Your Answers
Outsell clients have the benefit of a feature we call ‘inquiry privilege.’ It’s the ability to ask questions (in confidence) about thorny issues. I’m sharing a sneak peek at some of the questions we’ve been answering.
Inquiry privilege gives clients the opportunity to address implications of our research for them, access available data we have on hand and have not published. Our CEO clients have another layer of support in the form of their peer network: to engage with fellow members on a give-to-get basis to determine how they’re addressing a particular topic or to speak with fellow member(s) who have tackled the same problem directly.
It’s always around a hot-button issue — questions about branding and integration of brands post M&A (a favorite among highly acquisitive PE-backed firms.) Sometimes they want to speak with an expert who understands their positioning in a vertical and want guidance on strengthening their stance. Sometimes it’s a quick statistic but one they need for their board or exec team to demonstrate where they stack up.
Inquiries sometimes run in themes. Sometimes they are random. Overall, they reflect the psyche of our industry and the leaders and teams who operate within it.
So, what are some of the inquiries we’ve recently been asked and answered, in the last two weeks alone:
- What’s the percent of revenue coming from new products launched in the past two years?
- How are leaders organizing where (and to whom) their data functions report? Do they plan on changing it? Why or why not?
- What’s happening to customer budgets in higher education? (Fill in the market in which your company operates.)
- How fast is the ecosystem and categories in which I compete growing and how am I keeping up? Am I gaining or losing share?
- What are GenAI use cases by function so I can see how my firm compares? (Note — This is soon becoming a measurable assessment!)
- What are members and industry firms at large doing with the cost savings or incremental revenue from their AI use cases?
- How best can we manage relationships with authors for our LLM licensing?
- How are members improving customer success functions?
- What are the must-have answers about our (Gen)AI practices that are now expected from investors or acquirers?
- How are members preparing for a zero-click world? How do you recommend we prepare?
I could go on.
In our experience every question has a question under it. We are trained to unpeel. Why are you asking? What are you trying to solve? It almost always boils down to driving revenue or mitigating risk. There is always a big question under a seemingly little one.
Sometimes the topics require further research. That is when bespoke services come in or we know it’s a far-reaching topic and syndicated coverage is a better solution. Sometimes we program them into meeting discussions and bring in guest speakers — something like prepping for a zero-click world — it’s all of the above and more. The topic is downright existential and no single expert has the answer. Neither does GenAI.
It’s always fascinating and never dull. It is a privilege to field these questions and have trusted conversations with executives every day. We are of the industry we serve. We don’t get a bye and that is never lost on us.
When you have a question no matter how big or small — give us a call. Our business is your answers.