Category: 2. Drive – AR strategy

Drive is the strategy stage of the IDEAL model. It turns business goals into measurable communications objectives that are supported by evaluation and effective messaging.

How end user revolts impact startups’ analyst lists [Startup Saturday]

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rocket-for-startups.jpgBack in the 90’s I used the concept of “end user revolts” extensively when doing speeches at Gartner events. The idea always got approving nods of the head from the throngs of IT managers in the audience because most thought that end users were pretty revolting. However, I pretty much stopped using the talking point after leaving Gartner for KCG and then launching SageCircle.

Fast forward to today and it is apparent that the end user revolt is a critical concept that applies very much to vendor AR teams trying to build analysts lists. The group of vendors most impacted by these revolts is startups. Startups should be paying closest attention to revolts because […]

Do your customers assume that Gartner or other analysts have done all the due diligence? [for Vendor Sales]

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icon-dollar-euro.jpgAn analyst relations (AR) manager gave me a call this week with an interesting tid-bit that completely reinforces the recent postings about vendor sales reps asking about analyst usage, analyst myth #1  and how IT managers should use Waves and Magic Quadrants.
 
The AR manager was recently at their software company’s annual sales kick off meeting. There was a customer panel taking questions from a moderator and the sales reps in the audience. One question was “How or do you use the analyst firms to make decisions?” One customer said that […]

Now that is not the way to exploit an expensive Magic Quadrant reprint

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socialtext-open-link-to-a-gartner-mq.jpgI accidently came across an unsecured link to a PDF of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Team Collaboration and Social Software, 2007 courtesy of (vendor). This was a nice little treat because I was about ready to chat with one of (vendor)’s competitors and it good to see what Gartner had to say.

For (vendor), it is a classic mistake to not require someone who wants a copy to register so that the company can capture the potential prospect’s contact information for later use. Furthermore, Socialtext could be giving their competitors’ a free ride off their expensive reprint, because […]

Why startups have their briefing requests turned down [Startup Saturday]

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rocket-for-startups.jpgMarketing managers at startups and intrapreneurs (functions like an entrepreneur but within large companies) often get frustrated because their requests to brief an analyst are often turned down. They then start thinking it’s because they don’t have a contract with the firm (see Should tech startups invest in analyst relations?). Alas, the problem of getting a briefing accepted is not as easy as writing a check for some analyst services.

When startups have trouble getting analysts’ attention, or their requests to meet for a briefing are turned down, it is usually because […]

IT managers, it’s never, ever only about the upper right dot when it comes to Forrester Waves or Gartner Magic Quadrants

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icon-phone-headset.jpgOne of the things that drives vendors – and even some Gartner and Forrester analysts – crazy is when an IT buyer zeros in on the vendors in the upper right hand corner of a Forrester Wave or Magic Quadrant to the exclusion of all other vendors. It is human nature to go for those who are perceived as tops in their market. Alas, that is not how these highly visible research graphics should be used. Rather IT managers should be looking to align their […]

Seven new AR job openings posted today

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Some are pure AR, while others wears multiple hats like PR and executive communicaitons. Employers don’t forget to send us your job openings and we’ll post them for free. info [at] sagecircle dot com SageCircleSince 2000, SageCircle has helped analyst relations teams to focus on business value by encouraging innovative thinking that leverages insights and[…]

Startups can create business value by focusing on industry analysts [Startup Saturday]

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rocket-for-startups.jpgThere is great value for startups that sell to corporations or large governments to invest in analyst relations (AR). The analysts can: 

  • Bolster startups’ credibility by characterizing the startup as “viable” or an “up-and-comer”
  • Generate highly qualified leads by placing the startup […]

Do you know of a headhunter specialized in recruiting AR? [AR practitioner question]

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I just got pinged by a VP of Corporate Communications asking if I knew of any recruiters that specialize in the analyst relations field. Frankly, all the headhunters I have chatted with were their clients regular recruiters and were only doing the AR search as a favor. If you know of a firm that has[…]