This is an excellent example of how to effectively market to Analysts (or anyone for that matter). It comes from Bill Andrews, CEO of Exagrid. Usually the CEO isn't the primary "Analyst Relations" contact person unless the company is super small, but he has done it forever, and it's one of the most effective blasts of communication I get.
"To: Industry Experts
Fr: Bill Andrews - ExaGrid
I'd like to take a moment to update you on ExaGrid and due to the challenging economy provide some insight into ExaGrid's position.
ExaGrid Statistics
- Top line has grown 11 out of the last 12 quarters
- This quarter takes the growth to 12 out of 13 quarters as we are currently having another record quarter
- Current cash on hand takes ExaGrid through 2008, through 2009 and into 2010 – ExaGrid has more than sufficient cash on hand
- ExaGrid turns cash positive in 2010 and continues to drive towards an IPO in 2011.
- Over 250 individual customers installed at over 500 locations
- ExaGrid has the second most installed disk-based backup appliances with data de-duplication customers in the midmarket to small enterprise
- Over 70 named user stores (company name and IT person's name) on the ExaGrid web site
- ExaGrid continues to win over 70% of the time that we compete with Data Domain
ExaGrid continues to close the gap on Data Domain for new customer acquisition
- In Q3-08 Data Doman sold 6.8 times the number of new customers ExaGrid did. This was down from 9.47 times in Q2-08
The growth remains strong, the win rate remains strong and the company is well funded to success.
Regards,
Bill Andrews
Bill Andrews
President and CEO
ExaGrid Systems, Inc.
2000 West Park Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
Office: 508-898-2872 Ext 227
Cell: 617-510-3986
bandrews@exagrid.com"
Here's what he does right:
- It's fast to read, no overt fluff.
- He indirectly tells me that while the economy sucks, he has plenty of cash and is growing despite the downturn. As a matter of fact, he had another record quarter.
- He reminds me that he has a lot of customers.
- He puts himself at number 2, albeit in a bit of an obscure market slice, which separates him and number 1 (Data Domain) from the pack.
- He flaunts 70 named references – because he knows it is brutal to get people to allow vendors to use their names/company names publicly – this means more to me than anything else he's said.
- He points out he's closing the gap to number 1.
What he did wrong:
- No need to talk about the cash positive position, it doesn't help and potentially raises questions.
- See 1. That's it.
Why does this matter? In general it matters because marketers love to rate their work in volume, not quality. I value getting to the point in as few words as possible much higher. He makes his points and keeps his company at the top of mind – and does it in a way that has me and others conditioned to actually read what he sends because we know it will only take 8 seconds. Getting to the point has become a lost art in this business.
Who cares what anyone says to Analysts? Good question, except – like it or not, Analysts are market influencers and shapers. Even the really crappy, useless ones will appear commenting in some article somewhere that will be read by someone else looking to make a decision about something – and that comment could influence that decision. Vendors can't keep moron analysts from saying moron things, but they can make sure they do all they can to educate the influencers. I have ADD extraordinaire, but even my little brain will remember the primary associations Bill just made for me. I speak with 3-5 reporters a day on average, write a bunch of stuff, meet with a ton of folks and generally talk about things – being at the front of my brain in a positive way is good for Bill. Being at the front of my brain in a bad way is probably bad.
Analysts overstate our value and relevance in the world for sure, but we are a member of this community, for good or bad. As such, all members of the community need to be effectively educated (marketed too) if you really want to cover all of the bases. Sure, I think it's absurd that anyone would listen to most Gartner analysts, but they do, and as long as that is the case, vendors need to constantly be improving their educational abilities and their ability to influence the influencers. AR is to Analysts what PR is to the media – get it wrong and the best case is you don't get mentioned, the worst case is you get lambasted. Do it right and you get leverage.
I'm a tad biased, but I think the ESG squad is the best on the planet in terms of adding value to the community. Sure we're tiny compared to the big G or IDC or Forrester, but we're all utilized differently within the community we serve. Everyone knows we provide strategic consulting services to industry, but not everyone knows we are also retained by perhaps the most prestigious collegiate institution in the world, the largest international IP legal firm, or international regulatory bodies – for our brains and opinions. This year alone we have directly influenced some of the largest infrastructure buys – or non-buys – in the financial sector, the multi-media sector, and the manufacturing sector – on 3 continents. We'll never expose who or what, but we take it seriously when a senior mucky muck of a huge multi-national wants our take on brand X versus Y, or technology A versus B. We always want to be smart, and current, so that we can provide the best possible information on which to base our own opinions and to give the buyer things they should consider. To do that, we need to always be educated. It's hard work, trying to educate the self-proclaimed experts of everything.
So take heed my marketing friends – some of you are very good at this, but most of you are simply atrocious. Sending out a useless press release every twenty minutes or every time your CEO gets the dog groomed is not a good use of our time. A million dollar launch can be totally hosed because you didn't bother to make sure some goofball analyst in Prague was up to speed on the value you are unleashing on the world. Think before you act, or before you ignore. Who is good? Surprise, surprise people like EMC, Netapp, and HP are great at it. People like Sun (although I don't blame Sun AR, I blame Sun Sun) have never been any good at it. They simply don't see any value in it and as such really don't care. That strategy seems to be working well. No one is perfect. Chances are that any company you think is good at marketing is probably good at AR too. It's not an either/or proposition.
In summary, stop sending me stupid press releases and instead spend your time first figuring out why I (or anyone else) should care about what you have to say, and then figure out the best way to say it. Thank you.
Well stated Steve! Although, could have chosen to....ahem...follow your own advice and shorten your blog entry. Marketers like me get hit with high volumes of analyst advice too.
-----Touche. However, in my defense, I'm not marketing - usually. I'm an edumacator. Steve.
Posted by: Asim | November 26, 2008 at 05:02 PM