Many companies rush into analyst relations thinking only of magic quadrants and top-right dots. That’s a mistake. Before investing, organizations should understand the levels of AR. These range from reactive engagement to proactive, strategic partnerships. Each level brings different types of return – some measurable, others less so. Yes, having top-tier analysts validate your position in a report can be helpful. But analyst relations is much more than chasing rankings. And the ROI of an Analyst Relations program needs to reflect this strategy.
A robust AR program can provide market intelligence, validate your roadmap, and steer your long-term strategy. Those are real advantages – even if they’re hard to quantify. Think about the risk of not engaging. What if your competitors are aligning with analyst insights and you’re not? What if you miss a major shift in buyer behavior or tech adoption?
Still, when it comes to budget conversations, you need clear justification. That means tying AR efforts to tangible business outcomes. Careful evaluation and communication about the value is the first step to calculating the ROI of an Analyst Relations program.
Here’s how to frame analyst relations in terms of real-world impact – and measurable ROI.
1. Sales Enablement
Low ROI scenario: You brief analysts once a year and hope they mention you in passing. Sales teams rarely hear feedback from the field. Analysts don’t know your differentiators. Leads go cold when buyers ask analysts for advice – and you’re not top-of-mind.
High ROI scenario: Analysts understand your messaging and communicate it well to buyers. Sales teams report analyst referrals as a key source of influence. Analysts validate your product’s strengths in client conversations. You’re showing up in longlists and shortlists – before the first sales call.
Tactic: Share win-loss data with analysts. Get their input on why you’re losing – or winning – deals. Use that to sharpen positioning. Track referrals through sales attribution tools and rep feedback loops.
2. Brand Awareness
Low ROI scenario: Your logo shows up once in a scatter plot. There’s no narrative about your company. No quotes. No analyst mentions. You’re invisible outside your niche.
High ROI scenario: Analysts speak about you at conferences, mention you in blogs, or cite your success in briefings with press and investors. You’re consistently showing up in market maps and trend reports.
Tactic: Go beyond briefing decks. Give analysts stories they can use – customer outcomes, performance metrics, and innovation that matters. Audit inbound media or investor interest to see where analysts play a role.
3. Product Roadmap Validation
Low ROI scenario: You build in a vacuum. Analysts hear about your roadmap when it’s already launched. Feedback is too late to matter.
High ROI scenario: You use analysts as a sounding board. They flag emerging trends before they hit. Your roadmap aligns with future demand, not past assumptions.
Tactic: Run roadmap reviews twice a year with trusted analysts. Ask what they’re hearing from buyers. Document course corrections tied to analyst feedback. Track adoption or customer feedback post-launch.
4. Competitive Intelligence and Market Positioning
Low ROI scenario: You get your placement in a report but don’t know why others ranked higher. You lose deals because your differentiation is unclear.
High ROI scenario: Analysts help you understand how the market sees your competitors. You reshape messaging and packaging to hit key buying triggers.
Tactic: After each major report, request a debrief. Ask how buyers interpret vendor strengths. Adapt your messaging accordingly. Measure improvement through perception studies or analyst tone shift over time.
5. Lead Generation Support
Low ROI scenario: You sponsor a report and hope traffic comes. Leads are few. Sales doesn’t follow up, and marketing can’t connect the dots.
High ROI scenario: Analysts co-host a webinar that drives 200 targeted leads. A whitepaper you co-develop becomes a top-performing asset. Analyst content feeds your campaigns.
Tactic: Involve analysts in content creation and promotion. Tie engagement to specific campaigns. Track form fills, pipeline created, and sales velocity tied to analyst content.
Making the ROI of an Analyst Relations Program Visible
To maximize ROI, treat analyst relations like a growth function, not a PR expense. Tie every AR activity to a business goal.
Use CRM and marketing tools to track analyst-sourced opportunities. Set quarterly goals tied to influence metrics, not just coverage.
And don’t just measure output – measure outcomes. That means understanding how analyst influence is helping close deals, raise your profile, or avoid missteps.
Bottom Line
Not all AR wins show up on spreadsheets. But some do – and you should double down on those. You don’t need a giant budget to see results. What you need is clarity: What business outcomes are you trying to move? What analysts can help? And what will success look like? Incorporate these insights into calculating the ROI of an Analyst Relations program to help ensure the greatest likelihood of budget approval and program continuance.
Chasing the top right corner isn’t wrong. But it’s just one outcome.
The real ROI comes when AR informs your strategy, sharpens your execution, and accelerates results you can prove. Start there. Build smart. Measure what matters.
Interested in reading more? This article may be of interest: The Right Metrics to Measure Analyst Relations Performance.
