Welcome back to the last of our three-part series on analyst relations (AR).
In parts one and two we looked at what an analyst is and the value they offer to businesses. If you haven’t read parts one and two yet, we recommend you do that first, as in part three, we will be building on the ideas and concepts outlined in the previous sections of the series.
In part three we explore key questions businesses often ask when embarking on AR, including how to know you are ready for analyst relations and the different ways to engage analysts.
So, without further ado, let’s jump in and look at how businesses can get started with AR.
How do you know you are ready for analyst relations?
Ultimately there is no hard and fast rule for knowing when your business is ready for AR. Nonetheless, as with any other components of a PR programme, there needs to be a clear and defined business and comms goal. Having a clear goal that everyone can get behind ensures programmes are strategic and deliver the best ROI.
In addition to having clear goals, commitment is equally important. The critical part to succeeding with media, analyst, and even investor relations, is building long-term, meaningful relationships. Building these relationships doesn’t happen overnight and needs to be based on providing value to analysts as much as the business itself.
So, while there are no set markers that must be met before embarking on an AR programme, it’s essential to ensure that there is both a precise business and marketing goal and that everyone involved (from spokespeople to marketing teams) is committed to investing the time and resources needed to build long-term, meaningful relationships. With these pillars in place, AR delivers enormous value to businesses and can be a great way of amplifying media relations and awards campaigns, as well as helping support more direct sales and marketing initiatives.
Ways to engage analysts
Once a business has agreed on its goals and committed the time and resources to AR, it’s time to look at the different ways to engage the analyst community. The good news is there are many ways to connect with and engage analysts. Depending on the goals, time, and resources available, and critically what – if any – analyst interactions have been done before will dictate where to start. Throughout though it is important to respect analysts’ time and ensure that every interaction also delivers value to them.
Here are some of the ways to engage analysts:
- Briefings
Whether an intro or update, a briefing is an excellent way to update analysts on a business’s latest developments, such as new products, customer wins, and team structure changes. Briefings can be done in person or over the phone, often to a single analyst or analyst house and should always have a clear focus. Sharing presentations with analysts ahead of briefings help their preparations and ensures discussions deliver maximum value to both parties.
- Roundtables
Much like briefings, roundtables are a great way to update the analyst community on significant developments. For instance, sharing details on new product launches, recent business results, or major strategic direction changes will help analysts correctly position businesses in their reports, discussions with customers and wider industry conversations. Unlike briefings, roundtables allow businesses to update multiple analysts from different analyst houses simultaneously. Scheduled in advance and run either annually, bi-annually, or quarterly, roundtables are great moments for spokespeople from aboard to visit and meet with local analysts in person.
- Events
Major industry events are another opportune time for spokespeople to meet with analysts face-to-face. For example, MWC, CES, and Insecurity Europe are valuable moments to network with and engage analysts. Engagements can be either as part of a formal briefing or informally over a coffee or at a drinks reception or dinner. Providing updates to analysts on the latest business developments and trends that spokespeople are seeing helps demonstrate the value a business can offer and further cement meaningful relationships.
- News updates
Alongside briefings, roundtables, and networking at events, sharing news updates is just as important. Press releases on new product announcements, senior hires, customer wins, and business updates are all helpful in keeping analysts informed on how a business is progressing while supporting the information provided during briefings.
- Consultancy
Another more direct way to engage analysts is through consultancy. Arranging paid consultancy is a great way to gain many of the areas discussed as strategic support in part two. Regular calls with analysts to gain their thoughts and feedback can help provide valuable insights into how products should be positioned to customers and prospects and what new trends to monitor. As highlighted in part two, analysts are a great source of intel and can be fantastic sounding boards for new messaging and positioning statements.
- Research collaboration
Many analysts offer the development of a research paper as a service, and engaging an analyst to support a research project can be a good way of building relationships and identifying areas to explore with thought leadership. Working closely with an analyst on a research project provides an excellent opportunity to build relationships with them and help them better understand the business, its USP, and the customers it is trying to reach.
These are just some examples of how businesses can engage with analysts as part of an AR programme. For an AR programme to succeed, it needs to combine several engagement methods to guarantee that relationships are being built with all the right analysts. Combining a mix of engagement methods allows businesses and spokespeople to build and cement long-term, meaningful relationships that unlock the total value of AR.
Takeaways
- There is no hard and fast rule for when to begin AR. However, clear goals and a commitment to establishing a long-term programme are vital to success.
- There are multiple ways to engage analysts, from sharing relevant news announcements to briefings, roundtable events, and consultancy support.
- A successful AR programme must include a combination of engagement methods to ensure success in reaching all relevant analysts.