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Friday, October 1, 2004
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VOLUME 3
ISSUE 5
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The Insider: Getting the Most out of Analyst Conferences
by Christopher R. Wilder
As we roll into the season for analyst firm conferences most vendors do not know how to properly make the most of their conference investment. We have written extensively on how to evaluate a conference by assessing its value to you in:
 • Lead generation
• Analyst Relations
• Business Development
• Information Gathering
This article focuses on a checklist for ensuring that you get the attention and insight you need, and that you make a positive impact on attendees, partners and analysts.
1. Pre-brief the analysts – Brief your targeted analysts well before the conference. Pun intended: brief the analysts well and do it well before the conference. Do NOT wait until the conference. Analysts often need to submit their presentations 1-3 months ahead of time, depending on the size of the conference. Gartner, for example, has a lead time of three months for Symposium and most others have a 3-4 week lead for their shows. If you wait to do a briefing at a conference, it is too late to have the information incorporated into a presentation and probably too late for an analyst to fully digest your products, positioning or late breaking news. Keep in mind that 80% of the value the end-user analysts have to you as a vendor is NOT in what they write, but in what they say.
2. Updating the analysts – 3-4 weeks prior to the show do a quick 15-20-minute update by phone. Give the analyst fresh material that she or he can reference. For example, if the briefing a few months ago was about a product plan, then give an update on accomplishments or setbacks.
3. Make conference appointments as a client – If you are a client of the firm having the conference, when you receive the attendee brochure, follow the instructions to arrange to meet separately with each of any key analysts who will be at the conference. Clearly state that you are a client and that you want to meet with the analysts as a client.
4. Refine your elevator pitch for a short ride – Ensure that your company’s strategic positioning statement is in place, your marketing theme for the conference is clear and simple, and that all employees attending the conference can articulate the elevator pitch for the company and the show. Everyone must be able to say concisely what the company does, what business problem it addresses, and why the product or service is of value to users. Practice, practice and practice until saying it becomes natural enough to say on a very short elevator ride.
5. Carefully select who goes – Plan to have the appropriate people staff the booth. Select people accustomed to speaking spontaneously with the public to be the lead folks in the booth. The others can be resources as needed. Preferably each person should be able to address sales, marketing and technical questions that come up. Or have collateral that does, either in hard copy or on a laptop.
6. Plan to support your brand – Use consistent messages in signage, brochures and pitches. If you plan give-aways, try to have them re-enforce your product or logo. For example, a company doing marketing ROI gives away retractable measuring tapes to complement their metrics message.
7. Set up appointments with clients or prospects – If they are with you, they can not be with one of your competitors. Many of the analyst conferences, especially Gartner’s Symposium are full of decision makers, buyers, and evaluators. Unlike trade shows where they are good partnership opportunities, end-user analyst conferences have people you can influence at the point of sale.
8. Plan – Plan the usual necessities, like the booth duty schedule and prospect tracking, but also plan which vendors’ booths you will visit, which competitors to observe, which keynotes and presentations to attend.
9. Meet with analysts on a client basis – Be sure to behave as a client and to ask questions as a client, not from the viewpoint of a vendor looking to influence the analysts. A conference is not the appropriate place to do a briefing, because it is too late to have an impact on the presentations, and the analysts want to maximize face time with clients. Instead, ask for an opinion or advice.
10. “Work” the show – If you plan appropriately, each booth staffer will have time to visit other vendors’ booths, scout competitors and talk with attendees outside the context of your booth. If you are a client and get a pass to sessions, attend those of most importance to your company to hear what analysts say about your market and the players, and to hear what questions the audience asks.
After the Conference it is important to have good follow-up. This is when good, old-fashioned follow-through comes into play. In the whirlwind of conference activity and excitement, all intentions are honorable. But with prospects and potential partners, ensure that your company does not “love ‘em and leave ‘em” at the end of the conference. Stick to the basics, It will pay off big.
Copyright © 2004 The Knowledge Capital Group. All rights reserved. www.knowledgecap.com
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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