Stop Counting Meetings. Start Measuring Impact.

How to actually track whether your EBRs and QBRs are working

One of the things I hate most about EBRs and QBRs is how they’re tracked.

I see teams all the time mark a completed meeting as a success. Maybe they go a step further and track who attended, but it usually stops there. A meeting happened. A box gets checked. Everyone moves on.

But let’s be honest.

A meeting is not an outcome.

Recently I was on a call with my friend Berit Hoffmann, CEO and Co-Founder at Korl. If you’re not familiar, they’re taking a unique approach to rethinking the business review strategy and process. As we were talking, I shared my ongoing frustration with how the Customer Success community defines a “successful” business review.

Leaders continue to focus on activities over outcomes, and it’s the wrong approach. You can’t tell me that having a meeting equals success. It doesn’t. Not even close.

If we actually care about impact, we need to track impact.

So I shared how I think about measuring the success of a business review. It comes down to four buckets.

Behaviors

What changed after the meeting?

Did your customers’ behavior shift in any meaningful way? Are they more engaged? Attending webinars? Volunteering to speak at an event? Bringing in additional stakeholders? Leaning further into the partnership?

A strong business review should influence behavior. If nothing changes after the call, what was the point?

Insights

This is about real adoption and change management. Not vanity usage metrics. Not logins for the sake of logins.

Did the meeting surface new use cases or workflows? Did the customer align on how they plan to use the product differently? Are there meaningful increases in key actions inside the platform that tie back to outcomes?

A business review should create clarity around value and drive deeper, more intentional product usage. If it didn’t generate new insight or direction, it likely didn’t move the needle.

Actions

Did the meeting create momentum?

Were next steps clearly defined? Did you schedule a demo of a new product or feature? Secure introductions to additional stakeholders? Lock in the next meeting? Update the success plan? Move an expansion or renewal conversation forward?

A good business review should result in action. Tangible, assigned, accountable action. Without that, it’s just a recap call with slides.

Sentiment

What do stakeholders actually think about the partnership right now?

This goes far beyond NPS or CSAT. I’m talking about confidence. Trust. Perceived value. Alignment with business goals. How they talk about you internally. How they show up in conversations.

Sentiment is often the earliest indicator of risk or opportunity. If you leave a business review without a clear read on stakeholder sentiment, you’re missing a critical piece of the puzzle.

The Problem With Tracking “Completed”

If you’re simply tracking “completed meeting,” you’re getting it wrong.

Tracking whether key stakeholders actively participated, validated value and impact, and left with clear next steps, owners, and accountability will get you a lot closer to understanding whether the meeting mattered.

Because that’s the real question.

Did it matter?

Anything less is just noise. And if we’re being honest, it’s likely a waste of time for both sides.

Business reviews should create clarity, alignment, and momentum. If your tracking doesn’t reflect those things, you’re not measuring success. You’re measuring activity.

And activity alone doesn’t drive outcomes.

So I’m curious.

How are you tracking the impact of your business reviews today?