The other day I was doing some research for a presentation on general market trends with regards to analyst firms.
It’s clear that the current economic climate has impacted industries across the board and analyst firms are certainly no exception. The competition to retain and win new customers, particularly in the IT sector, continues to be fierce as marketing dollars remain limited within these organizations.
As a result, larger analyst firms such as Forrester and Gartner are looking at smaller, niche analyst outfits as potential acquisition targets in an effort to establish core competencies in a particular area, or expand their research agenda to help win new customers. You may recall a few years back Forrester acquired Jupiter Research. Gartner recently bought Burton Group and in late 2009 acquired AMR Research.
According to SageCircle, an advisory resource for analyst relations, “major acquisitions typically lead to significant analyst departures after three to four months” which would explain the recent analyst turnover we’ve noted with several well-known analyst firms. Additionally, analysts are shifting their research focus or taking on multiple research areas.
The moral of the story here is the analyst landscape is shifting slightly and it’s likely going to take more time to qualify analysts to ensure your organization is fostering the right relationships. Analysts are a critical audience. They influence potential customers, provide third-party perspectives to media and help create visibility around a category in general. We often counsel our clients to establish analyst relations programs and engage analysts early to ensure they are grounded in a company’s vision. This also enables companies to secure third-party support for PR and marketing activities.
For more information on how analyst relations can benefit your organization contact us at [email protected].