What was said
What this says
Current to 13 Oct 26Usage fell by getting on for a fifth after a high priority data freshness ticket. Steven Holroyd will not add users until people return and wants usage back up before renewal.
What happened: Amara Obi reported average daily users in the high twenties, down by getting on for a fifth. Josh Pearce said some people drifted back to spreadsheets after the stale data ticket, though the response was fast and it was fixed the same day.
Customer view: Steven said he pays whether they use it or not. He asked for a written account of what went wrong and said he is not adding people to something half of them have stopped using.
Commercial: Enterprise at £110k on the order form and £110k invoiced, nothing overdue. Steven wants usage back up by the 4 Apr 2027 renewal or he will ask what he is paying for.
Watch: Josh sees a confidence gap among occasional users, so a training session is planned for September.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Amara to send Steven and Josh a written account of the stale data ticket.
- Amara to run a training session for the client managers with Josh in September.
- Amara to send a usage chart in a few weeks and put the next QBR in the diary.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Users fell after the data freshness incident and occasional users have not all returned.
- Steven links the renewal to usage recovering and may question the Enterprise spend if it does not.
- Occasional users lack confidence in what to ask, which may keep usage low.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A training session on the client managers' own brand data could win back occasional users.
- Widening access across the 150 licensed users becomes possible once existing users return.
Transcript
- Amara Obi NoneHello both. Josh, I can see you. Steven, are you with us?
- Josh Pearce NoneHi Amara. I'm here. I think Steven's just joining.
- Steven Holroyd NoneI'm here. Sorry. Previous meeting ran over. Afternoon.
- Amara Obi NoneNo problem at all. Afternoon, Steven. Thanks both for making the time on a Friday. I'll try not to keep you too late into it. What I'd like to do is walk through usage, tickets and the contract, and then hear from you what you want out of the next quarter.
- Steven Holroyd NoneStart with usage. Who's using it?
- Amara Obi NoneYes, let's. I'll be straight with you because I'd rather you heard it from me. Average daily users over the last thirty days are in the high twenties. That's down on the previous quarter by getting on for a fifth.
- Steven Holroyd NoneDown. Right. Why?
- Amara Obi NoneThat's what I wanted to ask you both, honestly. The numbers tell me what, not why. Josh, you'll have a better feel for it than I do.
- Josh Pearce NoneYeah, so a few things, I think. It's the summer. A lot of the client managers have been on leave, and it's been quiet on a couple of the brands. That would account for some of it.
- Steven Holroyd NoneSome of it. What's the rest?
- Josh Pearce NoneWell. Honestly, I think a few people drifted back to their old spreadsheets after the refresh problem. That's the high priority ticket you'll see. It put people off for a bit.
- Amara Obi NoneCan you tell me more about that? I've got the ticket in front of me, but I'd rather hear how it felt on your side.
- Josh Pearce NoneSo, one morning the data in the brain was behind what was in our systems. People were asking questions and getting last week's answers. I raised it as urgent, because a couple of the client managers had service reviews that day.
- Amara Obi NoneRight. And how was it handled? Was the response fast enough?
- Josh Pearce NoneThe response was fine, to be fair. Someone picked it up quickly and it was fixed the same day. It's more that the damage was done with the users. They don't tell you they've stopped, they just stop.
- Steven Holroyd NoneAye. That's the bit that costs me. I pay for it whether they use it or not.
- Amara Obi NoneThat's fair, Steven, and I won't dodge it. A data freshness problem is exactly the sort of thing that erodes trust faster than it comes back. Josh, since it's been fixed, have you seen people returning?
- Josh Pearce NoneA bit. Not all of them. The people who were the heaviest users have mostly come back. The occasional users, less so.
- Amara Obi NoneThat matches what I can see. The questions are still being asked, but from fewer people. So here's what I'd suggest. I'd like to look at what caused the stale data so we can tell you plainly that it won't happen again, or at least how we'd catch it sooner.
- Steven Holroyd NoneDo that. In writing. I want to see what went wrong, not a sorry.
- Amara Obi NoneUnderstood. A short written account, from me, with what happened and what's changed. I'll get it to you both.
- Josh Pearce NoneThat'd help. I can forward it to the client managers as well, so they can see it's been looked at.
- Amara Obi NonePlease do. Now, the other tickets. There were three in the last thirty days in total. One was the urgent one we've just talked about. Josh, the other two were how-to questions, I think?
- Josh Pearce NoneThat's right. Both from me. Just working out how to set up access for a couple of new starters.
- Amara Obi NoneGood. Those are healthy, if anything. New starters needing access means people want to use it. Who else should have access, by the way? You've got 150 licensed, and the active group is well under that.
- Steven Holroyd NoneI'm not adding people to something half of them have stopped using. Fix that first.
- Amara Obi NoneThat's a reasonable position, and I'm not going to argue with it. So the order is: win back the people you've already got, then we talk about widening it.
- Steven Holroyd NoneAye.
- Amara Obi NoneJosh, can I ask what would bring the occasional users back? What do they say when you ask them?
- Josh Pearce NoneMostly they say they didn't know what to ask it. Or that they asked once, got something odd, and didn't try again. I think there's a bit of a confidence gap.
- Amara Obi NoneThat's really useful. That's a training problem as much as a data one. I could run a short session for the client managers. Half an hour, on your own brands' data, showing the kind of questions that work well before a service review.
- Josh Pearce NoneI think that'd go down well. September's probably better than August, with people back.
- Steven Holroyd NoneWhat's that cost?
- Amara Obi NoneNothing. It's part of what you're already paying for. It's my job to make the thing get used.
- Steven Holroyd NoneGood. Then yes.
- Amara Obi NoneBrilliant. I'll set it up with Josh. Right, the contract side, so we're all clear. You're on Enterprise, £110,000 a year on the order form, and £110,000 invoiced, so those line up. Nothing overdue.
- Steven Holroyd NoneNothing overdue. We pay on time. That's not the issue.
- Amara Obi NoneNo, and I'm not suggesting it is. The question you're asking is whether it's worth it, and that's the right question. Which is why I want to get the usage back and get a value figure we can both trust before the renewal.
- Steven Holroyd NoneWhen's the renewal again?
- Amara Obi NoneThe term runs to 3 Apr 2027, and the renewal date is 4 Apr 2027. So a good few months. I'll bring it to you well before the notice window, with the usage trend alongside.
- Steven Holroyd NoneSend me the renewal in good time. And I want to see usage back up by then, or I'll be asking what I'm paying for.
- Amara Obi NoneUnderstood, and that's fair. I'd rather you said it now than at the end.
- Josh Pearce NoneFrom my side, I'd say it's still doing what we wanted. The client managers who use it properly are really positive. It's just the spread.
- Steven Holroyd NoneThen get the spread sorted, Josh. Work with Amara.
- Josh Pearce NoneWill do.
- Amara Obi NoneRight. Let me read back what we've agreed so it's clear. One: I send a written account of the stale data ticket to you both. Two: I run a training session for the client managers, with Josh, in September. Three: I send you a usage chart in a few weeks, so you can see whether people are coming back. Four: we put the next QBR in the diary. Does that sound right?
- Josh Pearce NoneYes, that's what I've got.
- Steven Holroyd NoneAye. That'll do.
- Amara Obi NoneLovely. Thanks both. Have a good weekend.
- Josh Pearce NoneCheers, Amara. You too.
- Steven Holroyd NoneRight. Bye.