What are your recommendations for influencing analysts if there is no MQ in your category?

The MQ, or "Magic Quadrant" report is what Gartner calls their comparative report for specific markets. Each major analyst firm has their own comparative report (Wave, Marketscape, etc.). The existence of this type of report indicates the maturity of the market and number of vendors addressing it. If your market does not yet have such type of report, you have to continue influencing the analysts by: - hosting quarterly briefings with them to showcase new capabilities of your product and the new ...Read More

The best thing you can do to influence analysts if there is not evaluation report like an MQ or Wave yet is to start early and build a continued cadence of conversation. In this case, it is super important to put your customers in front of the analysts. The more you can show that you have customers doing innovative things in the area you want an MQ or Wave in, the better ammo the analyst has to take back to their management. The big thing that analyst companies look to when thinking about launch ...Read More

MQs and waves aren's static and evolve over time as new categories emerge and old categories get consolidated or unbundled away. Analyst firms like Gartner, Forrester, IDC know this and their analysts are always looking to stay ahead of the curve by talking to emerging technologies. They publish their thoughts in things like market guides, or cool vendor lists. They update the capability matrix of their usual MQ, or can point to emerging trends in the MQ write-ups. They can even talk about this ...Read More

1) Be realistic: how many other competitors are there in this space? A MQ is meant to show the main players and their market share. If the category is too nascent then it might not make sense to publish a MQ just yet. If that's the case, engage with analysts but aim to get an 'honorable mention' in existing reports.  2) AR is a long game: build familiarity with your brand and product over time so that you're already in an influential position when the opportunity presents itself. Keep analysts i ...Read More

I'm sure this is something you've already asked, but do you know if they have a timeline for releasing a MQ? My point is, depending on their response, you may want to address your analyst strategy in different ways: A) Let's say, they don't have one but they're preparing for one in the next year or so. In analyst years, you know and can assume that much of it is already in the works. So, you may want to start asking which are the parameters by which they'll be measuring vendors. Perhaps they won ...Read More

Speaking from experience, even if there’s no MQ in your category you should still engage with analysts regularly—if your buyers speak to them regularly. Here’s why: Other than other research and publications remember - your analysts talk to buyers all day. Them knowing you well keeps you top of mind when they’re having these calls. We’ve had several leads coming in after engaging with analysts. They key here is of course to know your audience and who they’re speaking with. Things change. If your ...Read More