TechCrunch has edged into the syndicated research business, the traditional turf of analyst firms such as Gartner, Forrester Research, IDC, Burton Group, et al. The idea behind TechCrunch Research is elegantly simple: package up quarterly reports based on the open source CrunchBase wiki database, sell the reports at economical price points and promote the service across the TechCrunch media network. … Read More
IIAR Breakfast at Forrester IT Forum 2009 in Berlin
Hannah Kirkman was in touch with an invitation to the IIAR breakfast meeting in conjunction with the Forrester IT Forum EMEA in Berlin next week. Â It’s an opportunity to find out about the IIAR (Institute of Industry Analyst Relations) and network with analyst relations peers. Â The informal breakfast meeting starts at 8:00AM CET on Wednesday, June 3rd at the … Read More
Analyst relations outreach: is the goal analysts or decision-makers?
Historically, analyst relations (AR) programs have been designed as a bridge between a technology company and the analyst community. As a result, AR programs have focused first and foremost on analysts, and only indirectly on prospects, customers and other decision-makers. Is it possible to reverse this program orientation? Bring it more in line with other communications strategies, such as social … Read More
Analyst relations at risk on 2 fronts
One of the challenges facing high tech marketing is how to update existing analyst relations programs, given the growing importance of more types of influencers. No one wants to lose valuable AR skills. Yet, companies want to realize better returns from these staffs and programs. This puts AR at risk on 2 fronts. The first is a matter of perception: … Read More
Analysts as authors: extending influence through books
May marks the 1-year anniversary of the release of Charlene Li’s and Josh Bernoff’s book, Groundswell.  Several industry analysts have released books since then. I figure it’s a good time to shout out to some recent analyst authors and talk a little about why writing books can be such an important activity for market influencers and influencer relations professionals alike. For IT industry analysts and other … Read More
IIAR wants your vote on the analyst of the year
Jonny Bentwood was in touch with an invitation for you. He’d like your help in determining the IIAR’s “analyst of the year”. Technically, you’ll help determine more than one analyst of the year. They’ll name one worldwide, one for the Americas and another for EMEA. I suppose with enough votes Asia-Pacific could have an analyst of the year as well. … Read More
LinkedIn for the influencer program backoffice
You probably think of LinkedIn as a recruiting and job hunting network. It also serves as a valuable backoffice tool for analyst relations, consultant relations, and fully integrated B2B influencer programs. The price is certainly right: basic services are free, and business upgrades are economical. Plus, the number of profiles keeps growing. As of last week, LinkedIn claimed more than … Read More
3 pioneers of next-gen analyst relations
To industry observers the situation seems clear: changes taking place in IT buyer decision processes require corresponding changes in how vendors deal with influencers, such as the industry analysts. However, the changes in tech decision-maker processes have been gradual and have varied greatly by market. Plus, critical aspects of buying decisions remain hidden from external view. As a result, few … Read More
Ray Wang on the analyst life
R “Ray” Wang has posted a synopsis of his role as an industry analyst. Ray is with Forrester Research. His clients include tech buyers and tech providers. As a result, his straightforward summary describes the main roles that many analysts play in the tech industry. I noticed that Ray doesn’t focus on describing his influence. He doesn’t call out his … Read More
More analyst layoffs add to analyst relations challenges
Following on the heels of layoffs at Gartner and AMR Research, comes word that Yankee Group and iSuppli also reduced headcount. Yankee Group CEO Emily Nagel discussed the reduction in the company blog. Meanwhile, there is word of a reduction at iSuppli, a firm that just recently acquired Telematics Research Group (TRG). This much consolidation in the tech industry analyst … Read More