by Spenser Murray
February 14, 2022
Industry analysts are everywhere. They are informing markets, educating customers, identifying relevant vendors, and everything in between. You can’t go to a tech conference, read a tech-related news article, or listen to a podcast without someone quoting an analyst. The impact they have goes beyond their published research. But, do you really know who these mystical beings are? Check out our five things to know about Industry Analysts and why organizations are interacting with them:
Analysts are constantly engaging with customers and companies simultaneously. Between briefings for product roadmaps, inquiries related to go-to-market strategy, and demos of the product, their schedules are jam-packed. Analysts are in front of content all day, so their focus goes beyond a clean slide deck. They want to hear tangible experiences from your customers and examples of how they use the product to better their world. Part of an analyst’s responsibility is to help inform their customers on the best product or services to suit their needs. To ensure impactful engagements, don’t worry too much about how your content looks and focus more on creating obsessed customers that will tout your organization’s work.
While all analysts have similar goals of meeting with vendors and writing research, each individual has a different angle and unique point of interest. Some understand the products and come from backgrounds of design and user experience, while some are more market champions setting the overall strategy. Analysts have varying professional experience and usually have either come directly from industry into being an analyst or have been a researcher for an analyst. With so many different analysts relevant to your organization, it can be overwhelming of knowing who to talk to about what topic. One way to help narrow your search is to tier out your analysts. To learn more about how to identify analysts based on your analyst relations program needs, read our blog.
The best way for an analyst to get to know your organization is to spend time with them. This can be from a series of interactions or advisory days. Sharing a clear vision of your goals and strategy with analysts is a great way to start a dialogue with an analyst. Try not to engage for the sake of engaging and think about the purpose and intent of your interaction. In our annual How Analysts Perceive Analyst Relations, analysts want to talk with businesses when they have relevant updates and 50% of analysts encourage more inquiries from organizations. To check out our complete infographic with data from the survey, head on over to our research page! Remember, relationships aren’t built through one exchange but from multiple meaningful conversations.
Analysts are charged with providing your organization with informed, specific feedback and advice. In our experience, industry analysts don’t cover a particular area for monetary benefit, they do it because the information is in demand and their job is to inform and educate. Analysts are connecting with every company that falls within their market landscape. This means that their recommendations and opinions are backed by knowledge of what is taking place in the market and research from data – not just an opinion.
One thing we know for certain is that these folks are busy. The day-to-day job of an analyst is jam-packed and never dull. They are constantly trying to keep up with their industry by looking at the latest news, consuming the newest books, reviewing news articles, connecting with vendors directly, and more. Some days they are presenting their findings, helping a client, conducting briefings/inquiries, having a press meeting, at a tech event, collaborating with other analysts, and the list goes on. Be mindful of schedules when joining inquiries and briefings, making sure you end on time. To learn how to supercharge your analyst briefings and get the most out of your time, check out our blog.
At the end of the day, analysts are covering a lot of ground with their research. We recommend coming to all of these conversations ready to learn. Analysts are a wealth of knowledge with dynamic areas of expertise to help your organization reach its goals.
Interested in understanding how industry analysts can impact your organization? Contact us today!
