Working with-industry-analysts

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Working with Industry Analysts
Eight Tips for Entrepreneurs

June 1, 2012

Susan Etlinger
Industry Analyst

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Who are we?

Altimeter Group provides research and
advisory for business leaders challenged by
disruptive trends, to enable them to pursue
new opportunities and business models.

© 2012 Altimeter Group

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What we’re thinking and writing about in 2012

•  Dynamic Customer Journey
•  Adaptive Organization
•  Sentient World

For more about how we are thinking and writing about these trends, please visit:
http://www.altimetergroup.com/research/research-themes


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Who am I?
  10 years in house in Corp Comm, marketing, IT
  10 years agency: startups to Fortune 500
counseling entrepreneurs and execs
  Today: Industry analyst covering social analytics,
voice of the customer, “big data”
  Receive approx 50 briefing requests per month (I
can do 5-10; more when working on a report)
  Been on both sides of the fence; analyst relations
and analyst


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Your Task
Think about the two sentences you
want the analyst to walk away with.
What should they be?
[Hint: mine are on the next page]


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My two sentences
Build a relationship for the long term.
Here’s how.


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Eight tips for working with analysts


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1. Understand analysts’ motivation


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Know what makes them tick
  Looking smart
  Access
  Ideas for research
  Identifying trends
  Building influence & reputation
  Staying valuable, relevant and sought-after


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2. Understand the business model


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How do industry analysts make money?
  Research reports, Advisory services, Projects,
Speaking engagements, Other
  What are you buying? Access to the research?
The analyst? Their customer base?
  We don’t all work the same way: Paid research
versus open research
  Established business models are under threat
  We are not the same as equity analysts


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3. Understand the service offering


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The infamous question of “pay to play”
  Never pay to brief an analyst
  Are you being asked to pay or buy services to be
included in reports?
  This is why understanding the model is so
important; what is part of the research process vs
what is part of the service offering
  Models are different, so transparency is key


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4. Before: do your homework


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How to prepare
  Know what analysts cover and what they’ve written on
  Look at how they’re organized: industry, horizontal
coverage area, practice area
  Know the frameworks and potential implications to
your business
  Find out their revenue mix; percentage from vendors
versus brands
  Find out rules of engagement; what is fair game, what
is embargoed. Unless you have a paid relationship,
many analysts will not sign an NDA for a briefing.


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5. During: don’t “pitch” us


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In the meeting…
  Confirm rules of engagement
  Have an agenda
  Don’t waste time on logo slides and background;
get to the point fast
  We see dozens of companies per month; why are
you special?
  Don’t condescend, don’t sell. Be nice. Be
prepared. Be real. Be curious.
  Don’t offer gifts of any value; we can’t accept
them
  Ask questions. Listen. Ask more questions.


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6. If we say your baby is ugly…

* No actual babies were deemed ugly for the purpose of this presentation.


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Criticism in context
  It’s not personal
  Don’t be defensive, but do ask for supporting
evidence
  Don’t walk away or write them off; stay engaged
  Maintain a balance of advocates and detractors;
detractors keep you honest
  Remember: the analyst’s focus is pattern
recognition


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7. Working with analysts


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How to work with analysts
  Press references
  Speeches, webinars (influence)
  Advisory
•  Positioning
•  Message review
•  Roadmap
•  End user insight
  Always keep the next briefing in mind


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7. After: the long view


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Thinking for the long term
  If you’re in an emerging or disruptive market, don’t
rely only on analysts who work within established
categories.
  Seek out the analysts who “get” you. This does
not mean they always think you are amazing. That
is your family’s job.
  Build trust. The goal is to get to the point where
we’ll take a briefing no matter what, and we know
each other so well we can do it in 20 minutes

* Actual mileage may vary


Working with-industry-analysts

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