In the world of analyst relations, putting all your eggs in the Gartner basket can be risky and potentially damaging for your brand. Of course the big FIG is influential and its Magic Quadrant is ubiquitous, but there are many other analyst firms out there with vendor evaluations of their own that may carry a lot of clout with your target audiences –including members of purchasing teams who aren’t flagged in the sales funnel.

But remember –for analysts, AR is a free service that enriches their market insights. Analysts rely on vendors to bolster their unique vantage point in the market, but no vendor can afford to engage every analyst out there. That’s where analyst tiering comes in as not all analysts are made equal. When tiering analysts there are a number of things a technology vendor should consider.

Why should you tier analysts?

When it comes to analyst demand for attention from vendors, we find Starsight clients typically fall into two extremes.

1. You are overwhelmed by industry analyst requests. This is typical for large vendors who operate in many categories and for any known vendors operating in trendy spaces, like generative AI at the moment. In this situation you are likely receiving a high volume of requests to participate in RFIs and to deliver analyst briefings. This flood of attention can push your AR efforts into a reactive mode, meeting analyst needs at the expense of your business objectives. To overcome this challenge, it’s important to understand your company’s broader goals and bandwidth to create a tiering strategy that will let you pinpoint those requests that will drive real business impact.
2. You are struggling to get on the radar of analysts. On the other end of the spectrum, start-ups, smaller vendors in crowded markets, or companies in emerging categories often face the opposite problem: limited recognition from analysts. In this instance, you are likely receiving no requests from analysts and are struggling to get responses from analysts that you have reached out to. To overcome this challenge, it’s important to understand which analysts could be interested in your business and to create a tiering and engagement strategy that can drive interest from analysts.

Understanding where you stand with analyst demands is critical for shaping an AR program that moves the needle for your business.

How does tiering work?

You will not have the bandwidth to treat tier 1, 2 and 3 analysts the same, so set an internal service level agreement (SLA) for each tier. This is vital to manage expectations with both analysts and internal stakeholders. Typically, vendors create three tiers of analysts, based on the expertise and domain of individuals, not the analyst firm. Tier 1 analysts receive the highest level of engagement—such as regular briefings, an inquiry strategy and participation in key research cycles. Tier 2 may involve periodic briefings and selective participation in requests, while Tier 3 might focus on maintaining basic awareness with 1:many briefings on a regular basis and an analyst newsletter. Defining SLAs for each tier helps ensure that your AR efforts remain focused and aligned with your priorities, while still providing value to analysts.

Remember –engaging with an analyst may set expectations. Analysts may anticipate follow-up briefings, data sharing or even paid engagements. Additionally, your budget might need to cover related expenses, such as analyst firm research subscriptions or custom marketing materials with this VIP industry expert. Being aware of these potential costs ahead of time enables you to make informed decisions about which analysts to engage with and how deeply.

Why does tiering matter?

The four impacts of analyst relations can align with your company goals and analyst choices. Whether your goal is to generate awareness, increase sales, supercharge your go-to-market or improve your business with insights, there will be an analyst out there that can help you succeed. Depending on your specific objectives, different analysts and firms will offer varying levels of support, knowledge and impact. That’s why it’s crucial to assess each analyst’s potential influence before assigning them a place on your tiering list.

Just as your business has a target market, each analyst firm caters to specific audiences. For example, some firms are highly regarded by enterprise clients but have minimal reach within the SMB space. If SMBs are your focus, investing time with these firms may not align with your goals. Conversely, there are many niche firms that are often overlooked in favour of the FIGs, Forrester, IDC, and Gartner. Those niche firms can be goldmines for companies in specialised markets and may have the precise audience and insights you need to drive growth in your sector.

Ensure diversity when tiering analysts.

In the world of analyst relations, a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work. By understanding the demand from analysts, aligning your engagement with your company’s goals and carefully assessing your AR bandwidth and budget, you can craft a strategy that maximizes your impact without overextending your resources. Tiering analysts helps you focus on the relationships that will truly move the needle and will help your business benefit from the four impacts of analyst relations.

At Starsight we passionately believe that technology vendors should engage with a balanced portfolio of industry analysts. While Gartner may field 465,000 inquiries per year, the freemium models offered by other firms can translate into readership well beyond their subscribers. There is not single analyst or firm that you should dedicate all of your resources to, AR is horses for courses. Some analysts are amazing at coaching executives, some are fantastic value when it comes to picking up weak signals, reading a market and providing great intelligence and others are great at formulating value propositions and unique POVs because of their rich experience. It takes all sorts to build a successful AR programme. If you’re stuck, Starsight is here to understand this ecosystem and help you navigate it.

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