The AR Zombie Hunter

Is your Analyst Relations program driving revenue, or is it just an AR zombie? Get your customized diagnosis by answering these questions.

1. When was the last time you refreshed your analyst target list?

How often do you go over your tiered analyst lists on ARchitect or Excel, to make sure you're still targeting the right analysts? (pick one answer)

All the time - we're on top of this! We don't need to do this so often as the analysts come to us! Refresh? We know exactly who covers us. Why change?

2. How do you keep the C-Suite informed of AR successes?

Tell us your preferred mechanism for reporting AR successes and strategic direction.

Our CMO sends a monthly wrap-up, and AR is included, somewhere... Our board recognizes how AR is proactively driving leads, supporting the company's vision and differentiating from the competition. Our executives are motivated by quote mentions and "shiny things" like selfies with top analysts on LinkedIn.

3. Do you track specific sales deal influenced by analyst interactions?

Pick the answer that's closest to how you measure the "invisible hand" of the industry analyst.

It depends. we focus more on hero coverage, especially from influencer analysts - it's easier to track. No, we all know you can't measure AR. We work hard to remind our C-suite that AR is a leap of faith and a long-term bet. We keep a dashboard of proof showing which analysts we believe have influenced selected deals - directly and indirectly.

4. How do you handle Gartner Peer Insights?

Is AR responsible for GPI, or is it someone else's problem?

We chase the VoC reports but otherwise it's not a priority. Nope, nothing to do with AR as we know the analysts don't pay attention anyway. AR provides governance and guidance. Customer success drives our reviews programs.

5. How do AR and Product Management work together?

Does AR work side-by-side with Product Management, or as an extended team?

AR is the enabler, providiung analyst access whenever PM needs an analyst opinion. PM knows where to find us. AR relies on Product Management to suggest briefings when they're ready. We also get them to handle fact-checks in analyst write.ups. AR and PM work seamlessly to engage analysts at every stage of the product development and management process.

6. And finally, what about the dynamic between AR and Product Marketing?

How does AR interact with Product Marketing? Pick one ...

Our analysts don't like talking to marketing people - so usually they only engage to create paid analyst assets. We have a symbiotic relationship, product marketing recognizes the value-add from AR and vice-versa. AR is the facilitator - Marketing does the heavy lifting for our big evaluation RFIs.

Destrier's Zombie AR Program Hunter: A free healthcheck for Analyst Relations teams.