What should you review during the preparation phase of a business review?

During the preparation phase of a business review, focusing on the key metrics that stakeholders measure is crucial. This is because these metrics are directly aligned with the stakeholders' objectives and help in assessing the overall health of the relationship and business performance. By understanding what key metrics are essential for your stakeholders, you can tailor the discussion to address their priorities, showcase your value, and identify areas for improvement.

Reviewing key metrics allows you to provide quantifiable results that are directly relevant to the stakeholders' success and can facilitate a more meaningful conversation. It also enables you to align your insights with their business goals, which enhances the overall engagement and demonstrates your attentiveness to their needs. By focusing on these metrics, you ensure that the business review is productive and adds value to the stakeholders, reinforcing the customer success relationship.

In contrast, while financial reports, marketing strategies, and team performance may provide useful context, they do not directly reflect the priorities and measurements used by stakeholders to evaluate success in the same way that key metrics do. Therefore, concentrating on the metrics important to stakeholders creates a clearer and more focused business review.