For Analyst Relations Professionals

Creating, Keeping, And Losing Industry Analyst Mindshare

by Kevin Lucas, October 15, 2009

Analyst mindshare sounds like a great advantage to a vendor, but many industry analyst relations (AR) teams are uncertain what it means, how to create it, how to maintain it, or even what might steal it from them. Forrester has, therefore, introduced . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Improve Services Briefings To Industry Analysts With Three Additional P's Of Services Marketing

Building People, Process, And Physical Evidence Into The Message

by Kevin Lucas, July 24, 2009

Many services firms give weak initial briefings when they try to describe their extensive portfolios to industry analysts. The relatively intangible nature of services, as compared with hardware, software, and telecom products that appear so much more . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Supplementing AR Budgets

by Kevin Lucas, January 14, 2009

When budgets are tight, analyst relations (AR) managers must optimize their spending. But they can also try to tap supplementary funding — especially from those who benefit most from AR spend. Given that their colleagues may face budgetary pressure too, . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Should AR Focus On Sales?

It's Not Just The Wrong Question — It's Downright Misleading

by Kevin Lucas, December 1, 2008

Ask two experienced analyst relations (AR) professionals or pundits whether AR exists to deliver sales value or not, and you'll get divergent answers. Some say that it's fundamental, others that it's fundamental madness. Little wonder then that the rest . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Is Your AR Fiddling While Rome Burns?

How AR Proves Its Value In An Unsettled Market

by Kevin Lucas, November 12, 2008

When economic turmoil impacts technology markets, many analyst relations (AR) teams appear blithely unaffected. In some cases, AR managers don't know what changes to make to their programs or even that such changes could help their companies. In others, . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Forge Valuable AR Programs With FIAR: The Forrester Industry Analyst Relations Model

A Structured Method To Craft Or Refine An Analyst Relations Program That Addresses The Specific Needs Of Your Company

by Kevin Lucas, November 5, 2008

Analyst relations (AR) managers constantly ask us how to prove the value of their AR programs. Worryingly, so do some of their bosses. Unfortunately, many of them struggle because they didn't build their plans to deliver business value, and they now rely . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Analysts Don't Yet Use Blogs For Research

It's Premature To Add Blogging To AR's Outbound Agenda

by Merv Adrian, October 17, 2008

Despite the feverish rush to Social Computing technologies, AR would be well advised to proceed with caution and monitor results closely before making large commitments. Industry analysts at larger firms are slowly beginning to experiment with blogging, . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Cost-Effective AR: An Optimization Approach

by Kevin Lucas, September 5, 2008

Analyst relations (AR) managers need optimally efficient plans because their teams are generally smaller than they feel they need. Analyst subscriptions take a relatively large proportion of AR's total budget, leaving an operational budget that AR professionals . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Whose Job Is AR Doing?

AR Professionals Need To Put Limits On What They Do For Others In The Organization And Make Their Own Mission A Priority

by Kevin Lucas, July 23, 2008

Analyst relations (AR) is just one of a number of vendor professions that uses analyst research; if poorly positioned, however, AR winds up helping others fulfill their research needs while diminishing its own corporate value. AR professionals must recognize . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Fragile AR Teams Must Support Business Goals To Survive, Let Alone To Grow

AR's Circumstances And Successes Through The Lens Of Team Size

by Kevin Lucas, May 16, 2008

Bigger industry analyst relations (AR) teams can undertake more work, but AR must also use skillful management if it is to deliver clear business benefit. For example, a Forrester survey shows that bigger teams reach out to more analysts and generate . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Corporate Communications And The CMO Offer AR The Greatest Chance To Succeed

AR's Circumstances And Successes Through The Lens Of Reporting Line

by Kevin Lucas, May 16, 2008

Although most analyst relations (AR) teams report through corporate communications or the chief marketing officer (CMO), many drift aimlessly before they get there. Along the way, other bosses exert their self-interest and expect a greater contribution . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Case Study: Exstream Software Drives Sales Through Analyst Relations

by Kevin Lucas, May 12, 2008

Exstream Software's industry analyst relations (AR) manager is generating direct sales benefits by consistently creating leads and providing strong sales cycle support that includes deployment of analysts who impact purchase decisions. While beating its . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

AR Cost Management In A Downturn

Short- And Long-Term Strategies For Dealing With Budget Pressures

by Merv Adrian, May 5, 2008

Top analyst relations (AR) professionals are in control of their budget, manage that spending to achieve committed objectives, and are prepared to defend and document costs accordingly. In a period of economic uncertainty, such preparation is essential . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Case Study: Callidus Software Drives Sales Through Analyst Relations

by Kevin Lucas, April 9, 2008

Callidus Software's industry analyst relations (AR) manager generates quantifiable sales benefits in the form of sales leads and procurement recommendations from analysts. AR generates approximately 10% of the company's leads, while 40% to 50% of sales . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Case Study: Lawson Software Drives Sales Through Analyst Relations

by Kevin Lucas, April 4, 2008

Lawson Software's analyst relations (AR) team is succeeding where most teams fail; it's delivering quantifiable, direct sales benefits. With two-thirds of its sales cycles affected by industry analysts, it's vital for Lawson to know which analysts are . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

AR Budget Buys Scale, Not Opinion

AR's Circumstances And Successes Through The Lens Of Budget

by Kevin Lucas, March 6, 2008

If money bought analyst influence, industry analyst relations (AR) would simply buy it. But, as a Forrester survey shows, AR isn't that simple. For example, higher budgets did not correspond to improved leadership of analyst evaluations even though they . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Mastering The First Analyst Briefing Tour

Seven Things Industry Analysts Want To Hear From You

by Ellen Carney, Kevin Lucas, Laura Ramos, Chris Silva, February 26, 2008

Most emerging companies, as well as a lot of established ones, are in hot pursuit of analyst "ink and influence," so they schedule analyst briefings to tout all the fine stuff that they do. But few of these first-time briefings deliver content that's . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Major Analyst Evaluations Are The Weakness Of AR Teams At Services Vendors

AR's Circumstances And Successes Through The Lens Of Vendor Type

by Kevin Lucas, December 27, 2007

Industry analyst relations (AR) teams have a tough job at services vendors. They find fewer analysts evaluating services than products, which means there are fewer potential champions of services prowess. AR teams struggle to cover the broad range of . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Best Practices For Building Strong Relationships With Client Advocate Analysts

by R "Ray" Wang, December 14, 2007

Poor relationships with client advocates adversely impact deal flow, end user perceptions, and business partner mindshare. Analyst relations (AR) professionals should assess the state of each client advocate relationship using Forrester's four-phase relationship . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Commercial Size Is No Barrier To Your AR Success

AR's Circumstances And Successes Through The Lens Of Commercial Size

by Kevin Lucas, December 7, 2007

AR managers at small vendors and in small regional teams often fear that larger competitors can use their bigger budgets and manpower to dominate analyst relationships. As poor AR would imply poor recognition and career progression, AR managers might . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Building Strong Analyst Relationships

A Four-Phase Model For Driving Greater Value

by R "Ray" Wang, December 3, 2007

Poor relationships with analysts adversely impact deal flow, mindshare, and product planning. AR professionals should drive their relationships through the maturity cycle to achieve optimal relationships with key analysts. Advanced AR programs should . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Analysts Can't Find AR On Your Home Page!

Link To Contact Information, And Measure Its Use

by Merv Adrian, November 29, 2007

Industry analysts cite vendor Web sites as a leading source of information, but online content isn't enough. They also depend on contact with analyst relations (AR) professionals. It's astonishing, then, that most tech industry home pages have no easy . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

The Seven Weaknesses Of Regional AR

by Kevin Lucas, November 7, 2007

As vendors seek to broaden their geographic exposure to industry analysts, their analyst relations (AR) organizations deploy staff in key geographic regions. But regional conditions inevitably differ from those in which global AR teams operate, and regional . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

Industry Analyst Relations Should Focus On Achievable Metrics

Measuring And Achieving Sales Contribution Is Hard For AR

by Kevin Lucas, November 2, 2007

Myriad options puzzle industry analyst relations (AR) professionals as they try to identify how to measure the value they can bring to a high-tech supplier and deliver consistently against related targets. A recent Forrester survey shows that AR teams . . .

For Analyst Relations Professionals

AR's Graveyard: Unmet Sales Commitments

by Kevin Lucas, September 26, 2007

More than half of the industry analyst relations (AR) teams that we surveyed in April 2007 say that they commit to objectives that help the sales function. But poor sales results threaten to undermine AR's corporate contribution and its reputation. AR . . .