission, we record the interview and you get a verbatim transcript of what was said. It’s as if you were a fly on the wall, listening to two executives discuss the detailed reasons why they picked you or your competitor.
Patented Analytics
PSP analytics not only unambiguously identify the statistically significant reasons for wins and losses, they can forecast the revenue impact of competitive changes in the future—and help you optimize the competitive impact of your product and marketing investment.
Who We Serve
Client Roster
Testimonials
PSP Enterprises is an outstanding provider of competitive intelligence... I recommend PSP Enterprises to any company that needs to uncover what customers actually think as a means to improve sales effectiveness.
![John J. Keaney]()
John J. KeaneyBEA (Oracle)Read letter of recommendation It is my pleasure to recommend Richard Case to your organization... Richard is a seasoned professional who offers a unique set of valuable skills. Utilizing those skills will positively impact your business.
![Barry Klein]()
Barry KleinVignette Corporation (OpenText)Read letter of recommendation PSP Enterprises conducted an excellent win/loss project for Unisys... I recommend them to any vendor interested in what their customers really think of them and what they should do to improve their win rate.
![Paul Robertson]()
Paul RobertsonUnisys CorporationRead letter of recommendationIndustry Segments
These are the main industry segments we have researched in the past.
| API Management | Document Management (EDM) | SAN and NAS |
| Application Infrastructure / Platforms | Enterprise Portal | Security |
| Application Integration (EAI) | Hyperconverged Infrastructure | Software Testing |
| Application Lifecycle Management | Hypervisors | Sourcing |
| Application Server | Integrated Document Management (IDM) | Spend Analysis |
| Backup/Recovery | Learning Management Systems (LMS) | Storage Management |
| Big Data Analytics | Network Security Management | Supplier Relationship Management |
| Business Activity Monitoring | Population Health and Value-based Care | Web Content Management |
| Business Process Management | Pricing Optimization and Modeling | Web Globalization |
| Cloud Platforms | Professional Services | Web Services |
| Content Management (ECM) | Procurement | |
| Compliance Management | Records Management | |
| Converged Systems | RFID Middleware |
Methodology
PSP's research methodology combines peer-level interviewing with patented analytics to provide insight into the reasons why business is won and lost at the individual deal level and in aggregate.
We only use executive-level interviewers to conduct interviews of your customers. Our peer-level interviewers put executives at ease and get them to talk.
Anonymous interviewing encourages respondents to speak freely. We conduct both blind and non-blind interviews. Wherever possible, we recommend blind and anonymous interviews to remove potential customer bias. When we conduct blind interviews, we present ourselves as market researchers and ask respondents for their help in our work. When we conduct non-blind interviews, we introduce ourselves as working for our client and proceed with the interview.
Before contacting customers, we work with you to create custom questionnaires specifically for your products or services. Our questionnaires probe the issues you want to understand in depth, while preserving the flexibility to speak about unanticipated concerns.
We secure the respondent’s permission to record the interview for analysis purposes, and produce a verbatim transcript of that conversation with an executive summary of key comments.
We only use executive-level interviewers to conduct interviews of your customers. Our peer-level interviewers put executives at ease and get them to talk.
Anonymous interviewing encourages respondents to speak freely. We conduct both blind and non-blind interviews. Wherever possible, we recommend blind and anonymous interviews to remove potential customer bias. When we conduct blind interviews, we present ourselves as market researchers and ask respondents for their help in our work. When we conduct non-blind interviews, we introduce ourselves as working for our client and proceed with the interview.
Before contacting customers, we work with you to create custom questionnaires specifically for your products or services. Our questionnaires probe the issues you want to understand in depth, while preserving the flexibility to speak about unanticipated concerns.
We secure the respondent’s permission to record the interview for analysis purposes, and produce a verbatim transcript of that conversation with an executive summary of key comments.
Deliverables
Interview Transcripts
Full verbatim transcript with an executive summary of key issues and supporting customer quotes.
Learn MoreAnalysis and Recommendations
Recommended actions with the quantitative analysis and supporting customer quotes to back them up.
Learn MoreVerbatim Customer Comments
The respondent’s permission is obtained to record the interview for analysis purposes. You receive a verbatim transcript of what was said, with key customer comments identified. Verbatim comments carry weight and credibility because they are NOT written by anyone in your sales or marketing departments and then signed by the customer. Instead, these are “direct from the horse’s mouth” comments about why you or your competitor were selected. Use them to exemplify findings from quantitative analysis of interviews in aggregate--they are your strongest message for action.
PSP Builder Analytics
PSP Builder is analytic software you can use to perform analysis on customer interview data collected for you by PSP Enterprises. You can explore the detailed reasons why you have won and lost competitive contests and determine the prioritized actions needed to improve performance in the future. PSP Builder lays out its findings in a graphic format that is easy to understand and present. It even automatically generates Microsoft PowerPoint slides that you can use in your executive briefs and sales training events.
PSP Builder runs on your PC with Microsoft Excel. It is straightforward to use, so a new analyst can begin doing meaningful investigation of transcript data within 15 minutes. PSP Builder can execute entirely on-premises and does not rely on any external portal to run or store data; sensitive transcript and analysis data stay inside the four walls of your organization.
SE
LECT INTERVIEWS
Why are you losing to a particular competitor? Why is your win-rate higher in one region than another? What are winning reps doing that everyone else needs to know about? PSP Builder lets you slice and dice interview data by selecting interviews according to any combination of criteria. Analysis of these selected interviews in aggregate makes it easy to visually compare customer opinion in different regions, across different product lines, and across different periods of time.
Click here to learn more about interview selection.
ANALYZE INTERVIEWS
PSP Builder generates charts which show the prioritized reasons why you win and lose deals. All charts provide statistical confidence measures which help you distinguish those issues which are statistically significant from those which are merely anecdotal.
By applying these quantified findings to your future sales pipeline, PSP Builder helps you forecast the revenue impact of changes in the competitive environment and analyze tradeoffs among the changes you make in your product or marketing. At any time, customer quotes relevant to any decision criterion are just a click away.
Click here to learn more about interview analysis.
PRESENT FINDINGS
PSP Builder makes it easy to share your findings and recommendations. It automatically exports charts you build to PowerPoint slides using your company's template. It even generates detailed speaker notes that explain how to read the charts.
Process
Our research process is a nine-step cycle from the beginning of a new engagement to the implementation of recommended actions from research findings. We work most closely with you at the head and tail ends of this process, and independently on the rest. Some customers conclude the research with one cycle, but most repeat it on a regular basis in order to measure market response to changes they make in their strategy and tactics, to watch for changes by their competitors, and to have a continually up-to-date source of independent competitive intelligence to drive tactical and strategic planning throughout the company.
Click here to download our Getting Started Guide for new clients.
Click here to download our Getting Started Guide for new clients.
Samples
Our questionnaires probe the issues you want to understand in depth, while preserving the flexibility to speak about unanticipated concerns.
Read More
Verbatim transcripts identify key issues and customer comments in an executive summary, as well as a quantitative analysis of the criteria for the decision made in each interview transcript.
Read More
This is a sample Executive Presentation. It is targeted to answer the question, "What needs to be done?"
Read MoreEthics
Respondent Anonymity
PSP Enterprises guarantees that respondents' answers are completely anonymous, and that neither any respondent's nor any company’s name will be published in any analysis or written report. Should any such report be presented, we will pay the respondent or company $10,000.
Client Confidentiality
PSP Enterprises guarantees that the research conducted on the behalf of our clients will be done with the strictest confidentiality. We work under the terms of your company's NDA. Our clients are never revealed to their customers at any point. All company and respondent answers are completely confidential and will never be published in any outside analysis.
Code of Conduct
PSP Enterprises strictly adheres to the Strategic and Competitive Professionals' code of ethics.
Learn More
Business Accreditation
PSP Enterprises has proudly earned an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. There has never been a single complaint filed against PSP Enterprises in over twenty years of BBB accreditation.
Learn MoreAbout Us
Ken Schwarz
Managing Principal
Ken manages all aspects of peer interviews and win/loss analysis for high technology clients. Ken draws from his 25 years of experience in enterprise IT sales, marketing, product development, and service delivery at HPE/SimpliVity, Pegasystems, GE Digital, and Progress Software.
Richard Case
Principal
With over 30 years of experience, Richard H. Case is an expert in the field of high-tech market research. A former Gartner Vice President, Richard created PSP Enterprises to directly address the shortfalls in the industry. By using IT professionals and leveraging his own decades of knowledge, Richard H. Case has redefined market research in a way that leads to direct, actionable results.
Salvador Viñals Uyà
Program Director
Salvador performs peer interviews for high technology clients. He brings more than 20 years of experience in enterprise IT product management and professional services at Progress Software in the USA and EMEA, as well as having co-founded several IT ISV startups in Barcelona, Spain. Currently he lives in México. Salvador is fluent in Spanish, Catalan, and English.
Mary Case
Editor
Mary ensures the preparation of error-free, consistent, and high-quality transcripts for all PSP interviews. Every PSP interview transcript is reviewed three times by two professionals in order to correct all transcription errors and redact confidential information.
Win/loss Best Practices & Pitfalls
Apr 11, 2022
Win/Loss Best Practice #3: Prioritize top competitive issues
Mar 25, 2022
Win/Loss Pitfall #3: Overly-scripted, canned, or "robotic" interviews
Feb 22, 2022
Win/Loss Best Practice #2: Know your ROI
Feb 03, 2022
Win/Loss Pitfall #2: Too many or too few interviews
Jan 17, 2022
Win/Loss Best Practice #1: Confidential interviews
Dec 16, 2021
Win/Loss Pitfall #1: Not Getting Sales Buy-in
Fintech
The subtle and surprising reasons why you examine both wins and losses in fintech.
Read MoreFinTech expert Dan Hubscher and PSP's Richard Case kick off this new blog series on topics related to win/loss in the financial services technology sector.
Read MoreIn FinTech, competition comes from in-house teams as much as rival vendors. Here's how to approach that issue in win/loss.
Read MoreThe reasons to use domain experts rather than robots for win/loss interviews.
Read MoreReps can't tell you why they won or lost--only the customer can say.
Read MoreContact
- 19 Richard Road, Lexington, MA 02421
- 433 Sylvan Ave, Suite 124, Mountain View, CA 94041
Partners
Changing Market Strategies
Changing Market Strategies is a certified PSP partner specialized in the delivery of PSP services to vendors serving the financial services industry.
Learn More
Rockstar CMO Advisors
Rockstar CMO Advisors is a certified PSP partner that provides consulting advisory services and fractional marketing leadership to B2B CEOs and CMOs developing strategies that drive growth.
Learn MoreF.A.Q.
What are the Critical Success Factors for a Win/Loss program?
Here are the top 7 factors for a successful win/loss interview program.
- High level management commitment.
- Sales management buy-in.
- Field education and sales reps' buy-in.
- Memo from high level manager to field stating expectations that sales reps participate.
- Provide 3x the number of names as the targeted number of completed interviews.
- For blind interviews, CUSTOMERS MUST NOT BE TOLD WE WILL BE CALLING.
- Respond to our status and bugging messages. We are very, very persistent.
How many interviews should you do?
The short answer is always that more interviews yield more confidence in the results.
Our philosophy is that each and every interview should be conducted to the absolute highest level of quality such that each transcript is a valuable deliverable in its own right. That is why we only use experienced IT professionals as the interviewers. However, based on our experience and analysis in prior engagements, the following provides a “rule of thumb” for the number of interviews required to get to an given level of estimated statistical confidence:
8 interviews = 80% statistical confidence
10 interviews = 85% statistical confidence
12 interviews = 90% statistical confidence
15 interviews = 95% statistical confidence
Wins and losses should be counted separately. We therefore recommend 16 interviews in total (8 wins and 8 losses) to generate an 80% level of statistical confidence in the reasons found for both wins and losses. Without sufficient win interviews we cannot address your real strengths versus your competitors' weaknesses, and without sufficient loss interviews we cannot address your real weaknesses versus your competitors' strengths
Our philosophy is that each and every interview should be conducted to the absolute highest level of quality such that each transcript is a valuable deliverable in its own right. That is why we only use experienced IT professionals as the interviewers. However, based on our experience and analysis in prior engagements, the following provides a “rule of thumb” for the number of interviews required to get to an given level of estimated statistical confidence:
8 interviews = 80% statistical confidence
10 interviews = 85% statistical confidence
12 interviews = 90% statistical confidence
15 interviews = 95% statistical confidence
Wins and losses should be counted separately. We therefore recommend 16 interviews in total (8 wins and 8 losses) to generate an 80% level of statistical confidence in the reasons found for both wins and losses. Without sufficient win interviews we cannot address your real strengths versus your competitors' weaknesses, and without sufficient loss interviews we cannot address your real weaknesses versus your competitors' strengths
Why not just ask the sales reps?
Losing sales reps probably did not understand what the customer wanted. If you ask the losing sales reps why they lost, they won’t know the real reasons. If you rely on them to find out why you were beaten and implement changes based on this misinformation, you will be wasting money.
Why do both wins AND losses?
Sometimes the best compliments come from the customers where you lost and the most stinging complaints come from those where you won. You need to hear all the feedback to take action
What's better? Blind or non-blind interviews?
We conduct both blind and non-blind interviews. Wherever possible, we recommend blind/anonymous interviews to ensure customer honesty.
Can you do multiple interviews for a single contest?
Yes, any number of interviews can be done. Generally, only one interview is done per contest.
What is the maximum number of interviews your company can handle?
We can handle any number of interviews. In any number of countries. In any number of local languages
What is the relationship between your interview methodology and doing focus groups?
Focus groups are a great way to explore customer opinion with open questions, but they have one fatal flaw: the loudest person in the room pushes the rest of the group in one direction. This biases the results. Our one-on-one interviews obtain the same kind of hard-hitting customer statements without this bias
Where do your statistical methods come from?
A Ph.D. in statistics was hired from Stanford Research Institute (SRI) International. The Ph.D. was shown the interviewing technique we use, the scoring, and so on. This Ph.D. was provided actual data which was used to craft the correct formulas to use.
Can you handle international interviews?
Interviews can be done in any country you require. In any language needed. We use local Silicon Valley experienced IT professionals who are native language speakers. These interviews are done using long distance phone calls. We do it this way to insure high quality, consistent interviews. Interviews are conducted during normal business hours for the target country, in other words, we will interview late at night or early in the morning if needed. The recorded tapes are then translated into English.
What about resellers?
If you use resellers such as SIs, VARs, OEMs, the challenge is to give them an incentive to participate and to avoid giving them the impression that you are checking up on them.
What does the name "PSP Enterprises" represent?
PSP stands for “Peer Survey Professionals,” a name which highlights the fact that we use only industry experts to interview customers. The senior decision-makers we interview respond because we can engage them in a meaningful and interesting conversation.
How do win/loss interviews relate to Six Sigma?
PSP Enterprises' win/loss research methodology implements and helps support a broader Six Sigma initiative. (Here, we refer to www.isixsigma.com for terminology definitions.)
Voice Of the Customer (VOC)
The "voice of the customer" is a process used to capture the requirements/feedback from customers in order to improve product or service quality. It is a proactive and continuously innovative process that captures the changing requirements of customers over time.
The PSP Enterprises Win/Loss interviewing methodology is the very best kind of “Voice of the Customer” input as it is done using blind interviews conducted by an executive peer interviewer. There is no better, hard-hitting, and unfiltered input than win/loss to feed your customer requirements gathering process.
Trend Analysis and a feedback loop
Trend Analysis and a feedback loop form a process of analyzing data to identify underlying longer-term trends. PSP Enterprises provides a statistically valid method of measuring changing customer opinion, over time, relative to specific changes you and the competition have made in your products, services, and marketing. If Win/Loss interviewing is conducted repeatedly over time, it forms a feedback loop to directly measure the return on investment (ROI) of any actions you have done to impact customer opinion.
Voice Of the Customer (VOC)
The "voice of the customer" is a process used to capture the requirements/feedback from customers in order to improve product or service quality. It is a proactive and continuously innovative process that captures the changing requirements of customers over time.
The PSP Enterprises Win/Loss interviewing methodology is the very best kind of “Voice of the Customer” input as it is done using blind interviews conducted by an executive peer interviewer. There is no better, hard-hitting, and unfiltered input than win/loss to feed your customer requirements gathering process.
Trend Analysis and a feedback loop
Trend Analysis and a feedback loop form a process of analyzing data to identify underlying longer-term trends. PSP Enterprises provides a statistically valid method of measuring changing customer opinion, over time, relative to specific changes you and the competition have made in your products, services, and marketing. If Win/Loss interviewing is conducted repeatedly over time, it forms a feedback loop to directly measure the return on investment (ROI) of any actions you have done to impact customer opinion.