The ABCs of Industry Analyst Briefings

The process of briefing technology industry analysts is not a mere task, but a crucial art.
Its main objective is to connect with the analysts, enabling them to understand your company and solutions in a way that they can accurately describe to others. These ‘others’ could be journalists or potential customers who rely on the insights of these analysts. While this objective may seem straightforward, the desired result is often not achieved, underlining the importance of this process.

In this post, we discuss best practices for briefing industry analysts to help ensure your company connects the dots with these top influencers.

A) Get the Right Analyst: While it seems obvious, analysts sometimes are pulled into briefings when they do not belong there. This can be quite embarrassing and/or irritating for all parties involved. Good analyst relations programs start by identifying top candidates with proper research and adequate planning. You can learn about most analysts by looking at their biographies on the analyst website, reading their quotes in the trade press, or following their social media updates. Not doing so shows a lack of preparation.

B) Know the Analyst Firm: While most people in the technology business know the profiles of the largest advisory firms, it’s important to be well-versed in the smaller firms you decide to target. Every firm is different: Many only work for vendors, while others sell research reports. While some focus on quantitative research, others only do qualitative analysis, and some do both. It’s important to learn about these nuances to ensure your analyst briefings reflect knowledge of the firm you are briefing and to best leverage the unique benefits of each opportunity.

C) Prepare the Analyst: Do not assume any analyst knows about your company or product. A briefing always goes better when the analyst has time before the discussion to learn about your company. This gives the analyst a chance to think through what you do and is better prepared to ask relevant questions. Vendors or their PR agencies need to provide information to analysts ahead of time including links to recent press releases of significance. They should also provide the analyst with names and titles of people that will be participating in the briefing. If the analyst is not prepared with this basic info, the briefing is more awkward, more time is wasted on background discussion, and the analyst is less likely to be prepared to add much value, which is not ideal.

D) Bring the Right People from your Company: It’s important to select the best and most relevant spokespeople to attend an analyst briefing. When deciding who should attend a call, consider the analyst’s seniority, level of technical expertise, vertical industry, and coverage areas. You should limit company attendees to 2-3 people at most and offer follow-up communications with other team members if necessary.

E) Include Proper Introductions: When hosting a briefing, take the time for proper introductions before jumping into your company spiel. Nothing is more awkward than when a company representative launches into slideware before everyone on the call can be introduced. While the better analysts will interrupt and suggest introductions, some will not. For the best results, ensure the analyst knows who is on the call and their specific role/s in the company. Also, ensure you let the analyst provide a brief summary of his/her background, coverage areas, and specific items of interest before you start, so you can gear the conversation accordingly.

Bottom line, analysts influence people in the business and it is important to be sure they have an accurate perspective on your company and solutions. In next week’s post, we’ll look at more tips to help you make the most of your analyst briefings.