Survey Insights: Analysts as key influencers
We surveyed 200 enterprise technology buyers across various industries, including healthcare, finance and retail. The study shows that industry analysts are not just consulted at the final decision-making stage but are influential throughout the entire buying process—from initial awareness of potential vendors to making that final decision.
Key findings include:
- Analysts have a continuous and significant impact throughout the buying process. They help enterprises form longlists of potential vendors and provide crucial insights that guide final decisions.
- Analysts are a critical advisor for buyers. Over 55% of all technology purchases involve some form of engagement with industry analysts. This engagement is even more pronounced in larger enterprises, where 65% of purchases involve analyst input.
The role of industry analysts throughout the buying process
The survey delves deeper into specific stages of the buying process—awareness and selection—highlighting how industry analysts shape decisions at each phase.
- Awareness Stage: At the initial stage, when businesses are forming a longlist of potential suppliers, 72% of respondents indicated that industry analysts are influential—more than any other channel. This trend is even stronger in larger organisations, where 82% of larger enterprises cited analysts as one of the top two influences on vendor awareness.
- Selection Stage: As the process narrows down to selecting a final vendor, 71% of respondents described industry analysts as either influential or heavily influential. Analyst influence is particularly notable in the financial services sector, where 80% of respondents placed analysts among their top two influences on vendor selection.
What does this mean for vendors?
The findings underscore a crucial shift in how vendors should approach their relationships with industry analysts. Industry analyst influence is pervasive throughout the entire sales funnel. This shift means that vendors must engage with analysts early and often, to both boost awareness and ensure they are considered by potential buyers from the very beginning of the decision-making process.
The survey reaffirms that industry analysts are indispensable allies for enterprise technology buyers. Their influence is persistent and powerful, guiding technology buying decisions that balance the need for growth, cost-efficiency, and technological innovation. This means that cultivating strong analyst relations is not optional for vendors—it is essential for success in today’s competitive enterprise technology market.
CCGroup’s insight reports consistently show that industry analysts are one of, if not the biggest, influence on technology buyers across all the verticals we specialise in – cybersecurity, enterprise IT, fintech and telecoms. That’s why we have a dedicated in-house analyst relations practice backed by a tried and tested method that helps our clients to best position themselves with this key influencer group. Please get in touch if you’d like to learn more.
