I recently posted a comment on Gideon Gartner’s new blog and ended it with an invitation to let me know if he is ever in Tel Aviv to meet up. The next day I got an email from Gideon that he was in Tel Aviv and would I like to meet him for coffee. Whereas some people would get excited at meeting a rock star–for me–an AR Consultant and pioneer in Israel–Gideon Gartner is my rock star. I met him and his lovely wife Sarah in Tel Aviv and we had an extended chat that included his questions about how I stated my AR business in Israel, the origin of the Magic Quadrant as an internal not an external document and logistics of getting to the local TedEx event. I expressed my opinion that the Gartner model has huge brand value but the real threat to that model will be the new,open models like RedMonk and others and not a competitor like Forrester. Only time will tell and I wait eagerly for Gideon’s book to hear more gossip and tidbits on the creation of one of the best brands in history.
Archive for the ‘Best Practices Analyst relations’ Category
A Conversation with Gideon Gartner
Saturday, May 1st, 2010Inside Gartner-Your own webpage
Monday, January 11th, 2010Did you know that you could create your own personalized webpage in Gartner? Whether you are a member or not? As an Analyst Relations Consultant I have my own personalized webpage at www.insidegartner.com which gives me free content, webinars and reports. I recommend you set your own up especially if you are just starting out. It will help you get in the mind of the Gartner gorilla or elephant in the room as they call themselves.
My take on Forrester’s Purchase of Strategic Oxygen
Saturday, December 5th, 2009Although this didnt make the splash that Gartner’s of AMR acquisition did- it signals a move towards more go-to-market tools for clients. I believe that this is a move that makes sense to a lot of marketing people who need real tools to quantify their decisions. Unfortunately it will not be a part of Forrester’s membership so it comes at extra cost.. Some answers to your questions on the acquisition by Forrester: http://www.forrester.com/sofaq
Are Analysts Becoming More Pay for Play?
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009I have heard twice in the last week from clients and potential clients that they believe that analysts will only write about you, put you in the Magic Quadrant, Wave, etc. if you are a member. Although I have many examples of clients that were not members of analyst groups and still got great coverage–this opinion still exists out there…What is your opnion on this? Has the economic situation pushed the analysts towards a more agressive selling position?
How Analyst Relations Can Boost Your Company’s Sales
Sunday, May 31st, 2009Upcoming Event: Thursday, June 11th, 9:00-12:00
Workshop on How Analyst Relations Can Boost your Sales
Place: Gelbart Kahana Offices, Azrieli Towers, Triangle Tower, 38th Floor, Israel
Agenda: 9:00 – Networking
9:30 -How AR Can Boost Your Company’s Sales
10:00- Case Studies
10:45- Tips and Tools for Effective AR
11:30- Q&A
For: Marketing Managers, Marcom Managers, VP Marketing, VP BizDev and Strategy, PR Managers of technology companies.
Please come with your questions and case studies to share.
Cost: 150 Shekels
Limited to 25 people only: RSVP to: nancy@gk-biz.com or 03-6070588
A Threat to Analyst Groups?
Sunday, May 31st, 2009Tech Crunch has moved into the Analyst/Research Group space with their new venture: Tech Crunch Research offering either single reports at $149 or an annual subscription at $450..
RedMonk was the first opensource analyst firm and their tagline is : Analysis for the people,by the people. They offer their research for free and sell their consulting hours based on the company size, use of research and ability to pay.
I see this as the business model of the future for the big guys also-Forrester and Gartner. The subscription model has a limited lifetime as a business model since everything else in the IT and Marketing world is moving towards transparency. I am guessing that Forrester will be the first to move and Gartner the last–but it will happen.
Free Whitepapers on Analyst Relations
Monday, May 11th, 2009Check out KCG’s website for free whitepapers on Analyst Relations. We recommend the Guide to Integrating Analyst Relations and Sales. You can send me an email at nancy@gk-biz.com
and I will be glad to send you a free copy.
Should Analyst Relations Focus on Sales?
Saturday, December 6th, 2008This is the title of an article by Kevin Lucas, Forrester. The subtitle is: “It’s Not Just the Wrong Question-It’s Downright Misleading.” so you can guess what Kevin’s answer is. From Forrester’s perspective the real question should be: What corporate business value can AR Deliver and that may or may not be Sales. Forrester’s research shows that AR managers felt more confident about reaching goals for marketing and product management.
Kevin lists other values that AR can bring including:
- Share Value
- Product and Service Creation
- Market Awareness and perception
- Order to Cash
- Service and Support
His recommendations are:
- Clarify which corporate business goals you’ll support
- Align all elements of your AR program with the chosen business goals
- Be realistic about what you can really acheive
My take on this is that all of the above is true– in a different economic environment; however, many companies are in survival mode now, or worse, and are cutting marketing and AR functions and focusing only on sales and the short term. Although this is not a recommended strategy–that is the reality of the situation right now and AR has to pay attention to the shift.
In light of this, I believe that AR must focus on Sales for at least one of their goals–no matter how difficult it is to execute–it can be done. In addition, the other goals mentioned are very difficult to quantify and if you can assist in shortenting the sales process-that will be noticed and is quantifiable. What do you think? I will discuss how AR can affect sales in the next post. Comments welcome.
