Just as with software, the messaging process is primary for social media – but why do so few people get that? Having started off in tech as a database administrator and systems analyst, I’m often struck by the usefulness of software development ideas to the rather separate work of market development. Many marketers skip over…
Because analysts are under more pressure to deliver insights that correspond closely to end-users’ needs, solution providers have a huge advantage when spokespeople are able to develop influential conversations focussed on the analysts’ clients’ needs. Sadly, spokespeople are badly selected, trained and prepared. As a result, much of the potential value of briefing analysts is…
The analyst relations community is slowly emerging from a prolonged battering. Budgets have been in short supply and spokespeoples’ time has been fought for in many companies. At the same time, AR teams (both in-house and in agencies) have struggled to follow the changes in the analyst industry and in the best practices for influencing…
A new second tier of analyst firms is being formed by the recession. Companies like Canalys, PAC and the newly independent Ovum are expanding into space relinquished or ignored by larger analyst firms. Their strategic asset is that their managers and analysts who evaluate investments over a longer period (in the jargon, with a longer…
In my recent interviews with many communications managers, one of the key problems that comes up is the time spent on coordination. However, a few companies seem to have a much lower communication overhead because a strong brand story allows the delegation of decision-making. As a result, organisations which invest once in a clear narrative…
Last week’s launch of Yankee Group’s affiliate network is an interesting response to a number of challenges that other analyst firms face. Certainly the network is a reaction to Yankee’s specific challenges, which Laura surveyed well: it was developed as a mechanism for continuing to benefit from senior Yankee staff (initially four and now three)…
Three Yankee Group vice-presidents and two independent European analysts are the first members of the firm’s affiliate network. As Lighthouse clients heard in July, the firm’s restructuring produced numerous rumours, including the departure of SVP Zeus Kerravala and VPs Jennifer Pigg and Susan McNeice. Those three have been announced as the firm’s first US affiliates,…
AR professionals can build sales by focussing on analysts who influence sales, and by turning the conversation to the impact of market changes on customers. Market analysts, quite understandably, look at the whole market and will welcome informed conversation with vendors that can speak strategically at the market level. However, to generate more sales recommendation…