The AR Forum assembled in California recently to host a boardroom event with leaders from some of the most successful programmes around. First on the agenda was a discussion on ‘Data & insights: From measurement to evaluation‘. We heard some impressive methods participants have implemented to measure their programmes’ impacts more effectively. Three areas, in particular, got people talking: aligning measurement with wider business goals, understanding AR’s impact on sales, and measuring what analysts think about your programme.
Align measurement with business goals
Participants unanimously agreed that there is no one-size-fits-all methodology for measuring the success of an AR programme. AR teams work with various internal stakeholders, from business strategy to marketing and sales to customer success. AR pros should take the time to understand how they can best support internal stakeholders and build metrics that reflect how they add business value.
There are easy wins with measurement, like dot positions, share of voice, and number of briefings, and of course, these shouldn’t be ignored. But, to truly demonstrate the value of your programme, you need to understand the pain points your internal stakeholders face and evaluate your programme based on how it helps overcome these challenges.
Understand AR’s impact on sales
Measuring an AR programme’s impact on sales and revenue was a hot topic at the event. Understanding which deals your programme has influenced is one of the easiest ways to demonstrate value and justify those increased budgets.
This is easier said than done, but there are things AR pros can do to understand how you are impacting the sales pipeline. Participants suggested building better relationships with sales functions and helping them utilise AR outputs more effectively has been successful. Others had done third-party win-loss analysis to understand analyst influence on deals. Having data that measures your programme’s impact on sales will clearly demonstrate its value.
Listen to the analysts!
Understanding how analysts think about your analyst relations programme is a sure-fire way to measure its success. For example, many vendors and service providers interview their top analysts annually, while CCgroup surveys target analysts continually, to understand their experience of working with a particular company. It is an excellent way to know if you are providing them with the correct information at the right cadence to have the best possible impact. You could even go further to understand your target analysts’ perception of your competition.
Measuring how analysts perceive your programme will undoubtedly help you understand how to improve.
Next up
Our next AR Forum event will be a boardroom hosted in London on 10th January, where data and measurement will be high on the agenda. If you’d be interested in attending, drop us an email at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you there.
