Fifteeen years of helping tech companies turn neutral analysts into advocates has taught me that the art of analyst relations lies in the power to change perspectives.
Advocates will promote your brand, cover you positively, talk about you to prospects, and tell other analysts about you.
But, analysts aren’t natural advocates. They have love/hate relationships with vendors.
Those who advise buyers (Gartner, Forrester and many others), hold prime allegiance to those buyers. Their value is in giving great advice and novel insights that help enterprises make the best decisions about technology. They must avoid false positives at all costs, and are therefore reluctant to recommend vendors unless they are fully confident in them.
Think of it from their perspective. There are usually more vendors in a space than an analyst can handle. When vendors do get through, analysts hear a lot of blah, blah, blah from them. All day, every day. Vendors that all sound the same. Vendors that make claims they can’t back up. Vendors that think they’ve got a better mousetrap.
On the other hand, analysts want to be the first to discover the next unicorn. They listen and hope. They are waiting for you to impress them and give them proven information.
Thus comes the challenge of representing the vendor to these analysts—usually moving their sentiment from
Neutral (Typical Vendor)
to
Positive (Significant Vendor)
to
Advocate (Great Vendor)
Climb aboard the Advocacy Ladder!
In my experience, at the first rung of the Ladder you are a Typical Vendor. (I’m purposely avoiding the Bad Vendor, who has to climb out of a hole to even start on the Ladder. That’s a whole ‘nother blog).
Analysts that don’t know you yet assume you are typical, with:
core capabilities needed in the space
good customer experience
good strategy and plan for growth.
Your job is to show that analyst that you are way more than typical. The intro briefing is your first opportunity to move their perception.
Explain your differentiation and strength, based on that analyst’s coverage and persepective. Show:
You address a pressing challenge in the market
You solve it in a new, innovative and disruptive way
Your customers have gotten great, proven value
You have a smart, aggressive strategy.
A great briefing (or three) opens the analyst’s eyes. They lean in. They ask great questions. They like the answers. They want to see more. They want to follow your development.
Congratulations, you’ve achieved “positive.” You are a Significant Vendor. Explaining who you are and what you’re about in a clear and compelling way moves you up the ladder.
As a Significant Vendor, you’ve earned the right to an ongoing relationship. The analyst will grant you additional time for deep dives and a cadence of updates. If you have inquiry rights (access to the analyst for two-way conversations), you can meet more frequently, ask deeper questions, and have rich discussions.
Managing these engagements really well over the long term will build the analyst’s sentiment. Analysts want to see greatness from you:
Shower them with customer evidence. Feed them testimonials. Show them great reviews from G2, Gartner Peer Insights, etc. Share NPS and customer sat scores. Ultimately, get them to talk with your best customers.
Demonstrate product superiority. Surprise them with what you can do. Explain how you do it differently and better than anyone else. Evidence counts way more than words.
Show sophistication in understanding market trends and customer needs. Gain their respect for your expertise. Tickle their brains. Be an actual thought leader.
Always be transparent and honest. Be open about both your strengths and weaknesses. Honesty results in trust, and trust leads to advocacy.
I've seen great engagements over time elevate a brand to a Great Vendor. One they are proud to know and want to support. One they believe in. One they see as a rising star to hitch onto. One that they write about, talk about, and give great advice.
Bingo, you’ve arrived.
Soak it in, but don’t rest on your laurels! Things change everyday. It takes careful tending to keep you always at least one step above the competition.
Look at each of your prioritized, most influential analysts. Where are you on the Advocacy Ladder? What will it take to move up even higher? How will you change their minds?
Nailing that is great analyst relations.
Need help with AR? We’re always available to chat about the possibilities for your business. Set a call at calendly.com/schafferar.
Read our overview and best practices for Analyst Relations.
About the author
Robin Schaffer leads Schaffer AR, an analyst relations agency supporting B2B tech vendors, especially startups and scaleups.
Robin is a prominent voice in the analyst relations community and the author of Analysts on Analyst Relations.
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