Don’t underestimate the visibility a blog can provide an analyst

An interesting exercise is to compare the relative web traffic between the largest advisory analyst firm (Gartner), the largest IT market research firm (IDC) and a very visible analyst who has his own blog. Using the site comparison feature of Compete here is the graphic showing Forrester analyst extraordinaire and social media poster boy Jeremiah [...]

AR job opening – Tech Mahindra Ltd. in India

Light on details. The India position requires two to three years experience and will be based in Pune. The announcement is marked “Urgently looking” so don’t wait.
Contact: Rahul Basarkar, Global Head of Industry Analyst Relations, at e-mail.

Forrester Research Q2 2009 earnings

This analysis does not look at areas of interest to investors, but seeks to pull out insights that are relevant to clients and prospects of Forrester Research, the number two advisory analyst firm, as well as communications and IT vendor analyst relations (AR) teams. 
Forrester Research (NASDAQ: FORR) reported its Q2 2009 earnings on July 30, 2009. See [...]

Where do social media metrics fit into an AR measurement program? [Practitioner Question]

Question: Are social media like blogs and Twitter something we should be measuring or is it too early yet? Where does social media fit in a measurement scheme?
 If your analysts are using social media, then including those sorts of metrics in a measurement program is really not optional. In this case we are putting social [...]

Take a retail approach early in an AR Sales-Partnership to drive adoption

AR teams that are early in an AR-Sales Partnership Program launch logically take a “wholesale” approach to getting the word out about how Sales can take advantage of AR’s expertise to handle the influence of the analysts on sales deals. This wholesale approach typically includes sending out mass emails both directly or through field communications, [...]

Ideas for your 2010 AR Plan

It’s that time of the year when many AR programs are working on their 2010 AR Strategic and Tactical Plan. This is a popular topic that we have touched on in a number of blog posts (see a small sampler below). This post looks at a few items you should consider thinking about that are not [...]

For IT managers – It’s “Praise Your Vendor” Inquiry Day

Now for something completely different… offering the analysts a vendor compliment in lieu of a complaint. Advisory analysts at the largest firms (e.g., Forrester and Gartner) build their opinions based more on client feedback than on research evaluations. They generally do not do lab analysis or specific competitive research.  That means that the perceptions they have of the [...]

Manufacturing and Supply Chain veteran David Boulanger joins Frost & Sullivan – Analyst Ecosystem News

David Boulanger is focused on bringing Frost & Sullivan’s global Industry resources and T.E.A.M. approach to Industrial Automation and Process Division customers with growth-oriented challenges.
A 20-year veteran in Manufacturing and Supply Chain, Mr. Boulanger was formerly an Industry Analyst with AMR Research.
Please join us in congratulating David and wishing him great success in his new position.
 
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Are [...]

Analyst Relations budget – Use it, don’t lose it

It’s now July 22nd, about half way through the third calendar quarter. Many communications and IT vendors have budget policies in place where departments lose any budget that is not spent within a particular fiscal quarter or calendar year. AR managers frequently find it difficult to find a good use for remaining budget, especially when it might [...]

SAS day success – ruthlessly drive value

SAS(1) days (aka analyst consulting days, see definition) are a popular tool with many technology vendors. If done correctly SAS days can have a great ROI. If done poorly, a SAS day is a waste of time, money, and AR political capital.  It also has the added risk of hurting your company’s relationship and standing [...]

Analyst Relations Job Opening in New York

Rosetta
Analyst Relations Manager – Tribeca/New York, NY
About the Job
The Analyst Relations Manager will be responsible for establishing and raising awareness for Rosetta as one of the leading interactive agencies in the country to ultimately help drive new business for the agency. They will be charged with developing a broader and deeper awareness for Rosetta throughout [...]

SageCircle AR Podcast for July 21, 2009

The AR podcast is a review of the latest news and trends in the analyst ecosystem along with tips and tricks for analyst relations professionals and analyst research consumers. SageCircle strategists Dave Eckert and Carter Lusher co-host this bi-weekly program. You can find all the SageCircle podcasts on our podcast page.
Click here to listen to the [...]

Gartner, Inc. 2Q 2009 earnings call is scheduled – will it continue to add enterprise clients?

Gartner, Inc.  (NYSE:IT) announced that its earnings conference call will be on August 4th, Tuesday, at 10:00 a.m. ET. The earnings call is a webcast that you can find on Gartner’s investor relations webpage. This earnings call happens the week after Forrester’s Q2 call.
This earnings call should provide critical insight into whether enterprise technology buyers are changing their advisory analyst contract [...]

Forrester Research, Inc. Q2 2009 earnings call scheduled – will it continue to lose enterprise clients?

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Update 7/30/09 click here for an analysis of the Forrester earnings call.
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This earnings call should be interesting in the wake of yet more analyst firm layoffs (see TowerGroup is rightsizing for a changed landscape and Listing of analyst firms who have laid off analysts in 2009).
Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR)  earnings call is 11:00 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, July [...]

“You have a problem message, not a problem analyst!”

SageCircle strategists are frequently called upon to help a client with a problem analyst. As we chat with the client and investigate the circumstances it sometimes turns out that the problem is not the analyst, but the poor messaging being used with the analysts. This problem is frequently compounded by a lack of customer stories [...]

Vendors, through reprints, help keep the analysts influential

There is an inherent contradiction in vendors saying the industry analysts are not relevant in the age of social media, while at the same time spending tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on research reprints like the Gartner Magic Quadrant or Forrester Wave. If the analysts are no longer influential – [...]

TowerGroup is rightsizing for a changed landscape

The fact that the financial services industry is changing is on the front pages of news sites and newspapers every day. Banks being closed down by regulators or acquired by other banks are shrinking the market. Other financial institutions are slamming their checkbooks shut as they try to conserve capital. This turmoil is obviously impacting [...]

Want lots of analyst mentions in research, the press and social media? Simple, just screw up.

Too often the number of times a vendor is mentioned by analysts is considered a key metric for analyst relations. While a potentially useful part of an overall measurement program, simple counts of mentions or share of voice as the primary metric is totally inadequate. That is because without context, tonality, and relevance, mentions can [...]

Use an AR team handle to divide the Twitter workload

When AR professionals consider using Twitter to interact with analysts they often shy away from the activity based on their perception of adding yet another task to an already heavy workload. There is even the perception that following an analyst using a personal Twitter handle (e.g., @daveeckert or @carterlusher) sets the expectation that the AR [...]

Support sales managers as well as feet-on-the-street sales representatives

Typically when it comes to supporting the sales organization the primary focus of AR is helping quota carrying sales representatives mitigate negative analyst commentary and leverage positive analyst research. This is extremely valuable, both to AR and the vendor, but there is another group inside sales that can benefit from AR’s support: sales management.
AR should [...]

Change management is a critical component for successful social media or ARM initiatives

You may call it behavior modification, but one of the most critical components – often overlooked – for a successful AR social media program or analyst relations management (ARM) application deployment is change management. Without a way to reinforce new habits, AR managers will find that their new initiatives will fade away as old habits [...]

TowerGroup experiences layoffs

SageCircle has received credible intelligence that TowerGroup has  initiated a job action resulting in analyst lay offs. We will continue to provide updates as we learn new information.
 
Update: 7/9/09 9:07 am PT -Initial post. Sent request for confirmation to TowerGroup’s press office
Update: 7/9/09 9:28 am PT – Spoke with TowerGroup’s PR agency and they are checking with Tower about [...]

Ouch! Analysts expressing strong opinions on Twitter

As the analyst community becomes more comfortable with Twitter and other forms of social media they are expressing more opinions, and expressing them more strongly. For example, here is a tweet from a Forrester analyst about a vendor he covers (the names have been changed):
Analyst-name RT @person: <vendor name> biggest challenge is awareness. <analyst> – [...]

SageCircle AR Podcast for July 7, 2009

The AR podcast is a review of the latest news and trends in the analyst ecosystem along with tips and tricks for analyst relations professionals and analyst research consumers. SageCircle strategists Dave Eckert and Carter Lusher co-host this bi-weekly program. You can find all the SageCircle podcasts on our podcast page.
Click here to listen to the [...]

Developing Strong and Active Executive Sponsorships is a Planning Priority

If AR teams truly have the sponsorship of senior executives, why do they struggle for resources, organizational cooperation, executive participation in AR initiatives, and other critical issues? The reality is that AR teams probably have a tepid endorsement from their management rather than true executive sponsorship.
 SageCircle defines executive sponsorship as taking an active part in [...]