Why Analyst Relations?
Analyst Relations plays an important role in building your brand and shaping the perception of your company in the market by interacting with the right analysts at the right time. As in most cases involving interpersonal relationships, it is the first impression that counts the most. Why would you approach the handful of relevant analysts for your technology niche without making 100% sure that you understand how the game is played?
Chances are that the analyst you are speaking with, is covering a large number of vendors and has listened to a huge number of companies trying to “sell” the superiority of their solution. So if you are willing to compete with your competition in the field of Analyst Relations, getting that interaction right is key. Trying won’t be enough when you want to compete on a global level and when messing things up might mean that you won’t get a second chance to fix things.
Analysts have to be selective in their research scope
One aspect of the analyst industry that research end-users and vendors often don’t realise, is that industry analysts do not have infinite resources to conduct and publish comprehensive all-inclusive research. Often, data is gathered from client inquiry and vendor briefings.
If you fail to inform the analysts about things such as your newly developed product or your roadmap for future development, chances are that analysts won’t find out or if they do, it’ll be too late. More so, if their information about you is perceived to be incomplete, incorrect or at least confusing, the analysts may decide to leave this information out of their research. In the worst case scenario, unfavourable and possibly incorrect coverage might be the result. Having a proper Analyst Relations programme in place makes sure that you know which analyst is covering which topic at what time, ensuring that you optimise the analyst coverage. To learn more about Analyst Relations please visit our FAQ site.
Analysts influence buying behaviour
Industry analyst groups such as Gartner, Forrester, IDC and Ovum influence between 40% and 60% of commercial technology sales, according to Kensington Group researchers. This means that being mentioned by analysts – either in written research or in 1:1 inquiries – will open up indirect access to many potential customers.
Analyst research can serve as powerful sales support
Coverage in official research publications is the most powerful tool for your sales people and your marketing materials to demonstrate that your technology, company, products and service offerings and methods are highly recognised and credible. Credibility wins business. More information on enabling your sales force with the results of your Analyst Relations programme can be found here.
Analysts as your strategic advisors
Industry analysts are not only there to support your customers’ decision making, but they also can support technology vendors. Analyst firms provide their technology vendor customers with comprehensive insight about potential customers, new technologies, markets, competitors, target industries and business processes. The insight gained from solid interaction with the right analyt, will help you make to superior strategic decisions.