In healthcare IT product marketing, significant emphasis is often placed on direct lead generation and internal sales enablement. But, there exists a powerful (yet underestimated) ally in building credibility and amplifying market awareness… engaging with market analysts.
For innovative healthcare IT companies, particularly those in the startup-to-scale-up phase, a well-executed analyst relations strategy can be pivotal in achieving product-market fit and creating critical market awareness. In this blog, we explore why building strong relationships with market analysts is crucial for healthcare IT companies. We also discuss how to cultivate these valuable connections.
The Analyst’s Role
Analysts are highly-credible sources for market data. They focus on tracking industries and the companies operating within them. Their work involves:
- understanding core market problems and dynamics
- identifying prevailing market forces
- pinpointing key players and competitors—along with their differentiators
If your company is on their radar, analysts will be more likely to write about you. While it might not always manifest as an independent, commissioned report (unless you fund it), they will likely feature you within the broader analysis of the market space. This provides visibility on a credible, research-oriented platform. It is a valuable asset when communicating with the analytical minds of healthcare IT buyers and investors.
Analysts promote companies they track through consumable visuals like infographics, graphs, charts, and “Magic Quadrants.” These visuals highlight key industry growth and innovation trends, illustrating how various companies align within the market.
Yes, engagement often involves a “pay-to-play” component. Still, your presence in such assets creates a strong foundation for content you can use to build awareness and position your company alongside other credible players. Favorable positioning in these assets—particularly key dimensions like innovativeness, extensibility, and cost—can help reduce buyer fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD).
The Analyst’s Value
Consider analyst relations as an essential extension of your product marketing strategy. In healthcare IT, buyers grapple with significant FUD when making crucial purchasing decisions. Independent analyses published by respected firms like Gartner, Frost & Sullivan, and Signify Health are instrumental in assuaging or even eliminating those concerns. These reports lend much credibility to your mission and messaging. They offer third-party validation that resonates with the discerning and technically-oriented professionals within healthcare IT.
Unfortunately, analysts are often overlooked or deprioritized. Why? Because their role doesn’t immediately translate to direct lead generation. Yet, their influence is more foundational. They provide the crucial awareness and validation necessary to pique the interest of your target audiences.
Moreover, you can repurpose content generated through analyst engagements (reports, infographics, market maps) for your own marketing efforts. These types of visual assets are easily referenceable within your own marketing documents and are highly shareable across social media platforms.
Why It’s Important to Promote Yourself to Analysts
Analysts may reach out to you if they come across an interesting press release, case study, or other material that describes a solution to a key market problem. But, don’t wait for them to come to you! Anyone can (and should) reach out to an analyst. This proactive approach can be particularly effective for smaller, highly-targeted companies.
When pitching yourself to an analyst, clearly describe your industry, the specific problems you solve, and your traction (e.g. proof points like successful pilot programs, key customer wins, or measurable ROI achieved for clients). Frame your pitch within the context of emerging or top-of-mind trends and problems.
Your goal should be to educate analysts on why they should pay attention to the market problems you solve and why your solution is relevant. For smaller companies, this proactive education is even more important. You may need to inform analysts about a new problem area entirely—encouraging them to undertake a net-new analysis.
Also, keep in mind that an analyst’s primary goal is to monetize their research and reports. Providing them with relevant, valuable information that is of interest to their audiences helps them achieve that goal. As new categories emerge, being at the forefront of that research increases your chances of being top-of-mind for analysts. And, by extension, your target audience.
Engagement Strategies: Large vs. Small Organizations
There’s a significant difference in how larger, more established companies engage with analysts compared to smaller, earlier-stage firms. Big companies often buy reports and engage in ongoing relationships. Analysts want to represent large install bases and varied activities of big companies in their research.
Smaller companies, while spending less on reports, may be doing new and innovative things that analysts are not yet aware of. They might not have a huge installed base. But, they may be solving new problems. Or, even old problems in new and transformational ways. This is where proactive engagement becomes critical.
Ensure Proper Categorization
One of the key challenges is ensuring correct categorization in the eyes of the analysts. This is particularly important in the nuanced fields of healthcare IT and digital health. Healthcare IT has many sub-categories based on differences in clinical specialties, workflows, or technical nuances. Analysts may not have the same level of granular detail about your offerings as, say, a trade publication editor.
Educating them with great detail is essential to foster that understanding. You need to ensure accurate classification about the industries you serve, the market segments you address, and the product categories you offer. Furthermore, you’ll want to highlight what differentiates you from your competitors. Analysts will likely interview the competition. You must articulate exactly what makes your company and solutions stand out.
Create a Strategic Advantage
Sales and marketing alignment isn’t only about defining and communicating your company’s messaging. It’s about building credibility and establishing trust across your target audience. Integrating analyst relations into your product marketing strategy provides an invaluable layer of third-party validation and market insight. All this strengthens your position and accelerates growth.
Are you looking to augment your product marketing efforts with a robust analyst relations program? Our strategic product marketing experts can help with making connections. We can also assist in promoting your company and products to analysts within the markets and segments you are hoping to reach. Contact us to learn more.
