Yesterday, I spoke with a software VP about Analyst Relations, and during our conversation, I reflected on how necessary analyst audits are (and how much I like to run them).
I like audits because, alongside working in AR, I have a background in research. It fits with the problem-solving part of my skillset while giving the 'ta-da!' element of audits. When you show a software team the results of an AR audit, it highlights the scope, success, and possibilities for future AR.
Usually, when I conduct an audit, it includes an assessment of the following:
- Analyst firms and specific industry analysts covering a vendor's space, competitors, trends, and market evaluations - and which ones the vendor has engaged with - and whether these were positive, neutral, or negative interactions - and opportunities to expand your analyst interactions
- Review the nature of analyst commentary, coverage, and statements about a vendor, its vision, and its products (again, it's essential to mark whether these were positive, neutral, or negative). This review needs to go beyond the placement of a vendor in an evaluation report (i.e., a Gartner Magic Quadrant, a Forrester Wave, or an IDC MarketScape) and look at mentions, comments, nuances, and absences.
- How does the vendor's view of the market, trends, challenges, and opportunities match those published by key analyst influencers and commentators? Looking at opinions of trends isn't so you can repeat what the analysts are saying - on the contrary, it's for engaging insights for dialogue with industry analysts about a vendor position compared with an analyst's.
- Non-published interactions and advice any industry analysts have given to the vendor team. Accurately capturing these nuggets requires documentation of interactions, but failing the availability of documentation, interviews certainly uncover points of advice previously given on strategy and product.
- The effectiveness of how the vendor team is currently communicating with those industry analysts - with recommendations on expanding and increasing the relationships and communication.
- A comparison of AR coverage and tone for the vendor compared to competitors.
- Lastly (but by no place least), an audit of INTERNAL vendor stakeholders. What does management think about industry analysts, the AR program, how they hear about AR progress, and whether they consider AR time and budget well spent? How about Sales? Which analysts do they see as being actively involved in the sales cycle? Do they see AR content helping to guide prospects and shorten the sales cycle? Does product management see worthwhile insights that guide product plans and roadmap direction? Does Marketing see AR as a solid partner for insights on trends, points of differentiation against competitors, and active support for marketing programs?
This isn't an exhaustive list, but hopefully, it gives a sense of the immense value that AR provides when paired with research and insights.
#analystrelations #AR #industryanalysts #B2Bmarketing #B2Btechnology
