October 27, 2016
Increasing ROI from Your Gartner Subscription
By Susan Thomas
Analyst Relations
An effective AR strategy will help move even the most skeptical prospects to customers.
Analyst relations aren’t just about visibility. They’re about influence. When the right analysts understand your vision and validate your product, doors open faster. At 10Fold, we’ve been building for the last 20 years analyst strategies and executing on analyst programs that turn skepticism into confidence, and noise into measurable impact.
Our B2B analyst relations agency provides the best services
For B2B technology companies, it is all about creating competitive advantage and driving sales, and industry analysts can be a big part of that. Analyst perception provided through reports like the MQ or Wave or comments at their conferences can directly impact buyer decisions. .
The industry’s most influential analysts play a strategic role in helping 10Fold clients differentiate their technology, business models and connect with potential partners and customers. 10Fold knows analysts are distinctly different from the media and require different information and a different program strategy.
What is analyst relations?
Analyst relations is the art and science of building influence with the industry’s most trusted third-party experts. These analysts track technologies, vendors, even trends with surgical precision: their guidance shapes the buying decisions of Fortune 500 CIOs, reporters, and investors alike. AR ensures your voice is heard and your value is clear.
Why do analyst relations matter for you?
If a company doesn’t work effectively with industry analysts, it may mean it will be much tougher to develop preference with enterprise buyers at scale. Whether you are planning a big move in the annual MQ with Gartner, or to engage a smaller analyst group that is highly influential in your market for webinars and case studies, we’re here to help you design the program and negotiate the budget, the timeline and the distribution rights.
Enterprise buyers rely on analyst evaluations as a risk filter. Journalists mine analyst insights to frame market stories. Investors use reports to gauge momentum and category maturity. Simply put, analysts influence the stakeholders who influence your growth. It’s likely you need them.
And 10Fold’s expertise can help you. We know a once-a-year briefing won’t move the needle. That vague messaging gets lost in dense report matrices.
Analysts expect data-backed, roadmap-aware discussions. Marketing fluff is just not enough. That’s why you need proactive, insight-driven analyst strategies that sync with your go-to-market and technology vision.
Is your AR strategy working?
If your company is missing from analyst reports or can’t seem to develop a strong position in important industry reports such as the Gartner Magic Quadrant or the Forrester Wave, your analyst program may be missing critical components:
- Your analyst relationships may be too generic (sporadic phone briefings are not enough!)
- Your outreach may be too infrequent
- Your interactions may be inconsistent based on using too many different spokespeople
- Your content may not be resonating
- Your investment strategy could be off
Our 10Fold team can right size any analyst relations program to ensure it meets the needs of your business.
What 10Fold’s analyst relations services bring on the table
Each analyst is a domain expert, deeply immersed in a specific slice of the technological world. Because they are in constant dialogue with supply and demand, they know not only what is being built, but also what is really needed. That’s why we need to build close relationships with them. And that’s how we help:
We audit your analyst presence and messaging
We start by evaluating where and how you’re already showing up in reports, competitive landscape, conference key notes, blogs, and in any online forums (such as Peer Insights by Gartner). We also assess your decks and current corporate, product and competitive messaging to verify how well they align with analyst expectations and comparison criteria.
We develop a focused analyst relations strategy
We know that all analyst firms are not alike. Knowing how each firm conducts business, respecting their business model, and understanding the background and the unique expertise of each analyst is critical in creating an effective analyst program. We help you stay top-of-mind year-round, with messaging that aligns with their research agendas and the needs of their clients.
We coordinate analyst briefings and positioning
Through our tech content writing services, we script, coach, and prepare your executives to deliver analyst briefings that hit the mark. Our goal is to present a differentiated, analyst-ready narrative that reflects your market fit and innovation edge. And to maintain momentum post-briefing.
We align AR with your marketing and comms strategy
Analyst relations doesn’t live in a silo. We bridge your AR program with your PR strategy to maximize impact. We ensure your messaging is consistent across all touchpoints. Analyst quotes and insights can be powerful proof points if integrated smartly into your broader brand narrative!
We monitor analyst feedback and influence
We track every signal of influence and compile metrics that feed into our performance dashboards for real-time visibility: quotes in the media, analyst referrals in sales cycles, speaking opportunities, participation in vendor landscapes, and shifts in perception. This visibility allows us to measure impact and adjust strategy as needed to strengthen your positioning.
We manage your AR investment for maximum ROI
Analyst engagement is costly, but strategic investment pays off. We help you prioritize the firms and analysts that matter most to your market, this by allocating spend where it matters. The goal: measurable influence and maximum return.
Our analyst relations services for tech B2B companies
With more than 20 years of AR expertise, our full service PR agency knows the strongest industry analysts for each industry and we have an understanding of their cost structures, making introductions and presentations far less stressful and engagements more successful.
Our early-stage clients benefit from analyst accolades from ESG or IDC or even the Gartner Cool Vendor report, which credibly puts a young company on the map in weeks, rather than months or years. Our more established clients appreciate the credibility associated with competitive advancement in key reports from the bigger players.
Want to dive deeper into AR strategy?
Struggling with analysts and how to build value? We can help!
Our team is ready to build a custom analyst relations strategy that earns attention and drives results.
Frequently Asked Questions about Analyst Relations
What are the goals of analyst relations
The goal of analyst relations (AR) is to shape how industry analysts perceive your company, your product category. Effective AR ensures your solution is well understood, favorably positioned in key reports like the 451 Insights, Gartner Magic Quadrants or Forrester Waves, and top-of-mind in analyst briefings with your buyers. It’s about building influence with those who influence your buyers.
How do you measure analyst relations
AR measurement combines qualitative and quantitative metrics. On the quantitative side: number of analyst briefings secured, coverage in analyst reports, and analyst-driven referrals or RFP inclusions and analyst commissioned content used in lead generation initiatives. On the qualitative side: sentiment shifts in analyst feedback, evolution of your competitive placement, and depth of analyst understanding. Over time, stronger AR directly correlates with better market perception and sales acceleration.
What is AR vs PR?
Public Relations (PR) builds brand awareness through media coverage, thought leadership, and storytelling aimed at a broad audience. It gets you seen. Analyst Relations (AR), on the other hand, is about earning credibility and validation from industry analysts: people who influence market perception, and often shape vendor shortlists in enterprise deals. It gets you shortlisted.
Think of it this way:
- A strong PR hit might get your brand featured in TechCrunch.
- A strong AR strategy might get your product recommended in a Gartner inquiry call to a Fortune 500 CIO.
Both are essential, but in B2B tech, where buying cycles are long and technical, AR often carries more weight in the decision phase. Companies that coordinate PR and AR see stronger results. Your media narrative feeds analyst perception, and analyst validation strengthens media traction.