In this game the customer is king...
Feel the need to post about a customer event on Monday I organised and attended, the third customer event I have been involved with since working with this vendor and each one has been very, very different. The format is very simple - let the customer do the talking and the analysts will take the discussion where they wish. Keep the vendor content to a minimum - there are other opps elsewhere for this.
What was great was a very diverse analyst audience and a customer that stimulated debate about issues that at the outset you would never have imaged would be discussed.
The take home, running any analyst customer event is in my view as good as it gets.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Meeting the AM call
I had a meeting with an account manager and two key members of the marketing team today (wow big news;-)). The objective simple - lets meet, let's chat and let's see if there is anything we can do. No need for huge detail but one thing struck me. Its always good to meet with an account manager as you can learn LOADS about the firm, as much about the culture of the company as about what is on offer.
I have posted before about the balance between commercial relationships and pure and simple AR comms, but one thing that never ceases to intrigue me is how an AM 'sells' the analyst firm and how the customer or potential customer buys or what they are looking for.
Guess its time to write up the follow up action list....
I had a meeting with an account manager and two key members of the marketing team today (wow big news;-)). The objective simple - lets meet, let's chat and let's see if there is anything we can do. No need for huge detail but one thing struck me. Its always good to meet with an account manager as you can learn LOADS about the firm, as much about the culture of the company as about what is on offer.
I have posted before about the balance between commercial relationships and pure and simple AR comms, but one thing that never ceases to intrigue me is how an AM 'sells' the analyst firm and how the customer or potential customer buys or what they are looking for.
Guess its time to write up the follow up action list....
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Spot the difference - Recession proof AR??
OK another post on recession proof AR, actually the post stems from a question I was asked a few weeks ago: There are a fair few AR Pros being laid off and as a result they have gone freelance. How do you remain competitive?
My gut answer was - 'I just do the best I can' a fairly simplistic answer I know but I am fairly simplistic. As I see it no one knows what the future holds so having been caught in the IT slump of 2000 - 2002 and having worked as an independent consultant for some seven years the key things I have learnt is: you have to deliver value, ALL the time, there is NO room for downtime and FOCUS is the key. Either you deliver what is asked for or you don't deliver at all.
The fact is, it shouldn't matter if we are in a recession or not, as a consultant you have to deliver value, focus on what's being asked and never, never get complacent.
I know its obvious but in a recession there is less business and more competition, the truth is there will always be competition, what makes one AR provider better than another? There will be personal taste, methodology, price (yes price) but in my view value and quality will out.
Sounds obvious but in uncertain times, certainty helps.
OK another post on recession proof AR, actually the post stems from a question I was asked a few weeks ago: There are a fair few AR Pros being laid off and as a result they have gone freelance. How do you remain competitive?
My gut answer was - 'I just do the best I can' a fairly simplistic answer I know but I am fairly simplistic. As I see it no one knows what the future holds so having been caught in the IT slump of 2000 - 2002 and having worked as an independent consultant for some seven years the key things I have learnt is: you have to deliver value, ALL the time, there is NO room for downtime and FOCUS is the key. Either you deliver what is asked for or you don't deliver at all.
The fact is, it shouldn't matter if we are in a recession or not, as a consultant you have to deliver value, focus on what's being asked and never, never get complacent.
I know its obvious but in a recession there is less business and more competition, the truth is there will always be competition, what makes one AR provider better than another? There will be personal taste, methodology, price (yes price) but in my view value and quality will out.
Sounds obvious but in uncertain times, certainty helps.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
No sweat???
Here's piece I wrote for my local CIM branch:
http://www.greaterlondon-cim.co.uk/blog/
No names needed
Here's piece I wrote for my local CIM branch:
http://www.greaterlondon-cim.co.uk/blog/
No names needed
Monday, November 17, 2008
Calling in the auditors??
Calm down, I may be married to an accountant but this is not a piece about anything accountancy related!
I have recently been involved in overseeing a couple of analyst perception audits and while in the past I have been happy to go with direct perceptions and details of analyst output. Things have changed.
One of the audits was based on classic parameters and confirmed our original hunches, it also served the purposes of what the client wanted perfectly well. The second was much broader and featured several 'AR 2.0' elements (twee phrase but for purpose of this post it works). The results were much richer than what I had found in the past.
Aside from the issue of infleuncer relations there are more tools that are being used today by analysts that make tracking perception more complex than before, rather than ignore the output, integrate it into the mix or you run the risk of of having an outdated AR strategy.
Calm down, I may be married to an accountant but this is not a piece about anything accountancy related!
I have recently been involved in overseeing a couple of analyst perception audits and while in the past I have been happy to go with direct perceptions and details of analyst output. Things have changed.
One of the audits was based on classic parameters and confirmed our original hunches, it also served the purposes of what the client wanted perfectly well. The second was much broader and featured several 'AR 2.0' elements (twee phrase but for purpose of this post it works). The results were much richer than what I had found in the past.
Aside from the issue of infleuncer relations there are more tools that are being used today by analysts that make tracking perception more complex than before, rather than ignore the output, integrate it into the mix or you run the risk of of having an outdated AR strategy.
Playing the numbers game?
I was on a vendor briefing call last week, the aim of the call how to get the most out of the analyst firm as an AR professional. All good and interesting stuff.
When it came to the Q&A bit, I thought time to ask a question and kick things off. The question:
How many end users do your analysts talk to?
In an open forum you get an open response. We have xx thousand clients which mean yy thousand customers. Each analyst speaks to x hundred end users over the year.
A good stat when asked how influential are analysts.
Thinking through this and other conversations I have had with other AR professionals, THE key thing I have always based my AR work on is the extent of influence. The raison d'etre (apologies for poor spelling) for working with analysts is to develop relationships that benefit the business on multiple levels (no I won't expound on this at length - contact me off line and I will be happy to do so). In a non-tech non business environment I explain AR as influencing people that influence customer purchasing decisions.
There are times when having a quantitative approach really helps. (tangentially this in my view explains the power/allure of all things online - I can track it, I can measure it, I can build a business case for it, I can secure budget for it). This kind of data helps BUT it does not provide the full picture, because an analyst 'touches' xx thousand people does NOT mean all of those people will make a purchasing decision based solely on their advice/opinion.
So in short playing the numbers can work some of the time. But DON'T base your entire strategy on it.
I was on a vendor briefing call last week, the aim of the call how to get the most out of the analyst firm as an AR professional. All good and interesting stuff.
When it came to the Q&A bit, I thought time to ask a question and kick things off. The question:
How many end users do your analysts talk to?
In an open forum you get an open response. We have xx thousand clients which mean yy thousand customers. Each analyst speaks to x hundred end users over the year.
A good stat when asked how influential are analysts.
Thinking through this and other conversations I have had with other AR professionals, THE key thing I have always based my AR work on is the extent of influence. The raison d'etre (apologies for poor spelling) for working with analysts is to develop relationships that benefit the business on multiple levels (no I won't expound on this at length - contact me off line and I will be happy to do so). In a non-tech non business environment I explain AR as influencing people that influence customer purchasing decisions.
There are times when having a quantitative approach really helps. (tangentially this in my view explains the power/allure of all things online - I can track it, I can measure it, I can build a business case for it, I can secure budget for it). This kind of data helps BUT it does not provide the full picture, because an analyst 'touches' xx thousand people does NOT mean all of those people will make a purchasing decision based solely on their advice/opinion.
So in short playing the numbers can work some of the time. But DON'T base your entire strategy on it.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Rl8shp sqz
I had a conversation with a friend yesterday who I want to invite round for lunch. The gist:
My wife has tried calling your wife three times and no answer!
Ah you'd better text her, she sends around 4000 texts a month.
Within three minutes we had a date in the diary - excellent, but why blog about it??
My wife commented - I don't like texting if I had a call with her it would have been so much nicer.
This got me thinking we have voice, email, Twitter (and other tools) txting and face-to-face all of which support relationships. But each tool comes with parameters and uses, the trick is to use them all in the right way.
For marketing this could not be more prescient. I don't text an analyst a briefing request, but I would a stand location at show where we are meeting. I don't email sensitive comments I'd pass that on in person or over the phone.
Ultimately the need to nurture relationships to grow a business are the same as ever but the plethora of tools is greater than ever, the challenge is to match the right tools to the right people for the right uses.
Now how the hell do I use predictive txting!
I had a conversation with a friend yesterday who I want to invite round for lunch. The gist:
My wife has tried calling your wife three times and no answer!
Ah you'd better text her, she sends around 4000 texts a month.
Within three minutes we had a date in the diary - excellent, but why blog about it??
My wife commented - I don't like texting if I had a call with her it would have been so much nicer.
This got me thinking we have voice, email, Twitter (and other tools) txting and face-to-face all of which support relationships. But each tool comes with parameters and uses, the trick is to use them all in the right way.
For marketing this could not be more prescient. I don't text an analyst a briefing request, but I would a stand location at show where we are meeting. I don't email sensitive comments I'd pass that on in person or over the phone.
Ultimately the need to nurture relationships to grow a business are the same as ever but the plethora of tools is greater than ever, the challenge is to match the right tools to the right people for the right uses.
Now how the hell do I use predictive txting!
Forget me not....
No this is not about Remembrance day or Armistice day at all, but something that I felt was worth posting.
I have organised a few analyst events recently with different clients, a webinar, a customer event and have been doing some business development (haven't we all).
I read about blogs, social networking, Web 2.0 etc... but one thing that always strikes me is that when all is said and done it's all about relationships. Be it AR or any form of marketing. While we may have the tools to broadcast our views to the masses etc. The power of the direct relationship should never be ignored. Chances are that given the current (economic) climate this has never been more relevant than ever.
Yup, this is obvious but sometimes the obvious needs to be restated.
No this is not about Remembrance day or Armistice day at all, but something that I felt was worth posting.
I have organised a few analyst events recently with different clients, a webinar, a customer event and have been doing some business development (haven't we all).
I read about blogs, social networking, Web 2.0 etc... but one thing that always strikes me is that when all is said and done it's all about relationships. Be it AR or any form of marketing. While we may have the tools to broadcast our views to the masses etc. The power of the direct relationship should never be ignored. Chances are that given the current (economic) climate this has never been more relevant than ever.
Yup, this is obvious but sometimes the obvious needs to be restated.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Commercial musings
In mid briefing session and one analyst I spoke to mentioned after we had finished that my client is on her target list to secure as a client this year. This got me thinking about the whole pay for play situation.
Correct me if I am wrong but the conventional wisdom is that this much more of a feature of US AR than in EMEA, with the exception of the US firms - hence the vendor briefing process which is radically altered if you have a commercial relationship with the majors. In EMEA there is much more of a gentleman's code regarding briefings, being slightly more reserved (hope no offence caused here), briefings will be based primarily around information exchange and in some instances s commercial relationship might be in the equation. I recently organised a briefing with a printer vendor and a major analyst firms where we had the head of MI in the room with the analysts pitching their services, the objective was two fold:
1. To delve into more detail with the analysts about a topic covered in a group briefing a month back
2. To give the analyst firm a chance to showcase its wares
The vendor was well aware the pitch was coming and also knew there was no pressure to sign on the dotted line.
I have often seen analysts provide healthy tasters of insight and feedback in a briefing the reason being - here is a taster of what is on offer.
Ultimately as I see it there are two positions on the commerical imperative:
1. Major's - were a quality brand and our end user customers think as much and pay for the pleasure, so vendor the same rules apply.
2. The minors (in company size not acumen, influence and insight) - you can see the quality, to get the best value a commercial relationship is a really good idea.
I have been singing (at semi-professional level, I hasten to add) in a choir for years at and I remember someone saying at an open rehearsal :' I can't see why you guys are getting paid, you'd do it for free as you love the singing! The point is payment ensures commitment and quality.
With the Minors I feel that there comes a point that considering commercial relations is not merely gate entry issue but one of quality and commitment and getting the maximum value from analysts that have a great deal to offer.
The alternative, keep the briefings going - pick up some titbits of insight, but there may well be a whole lot you are missing out on.
In mid briefing session and one analyst I spoke to mentioned after we had finished that my client is on her target list to secure as a client this year. This got me thinking about the whole pay for play situation.
Correct me if I am wrong but the conventional wisdom is that this much more of a feature of US AR than in EMEA, with the exception of the US firms - hence the vendor briefing process which is radically altered if you have a commercial relationship with the majors. In EMEA there is much more of a gentleman's code regarding briefings, being slightly more reserved (hope no offence caused here), briefings will be based primarily around information exchange and in some instances s commercial relationship might be in the equation. I recently organised a briefing with a printer vendor and a major analyst firms where we had the head of MI in the room with the analysts pitching their services, the objective was two fold:
1. To delve into more detail with the analysts about a topic covered in a group briefing a month back
2. To give the analyst firm a chance to showcase its wares
The vendor was well aware the pitch was coming and also knew there was no pressure to sign on the dotted line.
I have often seen analysts provide healthy tasters of insight and feedback in a briefing the reason being - here is a taster of what is on offer.
Ultimately as I see it there are two positions on the commerical imperative:
1. Major's - were a quality brand and our end user customers think as much and pay for the pleasure, so vendor the same rules apply.
2. The minors (in company size not acumen, influence and insight) - you can see the quality, to get the best value a commercial relationship is a really good idea.
I have been singing (at semi-professional level, I hasten to add) in a choir for years at and I remember someone saying at an open rehearsal :' I can't see why you guys are getting paid, you'd do it for free as you love the singing! The point is payment ensures commitment and quality.
With the Minors I feel that there comes a point that considering commercial relations is not merely gate entry issue but one of quality and commitment and getting the maximum value from analysts that have a great deal to offer.
The alternative, keep the briefings going - pick up some titbits of insight, but there may well be a whole lot you are missing out on.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Twitter yea not
My thanks to Dominic Pannel of Hill & Knowlton for introducing me to Twitter. Having been slow to the blogsphere, I guess I was somewhat slow to this fab Web 2.0 application. This tool and I am sure there are others, clearly provides a new dimension to AR, but one thing I am mindful of, is that nothing replaces investing in professional analyst relationships and getting a clear understanding of exactly what each analyst is after and more importantly what there are not. Might be an obvious point but I have always been a big believer that while technology is an enabler/enhancer of relationships it will never replace the human element which great AR professionals are valued most for.
My thanks to Dominic Pannel of Hill & Knowlton for introducing me to Twitter. Having been slow to the blogsphere, I guess I was somewhat slow to this fab Web 2.0 application. This tool and I am sure there are others, clearly provides a new dimension to AR, but one thing I am mindful of, is that nothing replaces investing in professional analyst relationships and getting a clear understanding of exactly what each analyst is after and more importantly what there are not. Might be an obvious point but I have always been a big believer that while technology is an enabler/enhancer of relationships it will never replace the human element which great AR professionals are valued most for.
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