Analyst relations – is it all a scam?

I read this blog post from Ray Wang of Constellation Research a month or so ago, but was reminded of it today when a prospect mentioned analyst relations and said to me it’s all a scam isn’t it? They were coming from the school of thought that to influence analysts you need to show them the colour of your money.

As a technology PR agency we carry out analyst relations activities for many of our clients and so my first instinct was to leap to the defence of the analyst community. However, stepping back it’s easy to see why many people form this opinion. The organisation I was talking to pointed to the fact that they had subtly been told that it wouldn’t hurt their chances of being in a report if they subscribed to a particular analyst firm.

Analysts play such a valuable role in advising technology decision makers. However, they live and die by their reputation. If they aren’t trusted, end users simply won’t ask for their advice. Things need to change and I think Ray’s suggestion of an industry code of conduct for both vendors and analysts is a smart one. Vendors should stop being scared and call out poor practice. At the same time they should put the brakes on anyone within their organisations that thinks buying influence from an analyst is going to lead to long-term gain.

As PR people I think we can do a lot to support the change that needs to take place. If you have not seen Ray’s blog take a look at these suggestions for a code of conduct and consider taking the principles on in the way you do business.