What are the key benefits of aligning Analyst Relations with business goals?

Strategic AR programs drive more ROI than most other marketing functions when executed well—but it’s not easy, and it takes real investment. Too many people do “box-checking” AR, which means talking to analysts but not leveraging them for a strategic advantage. Analysts can be influential in MANY ways: they speak to your customers, they speak to the media, they speak to executives, they speak to investors—they’re the go-to experts in your industry. You want them as your advocate, and every interaction with them should further that goal. That’s not just educating analysts, that’s INVOLVING them in your product development, messaging, and GTM. Use their insight, leverage their advice. Make them want to be your advocate.

Every two years The Skills Connection runs a survey of enterprise software and services companies who engage with analysts. 90% of firms surveyed (n=129) highlighted awareness benefits. #1 was getting invited to respond to RFIs/RFPs - cited by some 70% of respondents. 42% saw an increase in their ability to secure sales meetings with enterprises, 35% saw an increase in website lead traffic, a similar number an increase in inbound unsolicited inquiries. There is no doubt that effective engagement (i.e. where the analyst does truly understand the problem you solve and your differentiated value prop in solving it) open doors

Having an AR program in place to engage with the industry analysts to get their unbiased opinions and recognitions from them based on the works that an organization has been able to deliver for its clients, provides with a stamp of Authority. And all these AR firms work autonomously, which is why these recognitions hold special value and are trust-worthy, helping an organization to increase credibility and awareness in the market.

What worked for me through out the years is to always align our Analyst Relations (AR) program with our business goals and specifically with our GTM strategy. By doing so you’ll make better decisions, analyst insights can shape your GTM strategy. I also noticed that when analysts advocate for your company your brand will get more visibility and credibility. This alignment will also help you refine your product roadmap as analyst feedback will make sure your products meet market demand. Finally, understanding customer pain points through analyst insights will help you engage with customers better.

Aligning Analyst Relations (AR) with business goals elevates credibility and awareness. Positive analyst reviews and endorsements enhance the company's reputation. This validation from reputable analysts increases trust among stakeholders, including clients, investors, and partners, contributing to a broader and more positive industry perception.

Product teams must be open to reflecting upon and presenting the roadmap to the analysts, as this is necessary to enable them to benefit from analyst’s feedback or suggestions, and can certainly take the existing product strategy’s performance to a whole new level. The analysts provide an impartial evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of the solutions, and knowing the emerging trends and other observations from them can help a team form a robust GTM strategy too. Pay attention to the analysts as they question and endorse your decisions. Most of what they say might sound challenging. But acting upon it is actually the key to improving. Make sure that it is a two-way conversation between you, your product teams, and the analysts.

Bring analysts into your product strategy early for inquiry and/or advisory. Briefings are still important but too late for analysts insights to inform strategy and roadmap. It's incumbent on the AR professional to educate internal stakeholders on the value and availability of this strategic resource and also to ease concerns on sharing of internal information (with NDAs in place).

Positive analyst reports boost credibility and awareness among key audiences. AR also provides valuable insights from industry experts, leading to improved product strategy and performance. Analyst coverage validates your message and reaches a wider audience, enhancing sales and marketing effectiveness. Additionally, AR helps you mitigate risks by staying ahead of industry challenges. By working together, AR and your business goals become a powerful team.

Effective AR alignment supports better product strategy and performance. Engaging analysts in discussions provides valuable insights into market trends, competitor landscapes, and customer needs. This intelligence enables companies to refine their product offerings, ensuring they are well-positioned to meet market demands and stay ahead of industry changes.

When AR activities are aligned with strategic business initiatives, such as new product launches, market expansions, or mergers and acquisitions, analysts can provide valuable support and validation. Analysts can help amplify the company's messages, validate its strategy, and provide insights into market trends and competitive dynamics that can inform strategic decision-making.

In today’s times, one can’t just go gaga over his portfolio on the social media or in the business meetings without any solid endorsements in the bag already. Think about it – when was the last time you actually believed someone blowing his own trumpet? People always look for validations, and what the industry intellectuals think about the party they are about to sign-up with. Planning an effective Marketing strategy to make some noise around the achievements and recognitions received through AR engagement, surely helps in establishing a brand strongly. Sales reps should talk about it in their meetings as well. Analysts are certainly the best allies the Sales reps can have to create an impact in front of the potential and existing clients.

Aligned AR efforts bolster sales and marketing endeavors. Analyst endorsements serve as powerful tools for sales teams, providing third-party validation that resonates with potential clients. Marketing campaigns benefit from credible industry insights, enabling targeted messaging that resonates with the market, ultimately driving lead generation and sales effectiveness.

Validation and Endorsement: Analyst endorsements can serve as powerful validation for a company's products or services. When industry analysts recognize and endorse a company's offerings, it adds credibility and authority, making it easier for the sales and marketing teams to engage with prospects and customers. AR activities aligned with business goals can focus on obtaining positive analyst coverage and endorsements that can be leveraged in sales and marketing collateral.

Analysts hold a unique position to anticipate market dynamics and assist in overcoming your business challenges, provided you see them as advisors rather than people to influence. Consider the depth of their knowledge - daily interactions with your competitors, clients, and prospects, routine updates from competitors, in-depth evaluation of your top 15 competitors through thorough research, comprehensive RFIs, lengthy briefings, and product demonstrations coupled with customer interviews. There's no one else in the market with this level of knowledge.

Many orgs are moving upstream to larger customers, or downstream to grab midsize org revenue. Industry analysts can help you understand how your GTM approach and messaging may be received by these newer market segments. Will enterprise prospects care about the same capabilities as your current midsize customers do? Or will the midsize market need all the complex bells and whistles that your enterprise customer base does? Likely not, and analysts can help you understand the nuances here.

Strategic alignment of AR with business goals helps identify and address potential risks and challenges early. Analysts can offer valuable perspectives on industry shifts, regulatory changes, or emerging competition. This proactive approach allows businesses to adapt strategies swiftly, mitigating risks and maintaining a resilient position in the market.

AR can serve as an early warning system by providing insights into emerging market trends, competitive threats, and potential areas of concern. By maintaining close relationships with industry analysts and monitoring their research and commentary, companies can gain valuable insights that can help them anticipate and respond to changes in the market landscape.

Aligning AR with business goals is the best way to ensure that your program contributes to what's most important for your company. But, how to begin? Start with a high-level company-wide goal such as "grow revenue by 20%" and determine how AR can help towards that goal. Perhaps it's by instituting an AR/Sales program to educate and influence analysts who speak to the most prospects and customers in your market. Maybe it's by engaging top analyst influencers to partner on outbound marketing activities, or by focusing on a leadership ranking in a flagship research report. In the example of increasing revenue, you can evaluate AR's alignment and impact on business goals by using MQLs and other tracking methods.

Strategically aligning analyst relations goals with business objectives is the cornerstone of @Forrester’s and @Kevin Lucas’ FIAR approach. Elevating insights, market positioning, and overall impact, this initiative fosters collaboration with by integrating analyst relations seamlessly into your business strategy for a robust market influence.

One of my previous employers, Capillary is a leader in the Loyalty Sol'n space. Honestly "Loyalty Sol'n" is not a want for many brands- it's changing now. One of the business goals was to make Loyalty a mainstream agenda for CEO's and we could not find a better way other than AR. Not many analysts used to talk about this and probably it was a function of them not knowing enough real-life use cases. We got our clients speak to Analysts about Loyalty Sol’n, real use cases and ROI’s achieved. Result was, many report mentions, massive brand awareness, net new business in new markets, recognition by enterprise clients. Loyalty is widely covered by many analysts now specially @Forrester. Capillary is an undisputed global leader in this space

Industry analysts often have access to a wealth of strategic insights, market data, and industry trends that can benefit companies across various functions, including marketing, sales, product management, and corporate strategy. By aligning AR with business goals, companies can leverage analyst relationships to gain access to valuable insights that can inform decision-making and drive business growth.

Define clear business goals and metrics for AR engagement. Regularly communicate with analysts, sharing company objectives and seeking their input. Provide analysts with comprehensive information on products, strategies, and achievements. Monitor and measure the impact of AR activities on predefined business KPIs.

Aligning your Analyst Relations with the business goals is the first step to start the program. Until and unless you are very sure about the objectives, it may just be futile efforts resulting in little or no impacts.

AR is about curating a long term , well established , sustainable strategy and short term excitement while creating a integrated and impactful supply chain with stakeholders. You can always drive tangible Vs Intangible outcome with AR. AR should impact right from delivery to account mining , deal intelligence, firms industry focus , investment strategy. And customer relations index

Consider the long-term nature of analyst relationships. Nurture ongoing communication beyond product launches. Foster a two-way dialogue, seeking analyst feedback and incorporating it into strategic decision-making. Additionally, invest in analyst education about your industry nuances, ensuring they possess a nuanced understanding for more accurate assessments. This holistic approach ensures sustained benefits from AR alignment with business goals.