The upcoming CTIA Super Mobility 2015 show reminds me once again of a problem many companies have when dealing with the wireless analyst community. Since industry analyst opinions are important, every company wants us to think of and speak highly of them. So if a good relationship with the telecom analyst community are so important, why do so many companies screw it up?
A lot of companies contact me to brief me for many reasons, including the hope it will help them get more coverage and attention. They want to be seen and get better known. However, the result they are looking for takes more than a quick briefing. It seems only a small percentage of companies understand how analysts do business and how to get the best results.
As a wireless and telecom industry analyst, my phone is always ringing and my e-mail box is always overloaded with hundreds of messages, every single day. Many are from reporters looking for a comment for the stories they are writing. Others are from editors looking for my weekly columns.
However, many others are from companies that want to get on my radar so I can understand and discuss them better. Some are from companies I have known and followed for many years. Others are from new companies that want to get on my radar for the first time and start a relationship. Still others are from companies requesting a one-time briefing.
The problem is that most executives don’t understand the analyst business model, the process or the best ways to achieve their goals. The result is they fail more often than not. Only a small percentage of companies actually do a good or decent job.
Let’s talk about a few ideas to help you improve your understanding, efforts and results.
Getting on a telecom analyst’s radar
The marketplace is very noisy. Nevertheless you need to get good and positive coverage. So it’s important to do everything within your power to help key analysts develop a good opinion of your company.
It’s important to understand each analyst. Generally speaking, there are several different analyst business models. If getting analysts to have the right opinion of your company is your goal, understanding the different models is one of the first important keys.
Understand, the wireless analyst community is very busy
It’s important to remember that analysts are busy. They follow many companies in one or more industry segments. They attend briefings by phone and in person. They spend lots of time thinking and writing columns and reports. They give comments to the media as they call on a daily basis for their stories. They focus on various groups like the investors, consumers, business customers, regulators and so on.
To get the best results, you have got to fit into the analyst’s busy world.
Keep the initial briefing brief
Another key point is to keep the initial briefing brief. The reason is simple: The early stage of any relationship is the get-to-know each other period.
When analysts have a deeper understanding of your company, they are better able to offer comment on your progress and talk about you more clearly in their columns, to the media and in reports.
Too often however, companies don’t make the right investment. They don’t try to understand each analyst. Instead they simply dump a load of information in the first meeting and hope the analyst can swim.
All this does is leave the analyst stuck under a pile of steaming information trying to find the nuggets they are looking for.
Key analysts vs. general analysts
There are two different groups of analysts for each company and industry. There is the larger and more general analyst community with hundreds or thousands of more general analysts. Then there is a smaller group of key analysts. Key analysts are focused on your company and industry and have a much higher profile in the business community.
Key analysts are often quite influential. Their comments and opinions are often looked at and carried by the media to customers, workers, investors and so on. Having a good relationship with key analysts is very important.
I have learned this only because many companies consider me a key analyst, so I have experienced both sides of this coin.
As an industry analyst for decades, I have attended countless meetings where companies want to get on my radar. While it’s not difficult, companies must realize they need to work the way I work or it will be like swimming upstream, so make it easy for analysts to follow you and compare.
Industry analyst sword cuts both ways
Having a good analyst-relations program is one of the important keys to success for any company. The reason is because the analyst community impacts opinions of the outside world including customers, workers, competitors, partners and investors. Analysts talk with the media, write columns, issue reports, give speeches, write books and offer their opinions in many ways.
With that said, it’s obviously very important to have a good long-term relationship with every important analyst who covers your company and your industry.
Build strong long-term relationships
I have worked with many companies over decades. Better results often develop over time and understanding.
Every successful analyst I know says the same thing: The best way to get on analysts radar is to let them know you have followed them and want to start a relationship like they have with other companies they follow.
Explain whether you want to start a long-term relationship, or a one-time briefing. Let the analyst understand what you are looking for from the relationship. However, it’s just as important to listen.
Don’t just talk, listen
One more important piece of advice – don’t just talk – listen. I know you want to talk and brief the analysts and have them better understand your company and be able to help, but it’s just as important to listen.
Listen to the analysts when they describe how they work, what they look for, and figure out the best way to fit into their world.
You do this because you want the best result possible. You may think this is difficult, but is typically worth the effort.
Conclusion
There is so much more that I can share with you about improving your analyst relations. However, if I got your attention, that’s a great first step. Building a strong analyst relationship requires give and take.
Remember swords cut both ways and you want to improve your chances of having positive commentary and coverage. Working successfully with the analyst community is not an easy job, but it is worthwhile. If you take analyst relations seriously, you can be successful, as many companies are today. And that’s the goal!
