Related Posts
Gartner recently updated its Cool Vendors methodology to emphasize innovation and remove inclusion restrictions. The rebrand says it all: It’s now “Coolest Vendor Innovations” rather than “Cool Vendors.” From our POV, these changes reinforce the growing importance of aligning your Analyst Relations and Customer Marketing efforts.
Expanded Eligibility
Basically, any vendor of any size and characteristics is now eligible (provided it has the right coolness—more below). There are no longer restrictions related to revenue, headcount, geography, or maturity.
Gartner Chooses You
A vendor must be chosen by a Gartner analyst, and client status with Gartner does not affect a vendor’s nomination. However, vendors can leverage a Gartner subscription and conduct inquiries with analysts to get more on Gartner’s radar.
A recognized Cool Vendor can even be a subsidiary or business unit—provided it’s a distinct creature—of an established vendor.
A vendor’s innovation(s) must meet these main criteria:
1) Identify the right Gartner analyst(s) who cover your category or capabilities.
2) Timing: Start your efforts in Q3 or Q4. Come Q1 of the new year, analysts know which vendors, if any, they want to nominate for coolness. If you start in Q1, you’re too late.
3) Precisely Identify Your Innovation: If your capability is already analyzed in one or more Gartner Magic Quadrants, it’s not truly innovative.
4) Share and Follow-up: Request briefings and/or share information with them via email. One or two interactions aren’t enough, given that you’re one of thousands of vendors competing for attention. Point to customer reviews (in Gartner Peer Insights, G2, PeerSpot, TrustRadius, etc.), customer testimonials (on your website), and/or community discussions (like in Reddit) that prove you meet the coolest criteria. Analysts will not nominate you without customer evidence.
5) Enlist Frenemies: Gartner analysts must have at least three vendors for approval of a Cool Vendor report. You need to be innovative, but not alone in the general category or in the problem you solve.
6) If you don’t achieve this coolest distinction after one cycle, don’t stop trying. Keep sharing and listening—keep your cool.
This article from Gartner analyst Jim Hare provides more color on these changes and a first-hand perspective on what Gartner analysts look for in the coolest of the cool vendors.