Most IT vendors dont know how to reach industry opinion leaders, study shows
Announcement posted by Intelligen Pty Ltd 25 Nov 2004
While there is no doubt that most IT vendors recognise the growing impact of IT industry analysts on customer buying decisions, the majority struggle to communicate effectively with this influential audience, and may be missing out on market opportunities as a result.
According to a study of 70 leading analysts in Australia and Asia recently completed by Intelligen Analyst Relations, many IT vendors fail to understand the specific information needs of analysts, often confuse them with journalists, and either provide too much or too little detail. Many vendors also fail to respond to analysts requests for information or provide them with access to senior executives who can discuss company strategy in detail.
Given the relative sophistication of the marketing engines of so many IT vendors, it continues to surprise me how many miss out on business opportunities because they are unable or unwilling to effectively engage with the opinion leaders who have the ear of their major customers and prospects, said the study author and managing director of Intelligen, Dave Noble.
The study, called Understanding the Influencers 2004, involved depth interviews with analysts from leading IT analyst firms including Gartner, IDC, Meta Group and Ideas International, as well as smaller boutique firms. Now in its second year, the project was designed to measure the effectiveness of 50 IT vendors analyst relations programs in the Asia/Pacific region, as well as to understand the specific communication needs of analysts and identify best practice analyst relations programs.
The results of the research have been consolidated into a series of reports: a cross-segment market analysis which analyses overall analyst awareness, attitudes and preferences; and six market segment reports which compare the effectiveness of vendors analyst relations programs on a range of attributes, including relevance and value of information provided to analysts, responsiveness to information requests, and information flow.
Not surprisingly, powerhouse vendors such as IBM and HP which invest significant time and resources in communicating with analysts are seen as delivering highly effective communication programs in Australia and Asia. However, many other market leaders fall well short of analysts expectations, and in some segments it was the comparatively smaller vendors which were seen as understanding and meeting the needs of analysts more effectively, said Noble.
While we did see some modest improvement in overall analyst relations effectiveness in Australia from 2003 to 2004, there is still considerable latitude for improvement in vendors understanding of what IT analysts do, how they influence the market, and what you need to do to reach them.
Only a handful of vendors were seen as providing adequate levels of information to analysts, with the majority providing less information than analysts expected. However, there was a strong correlation between analyst satisfaction with vendors information flow and the perception of them as leaders in analyst relations effectiveness.
More details on the Understanding the Influencers 2004 reports are available from www.intelligen.com.au
According to a study of 70 leading analysts in Australia and Asia recently completed by Intelligen Analyst Relations, many IT vendors fail to understand the specific information needs of analysts, often confuse them with journalists, and either provide too much or too little detail. Many vendors also fail to respond to analysts requests for information or provide them with access to senior executives who can discuss company strategy in detail.
Given the relative sophistication of the marketing engines of so many IT vendors, it continues to surprise me how many miss out on business opportunities because they are unable or unwilling to effectively engage with the opinion leaders who have the ear of their major customers and prospects, said the study author and managing director of Intelligen, Dave Noble.
The study, called Understanding the Influencers 2004, involved depth interviews with analysts from leading IT analyst firms including Gartner, IDC, Meta Group and Ideas International, as well as smaller boutique firms. Now in its second year, the project was designed to measure the effectiveness of 50 IT vendors analyst relations programs in the Asia/Pacific region, as well as to understand the specific communication needs of analysts and identify best practice analyst relations programs.
The results of the research have been consolidated into a series of reports: a cross-segment market analysis which analyses overall analyst awareness, attitudes and preferences; and six market segment reports which compare the effectiveness of vendors analyst relations programs on a range of attributes, including relevance and value of information provided to analysts, responsiveness to information requests, and information flow.
Not surprisingly, powerhouse vendors such as IBM and HP which invest significant time and resources in communicating with analysts are seen as delivering highly effective communication programs in Australia and Asia. However, many other market leaders fall well short of analysts expectations, and in some segments it was the comparatively smaller vendors which were seen as understanding and meeting the needs of analysts more effectively, said Noble.
While we did see some modest improvement in overall analyst relations effectiveness in Australia from 2003 to 2004, there is still considerable latitude for improvement in vendors understanding of what IT analysts do, how they influence the market, and what you need to do to reach them.
Only a handful of vendors were seen as providing adequate levels of information to analysts, with the majority providing less information than analysts expected. However, there was a strong correlation between analyst satisfaction with vendors information flow and the perception of them as leaders in analyst relations effectiveness.
More details on the Understanding the Influencers 2004 reports are available from www.intelligen.com.au