The Value of Investor Phone Calls
It was great to see Fabrice Taylor’s column in this month’s ROB Magazine reminding investors of the value of personal contact with companies. (“Investors, don't fear the phone”)
One of the primary functions of investor relations professionals is to respond to inquiries from current and potential shareholders. We include our contact information on news releases and websites. And yet, it’s sometimes surprising that more people do not make use of this resource.
Most companies are good at making information easily accessible to investors on the Internet. But sometimes a phone call to IR can save time; not everyone has the time or desire to search through the official disclosure documents.
More importantly, that first conversation is the start of a relationship. Every IR practitioner has “regulars” that check in once each quarter or so for an update. What they may not realize is that we get as much out of those conversations as they do. There’s no better way to keep track of investor sentiment than talking to investors and hearing what’s on their minds. We can then share these insights with management, and apply them to future communications materials.
As Mr. Taylor points out, in the case of small and mid-cap companies, it’s often possible for individual investors to get senior executives on the phone. But he acknowledges that his status as a newsletter writer and columnist with a national newspaper helps him in this regard.
From management’s perspective, part of the value of a dedicated IR resource is ensuring that shareholder questions get answered promptly. Investor relations will always take up a portion of the time of public company CEOs and CFOs. The trick is to allocate this time as efficiently as possible. They also have a company to run.
Jeff Codispodi, VP, Technology Group
