Executive Business Review User Guide

Definition of an EBR

Executive Business Reviews (or EBRs) are business and value reviews conducted from a top-down, high-level perspective, designed to be presented to the district team that includes the Executive Sponsor and main POC(s) as well as any necessary cabinet and Superintendent involvement. It is a strategic partnership session with our customers.They will occur on a yearly basis during the EBR phase of the Annual Client Success Experience.

It's an annual touchpoint to:

• Align on goals and outcomes.
• Showcase any ROI achieved from the platform.
• Grow and nurture relationships with Executives. Build rapport and trust as the CSM
• Realign and/or recalibrate on any missed goals.

The Purpose: Ensuring the Customer…

• Understands the value we’ve achieved so far.
• Believes in the steps we’re going to take next
• Trusts us as a strategic partner moving forward
• Knows the rest of their management team is equally invested

Remember, we often communicate with our POC throughout the year, but the EBR ensures we're directly communicating our value and getting buy-in at an executive level. You don’t want to be in a place where you rely on your day to day contact to share the ROI of everything the platform is doing for the district, having them share it with the Supt. So we need to be in front of this to help them decide the future yearly. Set expectations from the beginning.

EBRs also zoom in on potential opportunities – analyzing market trends to propose initiatives, investments, and projects, all while scanning for ways in which you can collaborate and grow together.

Why EBR’s are Unique

With multiple vendors vying for their attention, it's crucial to differentiate our EBR:

• Not all customer engagements are alike. This one should feel different and not just like a regular check in with your POC. Tailor the EBR based on segment, needs, health, preference, and data.
• The ultimate aim of the EBR is to ensure alignment to the Customer Service Journey.

• Things have changed drastically at our company over the last year and it’s time to make sure each and every customer is ‘ON THE JOURNEY’
• Things may have changed in the district as well since the original purchase of the platform

• The goal of _____ is what was originally set out when purchased, is this still true today?
• Make sure everyone is still aligned and we have next steps solidified before leaving call/room to continue partnership and growth/expansion

Previous EBRs and Goal Setting

33 Districts were targeted for EBR’s in Q4 of 2022

• Districts were chosen based on Unresponsiveness to CSM, Superintendent Transitions, or a RED health score in Gainsight

20 EBR’s were completed for the 33 targeted districts

• 6 districts did not renew on 7/1/2023 (5 had been unresponsive for the entire year, 1 canceled as we were trying to plan an EBR -________________
• 3 remain unresponsive (_________________)
• _____________couldn’t get the Executive team to the table, but the CSM continued to meet with the POC regularly.
• _________, __________, and _________ all have had recent intervention to confirm the renewal, but remain at risk due to lack of engagement.

60% Achieved last year of targeted districts

Goals for the 2023 EBR Season:

1. 80% of Districts targeted for an EBR will have a completed EBR cycle by Dec 15 or Commit to Recommendations of the EBR

1. All Enterprise, High, Medium Plus, and Medium districts will be targeted for an EBR
2. Low segmented districts will be targeted based on health score, engagement score, CPD from school year, Success Plan status and completion from 2023, renewal date, and other risk factors identified.
3. 100% of low segmented districts will be sent their EBR digitally

2. 40% of Districts schedule their Annual Planning Meeting after their EBR
3. At the end of EBR season, risk forecast is established for all accounts into the 2024 calendar year.

• An EBR Dashboard has been established to track the data and analytics for the playbook and EBR cycle.

• An EBR Calendar has been established to allow for transparency and cross functional collaboration and support.
• An EBR Playbook has been established to define the key objectives, tasks and escalation paths throughout the EBR cycle.

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Prep for the EBR

Who will be in the room? Stakeholder Identification

Identify key stakeholders (these should be invited at a minimum):

• Best Case: Cabinet MeetingSuperintendent
• Executive Sponsor
• POC

• Goal is to marry what we want the executive cabinet to know and support us on and knowledge and support for the users and POC

Scheduling the EBR

• Email Templates here
• We are not the only vendor who will ask for their time.
• Choose between in-person or virtual meetings based on the customer's segment.

• Enterprise and High customers should have an in person EBR with as many relevant cabinet members as possible
• Medium Plus customers should have an in person EBR if possible with at minimum the POC, Exe Sponsor, and Supt if possible and/or any relevant cabinet members.
• All Medium customers should have an EBR virtually or in person if it makes sense where the key stakeholders are present on the virtual call.
• Identified at risk Low customers will be deemed as targets for virtual EBR’s with CSM and Sr Manager of CS.
• Low customers who have healthy customer scores will be invited to schedule an EBR, but if they do not respond by Oct 31, a personalized EBR slide deck,or a Success Snapshot, will be generated for them and sent digitally, to reflect and see their own ROI.

Prepping for the EBR

• Use the templated slide deck, ensuring customization for each customer.

• Does it pass the”so what” test? Will it make the Superintendent sit up out of their seat and care about what you are presenting?

• Most important part of the EBR is to think through the agenda, “What is the story you want to tell, who are the key stakeholders, what do they care about most?”
• Research the district’s strategic plan, key initiatives, upcoming bonds or referendum’s or any sensitive community issues that may be relevant to key planning for the EBR.
• Set up a call with your POC before or as you create the deck. Collaborate with your POC to draft an agenda and recognize key interests of the attendees. Ask your POC about the things the group will care about the most or any key projects to highlight in the EBR
• Send out the agenda for the overall EBR at least three business days in advance to seek any other items and to be respectful of their time using the email template.
• Anticipate any potential triggers or issues that may arise from data or goals discussed

Components of EBR - Bank of Templates for Slide deck

• Slide 1: New! Creating a Storyline Prep Slide-Internal Use only 

• This slide will allow all participating Company team members to prepare and own parts of the EBR if in attendance. CSM will complete all parts and it is the expectation that it is shared and reviewed at least 24 hours before meeting with the customer. For more complex meetings, more advance notice may be required. Don’t forget to delete or move this slide before sharing the deck with the district.

• Slide 2-4: Introductions/Agenda

• Steal pictures from Slack as needed and swap participating company colleagues in and out.

• Slide 5: Meeting Objectives:

• Ensure everyone agrees on today’s objectives; don’t feel the need to talk heavily through this as you’ll explain them all fully as you move.

• Slide 6: Executive Summary Page - Prepare only to have 15 minutes with the Supt- This Exe Summary should give him/her everything they need to know

• Slide 7: Current State- Usage and Adoption Metrics - begin with the standard metrics and then add any to impress 

• Slide 8: Success Plan Review

• Utilize the closed maturity model success plan in Gainsight from 2023 to give an overview of the goals of the plan and then identify any opportunities that didn’t get hit.
• If a new customer, review what was accomplished during onboarding from their success plan and begin roll out planning against Maturity Model
• Explain purpose of a Success Plan for us is to ensure momentum after this meeting and track progress for the continuing impact on the next back to school season, just like we did for this past year. This year, we’d like to make sure the Success Plan captures your strategic objectives in the plan as well

• Slide 9: NPS of The Platform in District

• Drop in any NPS scores gathered from Gainsight about the implementation and what it reveals about the district’s implementation so far

• Slide 10: District Strategic Plan Alignment

• Find at least 2-3 objectives with the district’s strategic plan, mission, Success Plan, Supt’s vision, or any other strategic priorities to align value drivers of the Platform with

• Slide 11: Recommendations for Goals and Use Cases

• Based on the district’s strategic objectives that you identified, suggest 3-4 larger feature, use case, or process recommendations for the Platform that align with directly impacting the district’s business case.

• Slide 12: Key Outcomes to expect as a result of implementing recommendations

• Pull from the EBR the Platform Value Drivers and Key Outcomes Library to align with Value Driver and Outcome Context

• Slide 13: Success Metrics:

• Lead a discussion with the group on how the district will measure success for these outcomes. Are they already measuring it within their strategic plan? Are there elements of the Platform that will be utilized for measurement of CX or will we need other instruments to measure outcomes, like surveys?

• Slide 14: Roadmap/Future features that are coming that are relevant to them

• Slide will be made by Design, Product and Marketing to tease any specific feature releases and NPS Pulse survey pilots.

• Slide 15: Agreement on Commitments, Features, People, Timeline, and Success Metrics

• Capture these right in the slide if desired or wherever works best for you

Change Management Elements to Consider when Prepping:

• Districts aren’t always having conversations about their customer service as an entire district about what is working well or not; these may be happening at the district level or in leadership only; How do we get them to have these district wide and ensure it becomes a part of their strategic plan or a core value?
• Are there other Company products that you could upsell (Engage, Managed Projects or PD) to help move the needle for the district on their overall Customer Service goals?
• Displacement conversations can be crucial during an EBR, highlighting more of what the Platform can do for the district, allowing the district to save money and make the platform more of a single source of truth and one-stop. Is the district also using one of our competitors or another tool we could displace that you can be ready to share the benefits of utilizing the Platform instead?

• Displacement = expansion and potential upsell in the district
• Utilize talk tracks to prepare for these conversations as needed
• Tool displacement questions can also be utilized as needed

Value Drivers for the Platform:

• Customer service is a districtwide core value
• Communications, data, and systems combined to deliver a single source of truth
• AI-powered customer intelligence providing Deep insights and trending topics
• Secured against malware
• Full-stack customer service reporting and Insights utilized in decision-making
• Equitable access ensured districtwide
• Customer service metrics, including  NPS, tracked
• Two-way communication mastered
• Staff Hours Saved

Outcome: Why did you buy the Platform: What business challenge are we trying to solve? These should align with the goals chosen above.

During the EBR cycle, we will have the district commit to Value Drivers, Outcomes, and the Metrics we will track for progress over time until next year’s EBR. Key workflows and processes may be discussed as a way to guide customers toward the right value driver, but these will also be determined during the Annual Account Planning Call.

EBR Platform Value Drivers and Key Outcomes Library(still in the works)

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Execution of the EBR

Ultimate Goals during execution of the EBR

• Align recommendations with district’s strategic plan
• Summarize the EBR's highlights and agreed upon steps before the meeting ends on the last slide of the deck.
• Check alignment on set goals (value drivers and outcomes) and determine everyone's commitment to these goals and ready to move forward. Get commitment!
• Schedule Annual Account Planning meeting with POC and Executive Sponsor as a next step for January/Feb

Conducting the EBR

• Ownership is your tone.
• Emphasize a conversational tone from the beginning. Allow for back-and-forth dialogue. Should be a two sided conversation and should not be just showing slide after slide
• Facilitate an environment where everyone feels empowered to speak.
• Handle various personalities tactfully and focus on relationship-building.
• Listen, don’t feel the need to fill the silence.

Communicate Customer Return on Investment (ROI)

Demonstrate vested stake in success for the district. We want to see them have success on their Customer Service journey

• Expectations around customer ROI

• EBR’s help communicate these expectations to the customer

• Sounds like: ‘These are the goals I would like to help you achieve this year. These are the goals you worked toward last year. These are the goals we were not quite as successful at. I want you to get the most out of your contract from the platform.’

• Vested stake in Customer’s Success

• EBR’s let the customer know that you share common objectives

• Sounds like: ‘We both have common objectives for success.

• Collaborative Engagement

• EBR’s demonstrate that the engagement is a joint partnership

• Sounds like: ‘I want to help you achieve the goals for your district.’

• Achieving ROI

Follow-Up After EBR

Immediate Action

• Initiate follow-up email within 24 hours of the EBR to all attendees and invites to the EBR
• Establish a cadence for further meetings

• This could be the next Annual Planning Meeting with your Exe Sponsor and POC to identify action steps and a plan to execute all agreed upon goals from the EBR
• This could also be establishing meetings for project execution

Internal Actions

• Log EBR meeting in Gainsight notifying appropriate ELT members
• Log Customer goals in Gainsight
• If the EBR did not go well or no commitment was made, log as a negative interaction and flag the appropriate SLT member.

Reflect on…

• Did we really set up the right goals? Is it something everyone cares about? Make sure it’s something that is going to move the needle?
• How do you make sure our project becomes one of the most important things and we don’t get lost back amongst their other vendors?

Long-Term Engagement

• Prioritize and ensure that our project remains at the forefront of their plans.
• Keep in regular touch to maintain momentum and stay ahead of competitors.

Key Takeaways

• EBRs are our chance to cement our position as a trusted partner, not just a vendor.
• Tailor your EBR approach based on the specific needs and characteristics of the customer.
• Effective prep, execution, and follow-up are vital for a successful EBR.

Always be proactive, anticipate the customer's needs, and position the company as an indispensable ally in their journey.

Make your EBR with the district an Experience that they look forward to each year!

Happy EBR Season!

Turning the District’s EBR Commitment to Goals into their Success Plan

More to come!

For now, make sure what the district commits to is captured in their EBR slide deck and logged in Gainsight. We will turn their committed goals into their Success Plan post-EBR season.