This is the sixth in a series of blogs for AR professionals containing tips and pointers on how to optimize the relationship between AR and industry analysts (based on my experience working on both sides of the fence). Here I take a brief look at hosting industry analyst days, which is an important, strategic, and costly activity for service and technology companies.

Selecting the analysts to attend, as well as your internal attendees, is the first step in the process, and it’s key to keep the group size manageable and cost effective. This will be driven by the theme and objectives of your meeting. Objectives might include:

• Generating business for a new delivery center, and hence planning a trip to the location as part of the analyst event
• Similarly, drawing attention to a site that has a distinctive offering, such as a customer experience lab or multi-language hub
• To provide an update on the progress of an acquisition integration
• To enable clients to learn from industry analysts – in this case, the analyst day is combined with a CAB meeting, with panel discussions and roundtables for clients and analysts to interact.

Setting expectations for the event in your invitation is important. For example:

• Is the event restricted to named invitees, or are other analysts welcome to attend?
• What expenses are being covered? Keep in mind your company is not likely to be paying for the time of the analysts, so it is best to cover their travel and accommodation if possible
• When inviting analysts personally, decide whether you would like them to lead a discussion, sit on a panel, or appear in a video for your promotional projects.

On the latter point, bear in mind that analysts may be restricted in what their firms allow them to do, and they will need to prepare for the activity and fit it into a busy schedule – e.g. if your organization has made plans to video an industry analyst, look at their travel itinerary and plan the session at a time that allows the analyst a little breathing room in their schedule (I once had to rush from an airport to a hotel for a video shoot, and knew I was going to look very tired on camera!).

As for the event itself, try to make the sessions interactive where possible, and avoid death by PowerPoint. This may present a challenge when it comes to time-keeping, but the opportunity to ask questions is always appreciated by analysts. Also, it’s great if you can share presentation decks during the event, but if this isn’t possible, make sure they are sent out to analysts quickly after the event.

One-on-one discussions between the analysts and your executives are also a good idea, as they present an opportunity to build relationships, and analysts will also be more open and candid when they are not in earshot of their competitors.   

Of course, it’s also important to build social activity into the program, as an opportunity to really get to know the analysts and learn more about their research. And if the event is held in a location that presents opportunities for sight-seeing, that also helps facilitate relationship building outside the formal setting of the conference room.

It’s quite common for analyst event organizers to arrange for a small thank-you in the form of a gift for attendees, though this is by no means necessary. This may seem a minor point, but if you do provide a gift, it’s best to make sure that the item can be transported easily by plane (bottles can be particularly troublesome!), otherwise you may have to consider shipping options.

Finally, remember to survey the analysts for feedback that could be used to improve future events.