Should Analyst Relations Focus on Sales?

This is the title of an article by Kevin Lucas, Forrester. The subtitle is: "It's Not Just the Wrong Question-It's Downright Misleading." so you can guess what Kevin's answer is. From Forrester's perspective the real question should be: What corporate business value can AR Deliver and that may or may not be Sales. Forrester's research shows that AR managers felt more confident about reaching goals for marketing and product management.

Kevin lists other values that AR can bring including:

• Share Value
• Product and Service Creation
• Market Awareness and perception
• Order to Cash
• Service and Support

His recommendations are:

1. Clarify which corporate business goals you'll support
2. Align all elements of your AR program with the chosen business goals
3. Be realistic about what you can really acheive

My take on this is that all of the above is true-- in a different economic environment; however, many companies are in survival mode now, or worse, and are cutting marketing and AR functions and focusing only on sales and the short term. Although this is not a recommended strategy--that is the reality of the situation right now and AR has to pay attention to the shift.

In light of this, I believe that AR must focus on Sales for at least one of their goals--no matter how difficult it is to execute--it can be done. In addition, the other goals mentioned are very difficult to quantify and if you can assist in shortenting the sales process-that will be noticed and is quantifiable. What do you think? I will discuss how AR can affect sales in the next post. Comments welcome.

New HI-Tech Model for Marketing 2009

We just had a very successful Seminar on The Most Cost Effective Marketing Tool for Technology Companies-as a result of the Seminar, one of the participants and lecturers, Moshe Shamir, VP Marketing for IDIT Technologies, wrote the following article on a new Model for Hi-Tech Marketing in 2009
This includes two major strategies: SEO-Search Engine Optimization and Analyst Relations for the best ROI in these troubled times.
http://cafe.themarker.com/view.php?t=735017 (in hebrew)

Globalization of AR

I just got back from the Gartner IT Expo in Orlando. The day before I attended the KCG AR Forum with AR professionals from Microsoft, Siemens, HP, CA, EMC and others. I spoke as one of KCG's Global Partners on the Globalization of AR together with partners from India and Australia. The message was that some things are the same but some markets are very different. The rankings and influence of different analyst groups are very different from the U.S. market; for instance, Frost and Sullivan is highly regarded in some EMEA and APAC markets as is IDC whose on the ground precense is very strong.
Gartner still rules in many parts of the world but we all got in a little Gartner bashing and let out our frustrations about some of the bureaucray and out of touch policies at Gartner. Emily Green, the CEO of Yankee Group gave us a presentation on her vision of the Anywhere world of Yankee and also tried to convince us that firing a significant number of analysts was just an efficiency move.
I was a bit jealous and in awe of my AR counterparts in the U.S. who talked about their AR budgets and teams while in EMEA and Israel we usually have to make do with 10-20% of the Marketing or Marcom Managers time. There are no real AR positions in Israel and even the marketing positions will probably be in danger because of the current financial crisis. I have already heard news of one NASDAQ traded Israeli company who is downsizing their Marketing Team. In the U.S. companies fire R&D in bad times; in Israel they let the Marketing people go because some companies still dont know that it is all about perception (marketing) and not the great technology.
Will blog later this week my thoughts on the Gartner conference...
Highly recommend the KCG AR Forum for any AR professionals that want to network with the best in the profession, learn, and whine a bit about our frustrations with both the analyst companies and our own management....

Gartner joins the Blogging Party

Gartner has finally decided to encourage their analysts to get into the Blogsphere and to create a framework for it. http://blogs.gartner.com/
There are 45 analysts listed and 17 of them have not yet blogged. Most certainly this list will be much shorter in a few months.

One of the interesting blogs is not an analyst but rather a promotion for the Gartner book on Hypecycles: MASTERING THE HYPE CYCLE : How to Choose the Right Innovation at the Right Time discussing the use of Hype Cycles.

One interesting use of the blog is Mark Driver who used the blog to encourage participation in one of his upcoming sessions at the Web Innovation Conference:

"Do you have questions related to the sessions I’m hosting at the Web Innovation Conference this week? Put them in the comments here and I will try to address them during the Q&A portion of the session or as a followup blog post after the session."

Carter held a very interesting email interview with Andrew Spender, Gartner's VP of Corporate Communications which reveals the current official answers to your questions about how this is going to work....

Pre-Briefings to Analysts for Public companies

Interesting post on the subject of pre-briefings to analysts for public companies on the Hill and Knowlton AR Blog. Although it is considered an important tool for AR professionals, it can be a very sensitive issue with public companies and can involve the risk of revealing confidential information too soon. My solution is to let the lead analysts know in advance that we will publish a significant PR and that they will get the information immediately. We always brief the analysts before any journalist or other media.

Some of Hill and Knowlton's tips for this process:

• 
  Ascertain how the news relates to that second maxim – will it materially hurt your business if it becomes public knowledge prior to the embargo date? Is your CEO quitting? Are you being acquired by a competitor? If so, then keep it to yourself – though it won’t hurt to give your best friends in the analyst community a heads up to keep their eyes open for the announcement.
  
• Pick the analysts you want to pre-brief carefully...restrict to selected Tier One influencers... people who will both act as a source of credible third-party comment to the press and people you want to get closer to because having a more intimate relationship will meet top-line AR goals of driving sales and revenue.
  
• Limit the number of analysts you do pre-brief. In most cases, there’s no need to go beyond two or three of your closest friends.
  
• If you are talking about a new product briefing, then you should engage the analysts early, at least three to four months before the announcement date. This will provide them with the opportunity to give feedback while you can still actually gain some benefit from it.
• Then come back to them again for a sanity check a couple of weeks before the announcement. For announcements that are more material, brief within 48 hours of the announcement... and preferably within 24.
  
• Diplomatically establish the ground rules with the analyst when asking them if they are interested in the pre-briefing and setting up the call.

Great Explanation of the Gartner Hype Cycle

Understanding the Gartner Hype Cycle

Only the biggest and best-run companies actually survive the Trough and get to enjoy the Slope. More often, new vendors emerge to ride the fun part of the Hype Curve while the originators curse them from the sidelines. If you’re a new player, hopping on board during the Slope, congratulations, you’ve mastered the other critical asset: timing (sometimes called luck). Your challenge is to make up for your lack of customers and case stories with a crystal clear vision that matches the accelerating market.

The Hype Cycle can be a new way to think about the marketing challenges you face right now and can throw new light on your priorities. The important thing to take away is that your company does not have to be the victim of Hype Cycle forces. You can do things to control your destiny by getting the right stories to the market at the right times.

One of the tools they suggest is improving your SEO efforts and give some great advice on how to do so: How to be a Google Guru in 30 minutes-How to Improve your SEO

Israeli Chapter of the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations Formed

First Local Chapter of the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations (IIAR) to Open in Israel

Initial Meeting will be held at the 19th Annual Regional Gartner Conference in Tel Aviv

June 17, 2008, Tel Aviv, Israel, Today, The Institute of Industry Analyst Relations (IIAR) announced the launch of its first local chapter, in Israel. The Founder is Nancy Shapira Aronovic, Managing Partner of Gelbart Kahana Analyst Relations. The initial meeting of the Israeli IIAR Forum will be at the 19th Annual Regional Gartner Conference in Tel Aviv where Nancy Shapira-Aronovic has been invited to moderate a Forum on Analyst Relations for the participants of the Conference.

The mission of the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations is to enhance the awareness, image and practice of the analyst relations profession globally. There are approximately 70 members from companies including: Avaya, BT, Cisco, Deloitte, Nortel, and Oracle.
Nancy Shapira-Aronovic, “We are committed to supporting efforts to improve the level of professionalism for Marketing professionals in Israel who work with the Global Industry Analyst Groups. Joining the IIAR will provide access to a global network of AR professionals and Analyst Groups which will raise the level of awareness in Israel on how to use this important marketing tool.”
“We are excited to launch the first local chapter of the IIAR in Israel which is well known as a country with a strong and innovative technology sector. We look forward to working with the Israeli chapter to raise awareness of the value of analyst relations and to share ideas and knowledge of AR best practices,” Hannah Kirkman, IIAR.
About the IIAR
Established in April 2006, the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising industry awareness of the value of analyst relations, promoting and sharing best practice in AR, enhancing communications between vendors and analyst firms, and providing opportunities for AR professionals to meet and network with their industry peers. http://www.analystrelations.org/

http://www.gk-biz.com/