At NelsonHall, we appreciate the time vendors spend on participating in our research projects, and we want to make sure that the reports from our projects are accurate and objective. As part of this process, we give you the opportunity to fact-check your own vendor profiles prior to publication.

During the fact-check process, we work with our vendor AR contacts, asking them to focus on checking the document for accuracy and not discuss analyst opinion or add marketing material. This is an important point because sometimes contacts try to add more descriptive and subjective language (such as ‘best’, ‘the leader’, and ‘front runner’). We also see information pulled from vendor marketing materials added during the fact-check process, which we are not able to include. The use of promotional descriptions in our reports would create a loss of objectivity. Trust me, much of my career was rooted in marketing before I joined NelsonHall as an industry analyst, and it was a difficult transition when it came to the use of adjectives and promotional descriptions. I learned how to write objectively!

In an effort to save time for AR professionals and our analysts, I have shared some tips for navigating the fact-check process below:

Please respond to the fact-check during the requested timeframe

This is important because the analyst will move forward with publishing the vendor profile if they do not receive a response by their deadline, which is typically two weeks. 

Respond with factual changes only

This could include adjusting an incorrect number. When you share the recommended change, please indicate if this number has changed since the briefing or if it appears to be an error. The comments explaining the changes are helpful to our analysts.

Share any major changes or developments in your organization that have occurred since the briefing

If your organization had a major change since the briefing that you think is important to share with the analyst, please share it. This could include an acquisition. Your organization might not have been able to share information about the acquisition during the briefing, but the details can be shared at the time of the fact-check. The details could impact the number of employees, global footprint, and capabilities. Ideally, this information could be shared under NDA and embargoed until the announcement, but we understand the sensitivity regarding these changes and the guidelines that need to be followed.  

Analyst opinion section

The Strengths and Challenges sections and the Outlook portion of the vendor profile include analyst opinion. This is an area that is typically not changed during a fact-check. If you see something that is truly not factually correct in this section, you can submit recommended changes to the analyst. It is important to explain the need for the recommended change to the analyst. Please understand that this is not an opportunity to change analyst opinion. 

Only share the fact-check with individuals in your organization needing to review it for accuracy

If you are asking others in your organization to assist with the fact-check, make sure they understand the process and deadline.

Don’t be shy, feel free to ask questions!

If you have a question, reach out to the analyst. You can also feel free to reach out to me with questions on the fact-check process.