Westcon-Comstor is a leading global technology provider and specialist distributor of business technology. Operating in over 70 countries, it delivers business value and opportunity by connecting the world’s leading Cyber security, networking infrastructure and cloud computing vendors with a channel of technology resellers, systems integrators and service providers. Westcon-Comstor combines industry insight, deep domain technical expertise and decades of distribution experience, subscription and solution orchestration to deliver value and accelerate vendors’ and partners’ business success.

Challenge  

Westcon-Comstor faced challenges in winning the attention of industry analyst firms, particularly those in the US market, despite being well known in the European and APAC regions. To support the strategic goals of the company, the marketing team recognised the need to build awareness among key influencers and analysts in the US and become a trusted advisor on channel trends. The primary goal of the analyst relations programme was to identify crucial influencers, align messaging to ensure relevance and support successful engagements, and engage tier-one analysts to build awareness of Westcon-Comstor’s evolving offer and go-to-market strategy. Additionally, through one-to-many campaigns, Westcon-Comstor wanted to position key SMEs as thought leaders on adjacent topics, including security and ESG.

Consultancy  

CCgroup recognised the importance of Westcon-Comstor being on the radar of top-tier analysts in the industry and agreed that building awareness with them would benefit the company and should be the programme’s central aim. Thus, the programme was designed to increase interactions with these influencers, including arranging briefings with analysts from the most influential firms, such as Gartner, Forrester, IDC and Canalys, combined with hosting online thought-leadership events on topics including Partner Success, Cybersecurity, Sustainability, and Data and Analytics. Additionally, a monthly newsletter has strengthened Westcon-Comstor’s market presence, which builds broader awareness and ensures that the company remains front of mind for relevant analysts.

Consequence 

CCgroup identified a core group of analysts who Westcon-Comstor now briefs regularly. CCgroup worked with Westcon-Comstor to develop messaging that has helped these analysts understand the business’s strategies for evolving its offer and go-to-market, centred around digital transformation. The analysts are eager to hear from Westcon-Comstor’s SMEs and value their insights, resulting in a 100% briefing acceptance rate for core targets from October 2022-April 2023.

Westcon-Comstor’s share of voice increased threefold, from 7% to 20% from FY 2021 to FY 2022, with notable mentions from firms such as IDC and Canalys. Additionally, Power of Voice increased from 9% to 11% in the same period. Broader awareness of Westcon-Comstor with analysts covering the channel ecosystem has supported this increase.

The analyst relations programme has supported new relationships, helped raise Westcon-Comstor’s profile, and enabled the company to gain valuable insights and guidance from influential analysts.

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