outreach with an impact

opinion formers

Industry analysts are important opinion formers in business-to-business relationship marketing. They compare and benchmark products, services and solutions in the market place and offer advise based on their research and industry know-how. Players in IT and telecom, services, software, media & entertainment as well as investors, financial analysts, press and the media regularly use the industry analyst community to obtain information, advise and expert opinions on industry trends, market players and news - so does your competition.

Industry analysts enhance the impact of your marketing, communication and sales activities. Not only can industry analysts help create a favorable perception as a communication channel, but more importantly – they influence the industry and by establishing a two-way dialogue, exchanging information and utilizing business intelligence – so can you.  

Industry analysts are both direct and indirect channels to influence the industry and market perception. Through their industry knowledge, they predict trends and point out the strategic direction. The financial community and journalists turn to industry analysts for information that they in turn refer to in their own reports and articles to validate a standpoint - so does your customer when choosing a supplier.

It is important to distinguish between research analysts and consulting as most firms offers both services. Consultants work on vendor projects while research analysts continuously receives enquires and give objective recommendations on products or vendors based on the information they have. Information is the currency and the more you give, the more you get in return. It is common to overlook the role of analysts and the importance of establishing a dialogue and share information.

Industry analysts generally belong to different analyst houses, some may focus on vision and strategy while others take a closer look at the product, solution or service offerings. Some work independently or in network structures. Common for them all, is that each analyst is an individual and their key-asset is their knowledge and ability to analyze, translate and communicate their findings. They make objective recommendations based on available information, so make sure you are sharing. Their audience consists of your customers and competitors, investors, financial analysts and media.