By Guy Bisson, Research Director, Ampere Analysis

In times of uncertainty, tech companies turn to analysts to help them navigate the unknown and prepare for the future. I recently spoke with Platform about why analyst relations (AR) is more important than ever and how companies can make it work for them.

As an analyst, it’s my job to help companies navigate uncertainty. If I wasn’t at my busiest at times of disruption and change, then it would mean I was doing something very wrong! This is something I am definitely seeing at the moment as we move to a new ‘post-pandemic’ world. I am speaking to companies across the entire entertainment and technology value chain every day, and that creates new opportunities for tech vendors who get AR right. Here are my tips for making the most of AR.

Communication is vital

First of all, it’s important to recognise that analyst relations is a two-way conversation. Many companies overlook this and miss out on valuable insights as a result of taking the wrong approach to briefings. For example, I’m more interested in hearing about where you as the vendor see the industry heading and how user behaviour is changing than the latest addition to your product portfolio. Of course, other analysts may have a different focus, but thinking of ways to give a little something for everyone without losing focus is always going to pay dividends.

At Ampere, we speak to senior decision-makers in your industry who come to us for insight and counsel all the time, so it’s important that we know and understand your story in order to communicate it correctly to your customers.

Importance of data

We also help both tech vendors and buyers leverage the power of data analytics. Interpreting and gaining real actionable insights from data has always driven competitive advantage. Before COVID-19 there was already a growing realisation that getting to grips with data and analytics is now essential for executives across the entire job spectrum — not just research and strategy teams. Over the last 18 months, the impact of the pandemic has boosted the importance of data even further, turning data analytics into a mission-critical capability. We are here to provide this insight to tech companies, enabling them to gain more ROI.

Understand the role of analysts

It’s incredibly important for tech vendors to understand what market analysts do and what we need in order to do our job. We are neither journalists nor financial analysts — we sit somewhere in the middle. As a result, PR or investor relations teams often don’t feel they’re responsible for market analyst engagement and interaction. Being responsive to analyst requests is fundamental when building strong two-way relationships. We need the right information to understand your business and connect the dots. Similarly, having the right range of subject matter experts available for briefings to cover a variety of angles, from business strategy to market deployment, is important for providing us with the expert insight we are after and saves time across the board.

As with most other relationships, analyst relations takes two (parties) to make it work, but the long-term positive business outcomes make any time, resource, and financial investment worthwhile. Think of us like a trusted partner that maps out your journey through uncharted waters. Who doesn’t need this in these current times?

Find out more about the changing landscape of analyst relations in our report which you can download here for free.