What is your Point B?

It seems pretty basic: How are you measuring success? What does it look like? How do you know if it’s working? At Introworks, we call the act of defining success metrics finding Point B.

Basic maybe, but more often than you’d think, companies plow ahead with a launch having given Point B little or no thought.

In a study of business-to-business launches conducted by Schneider Associates*, 42% of companies established success metrics during a launch, or after it was over. And 6% had no metrics at all.

Defining your goals—your Point B—should be a top priority.

There is no standard or correct definition for Point B. Most companies consider financial metrics alone—revenue, sales appointments, market share, units sold, stock price and so forth.

But we think it’s important to look at a broader picture. Klein Consulting, for instance, lays out eight areas to consider in establishing criteria for a successful launch: Satisfaction, Financial, Marketing, Organizational, Training, Operational, Competitive, and Accomplishment.

It depends on your goals, culture, environment, etc. At Introworks we suggest, at a minimum, to include two or three important behavioral indicators along with financial metrics.

For help on plotting your point B, check out our Point B page, where you can download a worksheet that will help facilitate the conversation with your team.

^{* Schneider Associates, Business-to-Business Launch Survey, Center for Business Innovation at Babson College, 2007}