Deloitte, NetApp and HCL are three of the firms that have been most successful at winning more share of voice in analyst research. More isn’t always better, but firms looking to push into the long tail have something to learn from those firms.
The findings are part of the Influence Quadrant, a service launched in 2012 which looks at the profile of dozens or technology solution providers in tens of thousands of analyst reports. The IQ is a custom service for Kea clients, and leverages around ten years’ data tracking the profile of firms in analyst research. You can read about the methodology here. We’ve released this IQ as part of the follow-up from our webinar last week, which referred to the research [Note: these are just some of the data available. we have been tracking around 500 firms, so contact us to find out more].
Our take is that firms need to think carefully about whether more mentions in research will work for them. A major factor in the mix is that most analysts are in North America. If your business is not prioritising US growth, then you should carefully weigh up the implications of building relationships with analysts in a market that is not key for you. However, the fact that even quite large firms like Deloitte, NetApp and HCL can substantially boost their profile shows that even large firms are not automatically mentioned in all relevant research.
Analyst relations teams are weighing up serious challenges. Many firms want to get in front of as many analysts as possible. Other firms want to speak to very few analysts, but want them to be saturated with knowledge so they become loyal advocates. Most firms need to trade off volume and quality.
The IQ is a tool to help firms see where they and their competitors are in winning share of voice. We track a very large number of analyst firms, from IDC, a global giant producing a huge volume, through to niche players like MWD Advisors. The chart above compares over 20,000 mentions of the brands shown. The higher a brand is, the more its share of voice has risen over the last six months. The further to the right it is, the greater its share of voice.
P.S. I should also mention that CenturyLink, the highest riser on our chart, is the business-focussed part of which was previously known as Savvis. Because their climb is partly a product of the re-brand, it’s too early to spotlight them. I’ve updated the chart to get the rising/falling border more tightly on the horizontal line separating the rising and falling quadrants.
