Why IT Analysts Matter More Than You Think
A practical guide for technology vendors selling to enterprise buyers
Start fishing in the ocean, not that little pond
B2B technology companies pour resources into demand generation. We see it every day. Marketing budgets are focused on lead capture, email campaigns, and sales outreach.
The logic seems sound: find buyers who are actively looking for solutions and convert them into customers. But there is a real problem with this approach.
Only 5% of B2B buyers are actively seeking a solution at any given time (source: 6Sense). The remaining 95% are not in the market to buy. So for all your demand generation efforts, you are fishing in a very small pond and ignoring the big, wide ocean.
Research from Benchmarker shows that most B2B SaaS firms allocate around 70% of their budgets to demand generation and only 25% to brand building. Companies that exceeded their growth goals actually spent less on demand and lead generation than those that fell short. The firms that hit or beat their targets were the ones that invested most in brand awareness and market positioning.
This is how enterprise buying really works
Enterprise technology purchases follow a recognizable pattern. But many vendors just don’t understand how it works.
On average, B2B buyers complete 70% of their journey before they even have any contact with a vendor (source: Accenture). They’re doing their research, working out their requirements, and ranking their options. By the time your sales team gets a call, these buyers have already formed their own strong opinions about who is going to be worth considering.
The numbers are stark. In 85% to 95% of cases, buyers buy from a vendor that was on their initial shortlist (source: Wynter).
And 78% of buyers—nearly four out of every five—choose products they were already familiar with before they started their research. Forrester’s recent research confirms this. Over 90% of buyers start the purchasing process with at least one vendor already in mind. And more than 40% have already identified a single preferred vendor before any kind of formal evaluation begins.
Shortlists are also highly exclusive. Research from TrustRadius and Wynter shows that buyers typically evaluate only two to five vendors. You’re either in or you’re out in the cold. If you are not already among the established names when the buyer begins the search, your chances of winning that business are slim, even if you can offer exceptional quality or unbeatable pricing.
How IT analysts shape buyers’ thinking
IT analyst firms like Gartner, Forrester, IDC, and dozens of specialist research organisations are seen as trusted advisors by enterprise buyers. They study technology markets full-time, publish comparative research, and advise companies on purchasing decisions. Their influence on enterprise buying decisions is hard to overstate: 70% of the Fortune 1000 are Gartner customers, and more than 60% of the Fortune 100 are Forrester customers.
Even more significantly, 72% of firms call in the analysts at the awareness or longlist stage (source: CCGroup), precisely when those crucial early impressions are forming and shortlists are being put together.
So the analysts do not just evaluate vendors; they also shape how buyers think about problems and solutions. Being part of these analyst conversations helps you define your category and signals to the world that you are a serious, enterprise-ready player.
Many organisations have formal policies requiring analyst validation before purchasing. When CIOs need to justify significant technology investments to their boards, independent analyst endorsements can provide cover, underpinning the rationale behind their decisions. This is not about marketing spin; it’s about real-world risk mitigation for executives making career-defining decisions.
You can’t afford to be invisible
If you are invisible to the analysts, you are invisible to a significant slice of your potential market.
Your product may be excellent, but enterprise buyers researching their options will not find you in the research reports and frameworks they rely on, or in the GenAI search results that equally rely on that very same research. Your name will not be mentioned when analysts field those key inquiry calls from buyers seeking recommendations.
The companies that are winning analyst recognition today started building those essential relationships years ago. Every contact—every briefing, every customer reference, every piece of evidence—helps lay the foundations for future recognition. Waiting until you ‘need’ analyst validation means you are already way behind. Your competitors are doing this work now, and the longer you wait, the wider the gap will be.
The payoff from investing in your brand through analyst engagement is real and measurable. Research shows 73% of companies say the main benefit they have gained from brand investment is improved demand generation (source: Benchmarker). So this is not about replacing demand generation activity. It is about making it more effective by ensuring potential buyers know who you are, long before they enter the market.
Now’s the time to start the conversation
You don’t need a big budget or a dedicated team to take your first steps toward successful analyst engagement. It all starts with understanding which analysts cover your market, what they are focused on and care about, and how to communicate your value in terms they will find credible. You will need evidence, rather than overblown marketing claims, and patience, too, as it is unlikely to deliver quick and easy wins.
The Skills Connection helps technology vendors, large and small, build effective, profitable relationships with the analyst community. Our consultants understand the process from both sides, as they have all been senior analysts inside Gartner. Whether you are preparing for your first analyst briefing or working to improve your positioning in a crowded market, we can help you navigate this vital part of your enterprise go-to-market strategy.