Extensive research (See this article) from Lancaster University Management School has highlighted a concerning disconnect in the analyst relations world: Industry analysts producing extensive content that technology vendors consume, but perhaps not enough of what technology buyers actually need.
Analysts excel at evaluating products, assessing vendor capabilities, and analyzing competitive landscapes. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: while vendors eagerly consume these outputs, many technology buyers are struggling with more fundamental questions:
“How do I find the right software for my specific business problem?”
“What’s the best solution strategy for my industry context?”
“How can I leverage technology to solve real business challenges?”
This disconnect presents both a challenge and an opportunity. While demonstrating impact on vendors’ sales pipelines might seem like the obvious path to maintaining vendor attention (and revenue), the real opportunity lies in repositioning expertise toward solving business problems.
The Future of Analyst Value
Technology buyers don’t wake up thinking about quadrants and waves. They wake up thinking about business problems that need solving. Analysts’ deep industry knowledge positions them perfectly to bridge the gap between business challenges and technology solutions.
This means evolving the content strategy to focus more on:
- Industry-specific solution frameworks
- Business problem-solving methodologies
- Technology selection guides aligned with business outcomes
- Implementation strategy and best practices
By pivoting or broadening the focus from product evaluation to problem-solving, we create value for both buyers and vendors. Buyers get practical guidance for their business challenges, while vendors gain access to more qualified, better-informed prospects.
This isn’t about abandoning our traditional strengths in product evaluation. Instead, it’s about contextualizing these insights within broader business problem-solving frameworks that deliver more value to the entire technology ecosystem.
The vendors who truly understand this shift will continue to engage with analysts not just for product assessments, but for our ability to guide buyers through their problem-solving journey. That’s the real value proposition for the future of industry analysis.
PS See the follow-up discussion at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/industry-analysts-dilemma-pivot-from-product-business-duncan-chapple-vj6fc/
