Fractional CMO Veena Vadgama reveals the five critical considerations for analyst relations and how to get the most value for your budget.

Ready to play the long game? If an analyst relations program is part of your team’s strategy this quarter, check out the following five critical considerations to determine the best approach for your budget. I don’t work for Gartner. But if you are in the B2B world, you know Gartner so I’m going to use them for my examples.

If you are in product marketing, you probably have a strong opinion of the Gartner Magic Quadrant (MQ). Do these conversations sound familiar?

“Being a challenger is not bad!” says product marketing.
“It’s awful! We should have skipped the MQ alltogether!” says the head of sales.
OR
“Why don’t we apply to be in the Gartner MQ?” says CEO.
“That is a big effort, and we might not end up in the leader quadrant.” said product marketing.
“Let’s go for leader quadrant. But at the very least we need to be in the MQ. It will get us on the short list.”
Too familiar?

There is a time and place for engaging with Gartner, IDC, Forrester, or even working with a boutique analyst. Here are my tips from directly managing AR or advising companies on AR for over 20 years.

1. Don’t kill your marketing budget to do analyst relations.
If writing that check to Gartner or another firm keeps you up at night, don’t do it. Achieving your analyst goals will take time and effort. If it feels like a luxury for your budget, you’re not ready to make that commitment. Make sure your marketing fundamentals are rock solid first. Then, consider a peer review program (G2, Gartner Peer Insights, Trust Radius are a few) It can help build awareness, generate leads, and provide third-party credibility without the need for intense resources and budget.

2. Goals, metrics anyone?
Negotiating your Gartner contract might feel as if you have accomplished a triathlon. I get it. I’ve been there. Yet, it’s just one step to achieving your overall analyst relations goals. By the way, what are those goals? Joining Gartner can’t be the goal.

* Are you hoping Gartner analysts will indirectly bring in leads?
* Are you hoping to see your company’s name positively represented in Gartner research?
* Does your product team need to improve their roadmap?
* Does your marketing team have time to change all their messaging based on what the Gartner analyst recommends?

Gartner has analysts that focus on technology buyers and analysts that focus on market observations. Make sure you have your goals clearly identified and aligned with your sales, product, and leadership teams BEFORE you even start sign that contract.

I had someone tell me once “Well, our board will be happy if we signed up with an analyst firm.” To that I responded. “No they won’t – they want the results that comes out of doing the work with that firm. They assume we have a plan.”
Do you?

3. Who manages the AR relationship?
Managing the AR relationship requires dedicated support. You need someone whose performance metrics include hitting AR goals. It’s not just scheduling the meetings, preparing the decks, taking the notes, and completing the actions. It’s being able to take a step back from the calls and asking the important questions:

* Should analyst feedback change our product strategy?
* How can I incorporate their insights into my GTM approach?
* Is there an emerging trend, per the analyst observation, that we are ignoring?

Make sure before you sign your agreements that you have a person who can devote a significant portion, if not all of their time, to maximizing your analyst agreements. Like most things in life, the more work you put in, the more you will get out.

4. Gartner may not be the right firm for you. It’s not you. It’s them.
How mature is your market? How mature is your offering? If you have an established market, an established product, or a new product with a healthy amount of established competitors that Gartner talks about – chances are, that investment will yield big dividends for sales, awareness, and corporate strategy improvements. If you don’t fit that profile, consider a different approach.

Even consider a boutique firm (there are so many awesome analysts that work independently) to review your strategy, provide insights, and conduct third-party research that you can use to champion your cause with prospects.

5. Enable sales and product teams to leverage analysts.
Finally, too often marketing works in a silo when it comes to AR. Enable the sales team to name the analysts that cover your space so that they may promote them to their accounts and prospects. The analysts will give their independent opinion on your solutions’ pros and cons. If you have done a good job of briefing them frequently on your roadmap, your wins, and your use cases – their knowledge will support your sales process and educate prospects.

The product team cannot be shy about sharing the roadmap. Present your roadmap frequently and explain adjustments based on customer feedback, market trends, and more. Listen to the analysts as they challenge and support your decisions. Great analysts will challenge your teams. That is their job. Make it an informed two-way conversation between you, your teams, and the analyst firm.

Analyst relations can offer real value when you are ready.

I love doing AR. Companies get tunnel vision and a strong AR program can help you break free of that. Over time, analysts can bring awareness of your company to new logos and markets. I’ve been fortunate to have been mentored by some of the best analysts and product marketing experts in the business. Let me know if I can help your company play the long AR game and win. Contact me at veena.vadgama@512financial.com

This article originally appeared on LinkedIn.