Industry analysts are a specific group of external influencers with whom many B2B communicators have formed vital relationships. Forrester, Gartner and IDC are among the largest firms whose analysts conduct research and publish reports that assess the business competitors within an industry. Their market intelligence—rankings, trend outlooks and case studies—are followed closely by buyers in specific B2B industries.
However, just as the flight to digital and social media is often cited as the reason for a decline in traditional news consumption, some believe that it has also reduced the reliance on industry analysts for brand reputation management.
We asked senior experts to explain changes faced by B2B communicators and how these have affected the way the analyst relations function is integrated within a communications team.
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| JOE MANDACINA VP, Corporate Communications, Sprint Corp. |
Recognizing the influential function of industry analysts with the business community—as well as consumer interest—Sprint has created a team solely focused on this audience. Falling under the corporate communications umbrella, Sprint’s industry analyst relations (IAR) team works with the company’s product, marketing, network and technology teams as well as key executives to ensure activities with the analysts are incorporated into planning early and often. The analyst relations team also works in tandem with members of the media relations team, developing messaging and external communications strategies, including social media. Sprint’s had a long commitment to the importance of industry analysts and its IAR group has long been recognized by independent observers as best-of-breed.
Taking into consideration the information needs of the analysts, Sprint has developed a “toolkit” of communications to accommodate analyst needs. This communications toolkit includes social media, a password-protected Web site, weekly communiqués and a Twitter feed, @IARSprint. Currently the team is exploring additional methods to incorporate social media that would be relevant to the analysts. Sprint success in analyst relations is a result of a holistic approach to communications and recognizing the importance of the industry analyst community.
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| RYAN ZUK, APR Senior Media & Analyst Relations Manager, Sage North America |
The emergence of social and digital technologies doesn’t just allow more people to have voices, but also for influencers to multiply and amplify theirs. While B2B AR professionals have experienced consolidation among larger research firms, we are also interacting with a growing number of solo analysts and niche firms. Sage, for example, provides software and services to small- and midsize businesses, and here alone we see a proliferation of SMB technology experts to keep apprised of our offerings. Influencer engagements have increased and we see analysts’ relevance expanding.
Integrating approaches that support analysts as both communities and individuals is helping. Analyst events prove out how our products benefit customers and convey topline messages we can customize and elaborate on during individual conversations throughout the year, ensuring analysts get information they seek through multiple touch points. We also leverage awareness where media and analyst activities intersect, producing coverage that reaches our target audience via third-party authorities and national media.
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| JIM KERR VP, Global Public and Analyst Relations, Unisys |
Studies indicate that peer opinion and industry analyst opinion remain the top two sources of influence in the B2B decision making process. Gone are the days when sources of influence fit into easily identifiable silos. Analysts and the media alike are increasingly making use of social media channels to communicate their messages, engage with companies and customers, and discern buying interests and trends.
Given these trends, Unisys recently combined our global analyst relations and public relations teams into an integrated influencer relations organization. We have integrated our day-to-day processes, knowledge-sharing tools and communications channels to give us a more holistic view of influencer sentiment.
Unisys has also been proactively expanding our use of social media tools, such as blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube in our communications and public outreach programs.
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CAROL WALLACE |
Technology analyst relations, like all marketing communications, is about helping the sales team connect with prospects and customers to retain and increase revenue.
As with all communications management, technology analyst relations calls for a consistent frequency of touchpoints throughout the year. A healthy combination of conference calls, e-mails with relevant information, press releases, Tweets, LinkedIn updates, YouTube product demos, webinars, one-on-ones at technology conferences, inquiries and briefings and Tech Analyst Days continually educate both the analyst and the experts providing technology solutions.
Wherever analysts choose to communicate, their opinion is valued for one major reason: independence. As vendor-agnostic experts, analysts educate and counsel all industry players with often the most comprehensive view in the marketplace. A tweet about an emerging industry such as digital mailboxes means one thing coming from a Web start-up, but it becomes considerably more significant when the source is a technology analyst.
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CARTER CROMLEY |
The fragmentation of the media industry and its impact on public relations is, at best, unnerving for even the most talented IT communications professionals.
Industry analyst relations is also adapting to the new communications landscape. There’s no denying that use of analyst research and opinions is trending downward and is in part attributable to the dominance of Gartner.
However, social media and emergence of analyst blogs represents a gold mine for immediate opinion and insight into the latest trends and news. Typically, these blogs are not subjected to internal cleansing associated with formal research and they’re usually public.
Also, social media is changing how we package and broadly communicate key industry info in a way that is ripe for SEO. An infographic that highlights key findings such as survey results is loved by the news media, particularly online publishers can be powerful generators for SEO and online awareness. PRN
[Editor’s Note: For more content about managing reputation, visit PR News’ Subscriber Resource Center.]
✔ Measurement Tip of the Week
When deciding how well you performed in the press, it’s vital to take into account your competitive context and media environment. Just hitting your message points is not enough.
CONTACT:
B2B Communications is written by Mary C. Buhay, VP at Gibbs & Soell Public Relations. She can be reached at [email protected].