Analyst relations (AR) professionals often struggle to demonstrate the true value and relevance of their programs beyond just reporting activity metrics. Business stakeholders need to see how AR initiatives directly tie back to broader organisational goals like strategy development, increasing market awareness, driving sales growth, and enabling successful product launches. The IIAR> AR Compass model consists of four interrelated vectors that represent the main dimensions where AR can create value:
- Strategy – Providing external insights to inform planning and positioning
- Opinion – Shaping positive market perceptions through analyst endorsements
- Sales – Leveraging analyst influence to improve win rates and revenue
- Marketing – Using analysts to increase brand awareness and campaign success
The IIAR> will release an updated IIAR> Best Practice Paper on Planning your AR Program with the AR Compass by Sarita Kincaid (LinkedIn, @saritakAR) / VP Corporate Communications, SugarCRM, Ludovic Leforestier (LinkedIn, @lludovic) / Founder, Starsight Communications and Robin Schaffer / Principal AR Consultant, Schaffer AR (LinkedIn, @robinjs19) and Noelle C. Shipley / Independent Analyst Relations Consultant, (LinkedIn, @noeyshipley).
Sections in the paper cover the four vectors of the AR Compass, aligning an AR programme and metrics to the business, using the AR Compass in practice: validating business plans and market positioning (Strategy); shaping business and media perceptions (Opinion); increasing opportunities and win rates (Sales); raising awareness and driving demand (Marketing); and planning your AR program. In addition to the vast experience of Robin, Noelle, Sarita and Ludovic, the paper draws upon inputs from IIAR> members who have shared their tips and best practices.
Key learnings and best practices
- Adopt a suitable framework to link AR and business priorities.
- Undertake thorough stakeholder mapping.
- Incorporate analyst activities into roadmaps.
- Use the IIAR> AR Compass to create AR plans.
- Sequence AR initiatives to build momentum.
- Conduct regular perception studies and audits.
- Apply the Compass to encourage collaboration.
- Track performance over time with automated reporting.
- Continually reassess vector weighting given market dynamics
The paper stresses that the Compass empowers AR teams to tangibly demonstrate their strategic value as a revenue enabler – rather than just an administrative function. By linking activities to concrete impacts for stakeholders, AR can firmly establish its indispensable role in driving organisational success.
Whether you are looking to elevate your AR program’s relevance, deliver more meaningful results, or simply streamline communication across teams – the IIAR> AR Compass provides an essential navigation system. The full best practice report will be available to members on our site shortly.
Date> Thursday 2nd May 2024
Time> 0800 PDT / 1100 EDT / 1600 BST / 2030 IST (other time zones)
IIAR> Best Practice Paper: Plan your AR program with the AR Compass
- This IIAR> Best Practice Paper is available to IIAR> Members portal.
Authors
- Sarita Kincaid (LinkedIn, @saritakAR)
- Ludovic Leforestier (@lludovic, LinkedIn)
- Robin Schaffer (LinkedIn, @robinjs19)
- Noelle C. Shipley (Linkedin, @noeyshipley)
Contributors
- Charmaine Chan / Senior Practice Director, Brands2Life
Links
- Link to PDF for IIAR> Members is here.
Slides and recording are available on the IIAR> Members Area
- The presentation slides of this webinar are available to Members on the IIAR> Members file library.
- The full recording of this webinar is available to Members on the IIAR> Members video library.
- Become an IIAR> member today to receive access to the LIVE streaming or to the stored content
Previous posts on IIAR> Best Practice Paper
- IIAR> Best Practices Webinar: Sales Enablement + 30/60/90 days AR Plan, 12th June
- IIAR> Best Practices Webinar: AR Compass, 2nd May
- IIAR> Best Practice Webinar: Getting the Most out of Analyst Advisory Sessions, 4th April
- IIAR> Best Practice Paper: Engage the right audience, using analyst tiering
- IIAR> Discussion Group: managing analyst advisory days
- IIAR> Best Practices Paper: running and leveraging analyst inquiries
- IIAR> Best Practices Paper: Delivering AR Programmatically with Campaigns
- IIAR> Primer: Why should startups and scale-ups have an analyst relations strategy?
- IIAR> Best Practices Paper: Running an industry analyst briefing
- IIAR> Webinar recap: What is analyst & influencer relations (AR)?
Discover more from The IIAR> Institute of Influencer & Analyst Relations
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.