Analyst relations (AR) is the practice of building relationships with third-party research analysts — Gartner, Forrester, IDC, G2, Capterra, and category-specific firms — to influence how your product is evaluated, positioned, and recommended to buyers.
For most B2B SaaS companies, AR is either absent entirely (pre-Series B, no one owns it), delegated to the CEO (who treats it as a PR exercise), or siloed in a dedicated function that rarely coordinates with PMM. All three patterns create the same problem: a gap between how analysts describe your product and how you want buyers to understand it.
PMM has the most to gain from closing that gap. Analyst coverage directly affects enterprise buying decisions. A favourable Gartner quadrant placement can unlock accounts your outbound motion could not reach. A poor G2 profile loses deals you should win on merit. Analyst briefings that land well sharpen your positioning. Briefings that land poorly tell you something important about how your narrative is being received.
This guide is for PMMs who want to make AR a functional part of their competitive strategy, even without a dedicated AR team or a Gartner contract.
Why Analysts Matter in Enterprise B2B Sales
Enterprise buyers do not just evaluate products. They manage risk. Analyst reports exist to give enterprise procurement teams a defensible framework for selecting vendors. When a VP of Engineering at a 3,000-person company is choosing an infrastructure tool, they want to be able to say to their CFO: "We shortlisted vendors that appear in the Gartner Magic Quadrant." The analyst stamp is risk management, not just discovery.
This means AR is not primarily a marketing function. It is a sales support function. PMMs who frame AR as a PR exercise miss the point. The output you want from AR is not press coverage. It is presence in the vendor lists that enterprise procurement teams use to build their shortlists.
For companies that do appear in analyst coverage, being described accurately and favourably matters as much as being listed. A Gartner report that gets your positioning wrong — or that accurately reflects your weaknesses but not your strengths — will be used by competitors in deal reviews against you.
The Four Analyst Audiences That Matter for PMM
1. Gartner and Forrester: The Enterprise Gatekeepers
Gartner Magic Quadrants and Forrester Waves are the most influential analyst outputs in enterprise B2B. Placement in a Quadrant or Wave creates direct revenue impact. Both firms use a research process that includes analyst briefings, customer references, and vendor questionnaires.
PMM's role in Gartner and Forrester coverage:
- Designing the narrative for analyst briefings, not just presenting product demos
- Selecting and preparing customer references who can articulate outcomes, not just features
- Reviewing and responding to analyst questionnaires with positioning-led answers that highlight differentiators
- Tracking analyst reports for how competitors are described and using that intelligence in battlecards and positioning work
Access to Gartner and Forrester research typically requires a paid subscription. If your company does not have one, focus first on the firms that cover your specific category — there are often smaller, more focused analysts who carry significant weight in a particular vertical.
2. G2 and Peer Review Platforms: The Mid-Market Signal
G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius operate on peer reviews rather than analyst research. They are the dominant influence layer for mid-market buyers, who are less likely to use Gartner and more likely to read "10 alternatives to [competitor]" lists.
PMM's role in peer review coverage:
- Owning the vendor profile: category placement, description, feature tags, and comparison positioning
- Running systematic review generation campaigns, particularly after successful customer outcomes
- Monitoring reviews for themes that surface in sales conversations (common objections, competitor comparisons)
- Responding to reviews — especially mixed ones — in a way that reflects positioning, not defensiveness
G2 placement in category grids and comparison pages drives organic traffic and discovery. This is a legitimate pSEO equivalent for PMMs who want inbound pipeline from mid-market buyers.
3. Category-Specific Analysts and Consultants
Most categories have specialists beyond Gartner and Forrester. Healthcare IT has KLAS. Fintech has Celent. HR tech has RedThread Research. Developer tools have analyst voices on Substack and LinkedIn who carry more weight with technical buyers than any formal analyst firm.
These specialists are often more accessible and willing to engage with companies that do not have large AR budgets. A single briefing with the right category specialist can produce research or commentary that surfaces in buyer conversations for months.
4. Influencer Analysts and Practitioners
A growing cohort of independent analysts — often former industry practitioners — publish their views on Substack, LinkedIn, or their own research platforms. They lack the enterprise brand of Gartner, but they often have direct influence with the technical buyers who actually champion purchases.
PMMs should map these voices the same way they map competitor positioning: who writes about the category, what do they say, and where do their views appear in buyer conversations?
How to Brief an Analyst Effectively
The single biggest mistake companies make in analyst briefings is treating them like product demos. Analysts are not evaluating features. They are building a mental model of where your company fits in the market, who it serves, and why it matters. A feature tour gives them none of that.
Structure the narrative, not the roadmap
An analyst briefing should open with market context: what is happening in the category, what problem is getting harder, and why existing solutions fail. This puts your product in a frame that the analyst finds meaningful rather than forcing them to fit you into their existing frame.
Follow with your positioning: who you specifically serve, the one or two problems you solve better than anyone else, and the evidence that supports those claims. Customer outcomes, not features.
End with differentiation: why a buyer in your ICP who evaluates you against [specific competitor] should choose you. Be specific. Vague superiority claims read as marketing language. Specific comparative claims read as confidence.
Leave room for the analyst to push back
Analysts who push back during a briefing are giving you valuable information. A challenge to your differentiation claim, a sceptical question about your TAM narrative, a probe on customer retention — these are signals about how your positioning will be tested in print. Engage with the pushback rather than deflecting.
PMMs who attend analyst briefings should treat them as positioning validation sessions, not sales calls.
Building an AR Programme Without a Dedicated Budget
Most early-to-mid-stage companies do not have a dedicated AR function or budget. This does not mean analyst relations is inaccessible. It means prioritising carefully.
Start with inquiry, not the formal programme
Gartner and Forrester both sell research access to buyers. They also provide "inquiry" access — one-on-one calls with analysts — to their paying clients. If your company has any Gartner or Forrester contract, even a basic research access subscription, you typically have inquiry access included.
Use inquiry calls to brief analysts, gather competitive intelligence, and understand how the analyst community views your category. These calls are underused by most companies that pay for them.
Invest in G2 before Gartner
For companies under Series C, G2 category presence often has more immediate deal impact than Gartner placement. G2 Buyer Intent data shows which accounts are actively researching your category. G2 comparison pages appear in buyer Google searches. The profile is free to claim and optimise.
Build a systematic process for G2 review generation: identify the post-deployment moment where customers are most likely to give a strong review, automate the ask, and track volume by segment and use case.
Target one Gartner or Forrester analyst per quarter
Most analysts accept unsolicited briefing requests from vendors, particularly for emerging categories or newer entrants. Research which analysts cover your category, read their recent published commentary, and request a briefing with a clear framing of what the briefing will cover.
The goal of the first briefing is not to get into a report. It is to get the analyst to understand your positioning correctly. Coverage, if it comes, follows credibility over time.
Using AR Intelligence in Your PMM Work
Analyst reports are intelligence, not just marketing assets. PMMs should extract competitive insight from them systematically.
When a Magic Quadrant or Wave is published in your category, work through it methodically:
- How is your company described? Does it match your self-described positioning?
- How are your primary competitors described? What language does the analyst use that your prospects will now read?
- What weaknesses does the report attribute to competitors? These are opportunities to sharpen your differentiation messaging.
- What criteria did the analyst use? These criteria often map directly to the questions enterprise procurement teams ask in evaluations.
G2 reviews require the same systematic treatment. Review the most recent 30 reviews for your top three competitors. Extract the recurring complaints. These are objections your prospects have about incumbents — and they are your best source material for win-over messaging.
Common AR Mistakes PMMs Make
- Treating AR as PR: Analyst coverage that earns a quote in a press release is not the point. Analyst coverage that shows up in enterprise shortlisting decisions is.
- Over-engineering the briefing deck: A 60-slide product demo deck is not an analyst briefing. Analysts need context, narrative, and proof — not feature tours.
- Skipping customer reference preparation: Reference calls with unprepared customers undermine analyst perception. Brief your references on what questions they will be asked and what outcomes to highlight.
- Not tracking analyst descriptions over time: How an analyst describes your product in 2024 and in 2026 tells you whether your positioning work is landing. Track it.
- Ignoring G2 until a deal is lost: G2 becomes visible in sales when a buyer uses it to compare you unfavourably. That is too late to fix a weak profile. Maintain G2 presence proactively.
Implementation Checklist for PMM AR Ownership
- Map the analysts who cover your category — Gartner, Forrester, IDC, and category-specific firms.
- Claim and fully optimise your G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius profiles.
- Build a systematic review generation process triggered by post-deployment success milestones.
- Request one analyst briefing per quarter with the analyst most relevant to your ICP.
- Prepare a narrative briefing document that opens with market context, not product features.
- Brief customer references before every analyst reference call.
- Review competitor Gartner/Forrester descriptions quarterly and update battlecards accordingly.
- Extract competitive intelligence from G2 reviews monthly — top complaints about competitors go into win-over messaging.
- Track how analysts describe your company over time. Identify what is and is not landing.
- Feed AR insights back into positioning work. Analyst perception is a leading indicator of buyer perception.
What Good AR Looks Like for a Mid-Stage PMM
At Series B or C, a product marketer with an AR system in place can:
- Show sales exactly which Gartner or Forrester criteria their evaluation deals will be scored against
- Pull G2 competitive intelligence on demand to prepare for specific deals
- Name the two or three analysts who most influence their category and give a brief on each analyst's perspective
- Point to specific changes in analyst descriptions of their product as evidence that positioning work is landing
- Brief incoming SDRs and AEs on how analyst coverage shapes enterprise buyer expectations
None of this requires a six-figure Gartner contract or a dedicated AR headcount. It requires treating analyst relations as a PMM responsibility and investing consistent, structured effort over time.
How GTM Playbook Helps
GTM Playbook covers the positioning and messaging systems that underpin effective analyst briefings and peer review programmes. Understanding how to construct a positioning narrative, differentiate on specific claims, and build proof from customer outcomes gives you the raw material for every analyst interaction.
The frameworks for competitive positioning and win/loss analysis in GTM Playbook map directly to the AR intelligence cycle: position carefully, test through analyst feedback, sharpen with real deal outcomes, repeat.
Final Take
Analyst relations is competitive intelligence, sales support, and positioning validation in one. PMMs who own it give sales a credibility layer that no amount of outbound or content can replicate. Start with G2. Progress to analyst briefings. Treat every analyst interaction as a positioning test. The feedback is worth more than the coverage.