Jon Arnold says even his own mother doesn’t understand what he does for a living.
She’s not alone. Many people seem to be confused about what industry analysts do.
That’s one thing that analysts have in common with public relations professionals.
Arnold of independent technology research and analysis firm J Arnold & Associates – which focuses on helping his clients educate customers on the business value of communications technologies, such as AI, cloud platforms and unified communications in customer experience, digital transformation, hybrid work and beyond – recently joined Bospar’s Politely Pushy podcast to explain his work as an analyst. In the interview with podcast host Eric Chemi, Arnold:
- Emphasizes the importance of thought leadership
- Describes how analysts can work with analyst relations (AR) and PR specialists
- Details the different approaches of big analyst firms and independents
- Reveals the big question that every company is asking right now
- Unpacks what is valuable, problematic – and a bit annoying – about influencers
Here is a small sampling of their recent conversation.
There are a lot of big names on your client roster, including Cisco, Huawei, RingCentral, Skype, Vonage and Zoom. What are tech companies like these and others bringing you in to do?
Arnold: Being a technology analyst is mostly about thought leadership. They value us for our industry-based knowledge because we work with and speak with and attend events from across the industry. So we get a pretty good insider view of these companies, and they trust us to keep the good stuff close to the vest and share the public stuff with our take on things.
Ultimately, we see our role as educating the marketplace with objective analysis. By association, the vendors come off looking good. We’re not here to wave their flag so much as to focus on the value that their technologies – and the broader technologies in the industry – bring.
Is there pressure to push the objectivity a little bit in the favor of the people paying you?
Arnold: Like any other consulting type of arrangement, it’s all about setting expectations upfront. When scoping out a project, you’ve got to set the ground rules.
Where it gets dicey – especially in large company operations – is when there are too many cooks. The first two people you talk to, they get it, they’ve got your back. However, as other departments, line-of-business people and maybe another layer up of management comes in after the fact, they may say, “No, that’s not what we want.” Then it gets a little more difficult.
You’ve got to stand your ground and say, “That’s not what I was brought in to do.”
You mentioned that analysts like yourself often get lumped in with PR. What did you mean?
Arnold: Businesses sometimes think we are going to write them press releases. They think we’re going to write articles about them and pitch them to magazines. No, that’s not what analysts do. There’s a lot of education that’s needed on: Here’s what we do. Here’s what we don’t do.
How can analyst relations (AR) and/or PR teams work with industry analysts?
Arnold: Maybe a product launch needs support or, a company is doing a marketing rollup and needs assets. They might do some things internally and then work with an analyst on others.
PR can look to analysts to help them with their clients or companies in a variety of ways.
- The typical way is to get cited in press releases. If a client has news and the PR team wants to add more credibility, they may ask an analyst to provide a quote for that. Generally, the analysts are already working with those companies and know their products, and the PR teams know who those analysts are and ask us to provide a quote.
- Also, when PR comes to clients and says, “We have a stable of analysts we work with regularly who know your business,” that brings value to PR’s story.
- PR firms have also come to me saying, “We’re trying to beef up our tech practice – in the customer service arena.” Well then I’m your guy. I know a lot about that space and can help you accelerate closings, targeting the right companies, getting the right approach and building into your projects or subcontracting. There are all kinds of angles.
What do you want to hear from AR teams of vendors that you’re not already working with?
Arnold: We need an initial briefing where I can learn more about your business and you can learn about my business. What you’re thinking is fine, but you need to understand that there is a broader menu here that you need consider.
How can an independent compete with big analyst firms like Gartner, Forrester and IDC?
Arnold: Independent analysts have typically come out of that world.
I got my training in this industry working for Frost & Sullivan.
This is my 20th year as an independent. Most independents have been doing this for a while. The relationships are pretty mature. We not only have just the personal relationships, but the ongoing relationships with a lot of vendors. There’s going to be turnover of product managers all the time. But if the reputation is good and the work keeps coming, it doesn’t really matter who’s there, as long as the right kinds of people are there who value what we do.
But not everybody wants to work with a single practitioner. They want the brand. In many cases, it’s worth it for them to pay for Gartner or IDC to slap on the label for legitimacy in the market.
The sweet spot for people like me is often the tier-2 market – mid-market players who aren’t going to spend six figures and up with the Gartner’s of the world to buy that branding. That’s just too rich for their blood. They have less money to spend, and they can get a much better return working with smaller independents like me who are at that level in our ecosystem.
Small vendors could be helped by our services, but they generally don’t have the budget for it. But mid-market is big enough to have budget and need to work with analysts, but they don’t generally have to hire IDC or Forrester for every little thing, so there’s room for independents.
What are the tech companies you work with most concerned about at this moment?
Arnold: Everything is about AI right now, and the big thing for the vendors is they’re all telling similar stories. In the messaging world, how do you differentiate? That’s always a challenge.
Also, adoption rate. What they’re putting out in the market – AI-first, very forward solutions and value propositions – are in most cases far ahead of what buyers are willing and able to handle because a lot of them are taking first steps into AI. They just can’t go whole hog into a full-blown AI solution or platform that transforms everything they’ve ever done. It’s too risky for them.
Tied to that: What’s the ROI? Am I getting tangible results that make a difference and justify this path? AI, like a lot of things in the cloud, is the opex model. The spigot never turns off.
That’s why you start to miss the days of prem-based technology where you make the big outlay upfront to buy the hardware. With the capex model, you own it. It’s like leasing vs. buying with a car. Long term, you’re going to pay more in the cloud. But because cloud is constantly evolving, especially with AI, the value proposition grows over time; it doesn’t remain static. By comparison, a PBX provides the same value for a business on Day 1 as it did 15 years ago.
But the big question that the buyers often have with AI is: Where do I start?
How do you answer that question for your clients? Where should they start?
Arnold: It’s the same prescription other analysts would give: Start small. Take on small projects that are fairly risk-free and internally-facing, not customer-facing.
What are your thoughts about influencers and their relationship to the analyst world?
Arnold: The influencer persona is becoming more and more important in our world of technology vendors. What used to be called an analyst event, a lot of companies now frame as analyst and influencer events. I’m an MBA marketing guy, so I view everything through the lens of marketing and branding. All the vendors now are becoming much more conscious of their branding, how they’re going to market. For them, that reach that influencers deliver is gold.
Some are really good influencers, but their real expertise is how they amplify other peoples’ messages. They are not thought leaders; they do not produce their own original material or research. But that’s fine because there’s still a lot of value in delivering reach to customers.
All analysts by definition are influencers because people trust us, but not all influencers are analysts. As industry experts, we know who the experts are, so they’re not fooling us. However, some influencers are trying to wear that hat. I have an organic reach from my followers, but I don’t have a million followers out there. But an influencer knows how to reach a million people.
So, there’s a place for both. I just find it’s a little harder for the buyers to know the difference.
