The Problem
A once highly profitable service line for a 3D printing hardware manufacturer experienced declining close rates, even as other lines continued to perform steadily.
The services team needed to understand the underlying drivers of this decline in order to pinpoint which factors most influence customer decisions to use—or not use—their services, and to establish a clear foundation for informing future service line strategy.
The Approach
We oversaw an interview-based study to explore decline rate challenges:
– Recruited individuals from our clients’ customer line, segmenting them into won / loss categories to capture contrasting perspectives on service experiences, project needs, and competitive influences.
– Developed and fielded interviews across customer types, with a particular emphasis on uncovering differences between won and lost projects.
– Analyzed feedback to identify trends across participants and link insights back to the original objectives, providing a clear foundation to inform service line strategy.
The Results
» Discovered that close rate challenges reflected customer mix shifts rather than service gaps, requiring segmented tracking to assess true market performance across intermediaries versus end-users.
» Identified friction points in the digital quoting experience, creating immediate opportunities to enhance automation and user experience.
» Revealed the need to restructure order metrics, moving from aggregate close rates to segment-specific measures that enable more precise forecasting and resource planning.
» Validated core competitive strengths in quality and responsiveness while uncovering segment-specific pricing perceptions that inform differentiated sales approaches by customer type.
Did you know
Segmenting your research sample by customer outcome—like won vs. lost deals—can reveal hidden drivers of sales performance that aren’t apparent in aggregate data. This approach helps teams understand not just what happened, but why, providing actionable insights to improve close rates and refine go-to-market strategies.
