Analyst Relations, a Competitive Weapon
By: Gwen Murphy
NetScout recently made headlines for suing Gartner. The company claimed that the industry analyst giant plays favorites, placing high-paying companies at the coveted, top-right corner of its Magic Quadrants (MQ). Is there any truth to NetScout’s assertion? I’d like to think not, but if there is, the reasoning for favoritism might not be as simple as some may want to believe.
Here’s the reality: when it comes to the analysts, especially the large firms, paying for a subscription provides a lot of value. Research, of course, possibly an event ticket or two; but what it’s really delivering is time. Time with an analyst that’s been assigned specifically to cover your business, and also, time with other analysts who touch on tangential market segments and related product ecosystems.
It’s this dedicated time that makes the biggest difference to your possible placement on a MQ, Forrester WAVE, or myriad of other comparative reports. After all, these reports synthesize a tremendous amount of detail about the market landscape — customer adoption and experience, product functionality and ease-of-use, as well as corporate vision, strategy, and the ability to execute — all of which takes time to understand and uncover.
Good analysts dig deep, learning as much as they possibly can about your business and its offerings, over the course of several vendor briefings. The best analysts dig even deeper, speaking to customers, partners and others in your space. By having a subscription, you have the opportunity to facilitate more of these conversations than you might otherwise be able to secure opportunistically. More conversations equate to a better understanding of your product offerings, and, as a result, a better outcome for your business.
I’m not suggesting that to successfully work with analysts, you have to pay-to-play. At Eastwick, we know the best analyst relations programs are based on a simple formula: spend as much time as you can with the analysts that carry the most influence in your market. Use your time with them well. Drive the right conversations. Remember that it’s a two-way street, and give them what they need to be successful — access to customers, product roadmap details and briefings with a broad range of company spokespeople. Through this strategic engagement, you will soon find yourself cultivating genuine and meaningful relationships with your analyst community.
But if you want more time with the analysts, and the opportunity to turn to them as the strategic advisors they are — leveraging their market knowledge and competitive insights to inform your product development and go-to-market strategies, as well as a resource to bolster your sales and marketing efforts — the reality is that you need to invest in their services. Studies show that industry analysts are influential in up to 80 percent of large technology purchase decisions. And companies that work closely with analysts gain a competitive edge by being better connected to the competitive landscape, market trends, and sales opportunities in their market.
Do the math: think about your business and the cost of each sale, as well as the cost of missed opportunities. Ask your customers and prospects which analysts they follow and the reports that influence their technology investments. Then think about what you might spend with your top analysts, and what you could gain if that investment helped increase or accelerate your time to revenue. After that exercise, it’s not hard to understand why so many companies choose to invest some of their sales and marketing dollars with the analysts. And of course, the real magic happens when you support your analyst investment with a strategic analyst relations program, ensuring you are maximizing the opportunities and ROI.
Want to learn more? Connect with Gwen Murphy, SVP and Head of Advocacy Marketing on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Originally published at www.eastwick.com on August 22, 2014.
