Contributed by: Margaret Dron
Analyst Relations leaders are often like conductors of an orchestra. On one side, Analyst Relations works with stakeholders to harmoniously influence influencers, earn awards, and report mentions worthy of a standing ovation. While also delivering marketing content, product market insights, and competitive intelligence that together elevates the organization’s potential revenue and growth.
But how do you track Analyst Relations’ contribution to revenue?
According to the 2023 State of Analyst Relations study, only 17% of the 336 respondents measured the financial value brought in by Analyst Relations. It's worth noting that those who tracked the financial value were also far less likely to experience a budget reduction than those who did not.
This is why having an effective Analyst Relations Revenue map is vital. Your ‘AR Revenue Map’ is a component of the AR Alliances’ Value Metrics Model. It correlates the value that internal stakeholder teams either directly or indirectly receive from Analyst Relations efforts, with those efforts and how they contributed to revenue in a measurable way.
Typically, it encompasses five teams, although this may vary depending on your organizational structure. Those teams often include:
Product Management: Analyst relations can provide valuable insights into market trends, competitive landscape, and customer needs. Product management teams can leverage analyst feedback and recommendations to shape their product strategies, prioritize feature development, and align their offerings with market demands.
Marketing: Analyst relations can support marketing teams in various ways. Analysts often have influence and reach within the industry, and positive analyst coverage and endorsements can enhance a company's credibility and reputation. Marketing teams can collaborate with analysts to generate content, secure analyst quotes for marketing materials, and leverage analyst reports for thought leadership and lead generation.
Sales: Analyst relations can assist sales teams by providing them with analyst reports, insights, and references to support their sales efforts. Positive analyst evaluations and recognition can serve as third-party validation of a company's products or services, helping sales teams build trust with prospects and overcome objections.
Executive Leadership: Analyst relations can be valuable for executive leadership teams in terms of gaining industry insights, market intelligence, and understanding the competitive landscape. Analysts can provide strategic advice, benchmarking data, and industry perspectives that can inform decision-making at the executive level.
Corporate Communications/Public Relations: Analyst relations often overlaps with corporate communications and public relations efforts. Collaborating with analysts can help shape a company's narrative, manage perceptions, and ensure consistent messaging across various stakeholders.
Although these teams often benefit from analyst relations, it's important to note that the specific teams involved can vary depending on the company, industry, and focus of the analyst relations program.
Today, we're zooming in on Product Management within Software and SaaS product-based organizations. We'll see how analyst relations can contribute to their goals and find practical ways to measure the financial impact of Analyst Relations in this value block. We’ll dive into:
Metrics to track (and how)
Examples
Software analytics tools
