Be wary of survey-focused providers, focus instead on actionable, issues-based conversations

Investor perception study providers come in various shapes and sizes, and for newer investor relations professionals (IROs), it can be hard to see through the aggressive sales pitch and discern which approach is ideal.  We’ve been gathering consistent, actionable Street feedback for decades and our former buy-side SWAT team executes all of our perception studies.  It’s critical to us that we represent our clients with deep experience and perspectives to ensure high caliber results.

Some of the more aggressive firms in the space like to push surveys which include generic scoring systems.  To compare and contrast Alpha’s approach to these survey providers, we offer the following real examples, which clearly show the difference between a generic survey and an educated study/conversation:

 

 

 

Download our Perception Study Factsheet

 

Why Survey Firms Are Flawed

There are four key reasons today’s best IROs need to avoid generic survey models:

  1. Wall Street has been beaten up by generic approaches and uneducated callers for years and has run out of patience for them.
  2. Anonymous responses mask critical information and investors typically do not request it. You should know who said what to validate the sample set.
  3. Survey callers have no Wall Street experience or investor relations savvy, and thus don’t get the audience’s sophistication or have the ability to offer educated counsel on your next steps.
  4. Lastly, generic phone calls are a poor representation of your company and IR program.

Conclusion

At Alpha, we employ an issues-based approach and put ex-Wall Street professionals on the phone to represent our clients. Our calls often average 30-45 minutes and are praised by the buy-side as “a good use of time” versus the survey approach they disfavor.  Most importantly, we deliver a truly best-in-class approach that represents our client professionally and delivers the maximum ROI for your budget dollars.

Our sophisticated approach yields scoreable and repeatable results, without generic surveys, and we’d love to show why we put the Alpha in your IR program.