In the final post of our 6-part series on IR best practices, we share IR Thought Leader insights on the growing relationship between IR and technology.  We asked the IROs who participated in the discussion what are some of the basics that companies should be doing right now, commenting specifically on the IR website and social media.

IR Website:

One of the IRO’s who participated in the discussion revealed that website analytics on his company’s website indicate 80% of the site’s traffic is to their homepage, not the investor page.  For this reason, the participant explains it is critical that included on your homepage, is an actual phrase, whether it is a sentence or an entire paragraph, clearly explaining why they should invest. 

Another IRO did a redesign on her company’s website last year, adding a comprehensive data tool to the site.  This tool enables users to pull any of the company’s historical financial information, as well market and industry information.  As a result, the participant says the number of calls she receives inquiring about that sort of data has decreased significantly because investors now know where to find it.

All agreed that it is critical to that data always be fresh and information gets on there on a timely basis.  If you can make that commitment to keep the site up-to-date, you will become the source of information about your company via your website, instead of having other people be that source of information. 

Social Media:

Beyond an up-to-date IR website, there are certain fundamentals that should be incorporated into your IR program, including free-tools like Slideshare and YouTube, to maximize exposure to current and potential investors.  One IRO posts company PowerPoint presentation on Slideshare and videos on YouTube, which can then be easily imbedded into and played right off his investor homepage.

Cross-linking like this helps can improve the searchability of your website.  Another suggestion- consider including imbedded links to industry sites that you are a member of that you include in your company description.  These external links can help create traffic to and from, actually increasing your search engine rankings.

Twitter is a fantastic tool for adding an additional vehicle for releasing press releases.  Users are able to retweet messages that they have “liked” or felt were important for their followers to see, potentially increasing the reach of your message exponentially.  One IRO recommended using a free service like TweetReach to measure how far your tweet travelled. 

Many agreed that at this point they are using it to push information or a message, as opposed to being an interactive forum.  They have made forays into the interactive stuff (i.e. have a Facebook account, running Q&A on their blog) and recognize the opportunity there; however, they are moving cautiously, ensuring that a plan is in place first.

When asked who is using social media, the IROs unanimously agreed that it is primarily the retail audience, and perhaps some of the younger portfolio managers and analysts.  One IRO commented that these are the individuals who are just coming into the game, have grown up on social media, used it to communicate in school, and are now bringing that into the work world.  This will result in a large social media push in the near future.  The participant explained that we have to communicate with people the way they are communicating, and if web 2.0 is the way that they are communicating, then companies will need to adapt to connect with the next of generation of investors, portfolio managers and analysts.

Following up on last week’s post on ‘M&A’, in this post we share additional insights that came out of the IR Thought Leader Roundtable we recently co-hosted with CIRI. 

 Perception Study 

Almost all of the IROs who participated in the roundtable discussion agreed that a perception study is a valuable activity to undertake at least once a year.  A thorough study can help ensure that the messages you are articulating are effective and well understood, and that your IR program is on the right track.  Knowing how the investment community attributes value to your organization and what they expect going forward is critical to shaping your annual investor relations program. 

Many of the IROs bring in outside consultants to conduct the study for them every year.  One IRO explained that to dig as deep as they would like to there are a considerable number of hours are involved in making the calls.  Having a third party conduct the study, also helps ensure that they get honest feedback.

One of the participants recommends basing the survey on a core group of questions that can be monitored year after year- things like responsiveness, how they compare against their peers, how good are the conference calls, etc…  This makes it possible to benchmark performance in particular areas over time.  

This core group of questions can then be peppered each year with unique new questions, perhaps adding things that are more particular to that year (e.g. industry news, specific event, earnings result, etc…). 

Consider having your board also complete the survey to help you get a sense if there is a perception gap internally. 

For more on excellence in investor relations, stay tuned for next week’s Tip of the Week when we reveal further insights from the IR Thought Leader Roundtable discussion.

In part 3 of our series on IR best practices, we share additional insights and IR best practices that came out of our IR Thought Leader roundtable discussion that we recently co-hosted with CIRI. 

 Preparing for questions from Analysts and PMs

It is important to have good technical knowledge, as well as financial knowledge, so that you are able to answer more questions yourself, versus having to go get the answers from senior management.  The aim to be able to answer 90 to 95% of the questions thrown at you.

 In advance of a call, think “what’s happening and what are people going to want to know”.  Also, think about the sorts of questions that came up when you were recently out marketing and in one-on-one meetings.  Have cheat sheets ready with answers to the questions that portfolio managers and buy-side analysts asked to cover some of the real technical details. 

One of the IROs that participated in the discussion suggests instituting the 30-minute rule- within 30 minutes of receiving a question from either the buy- or sell-side, someone must get in contact with them.  By email or phone, the participant explains he will call them directly to confirm that he received their question and are going to work on finding the appropriate answer. Analysts who are often working with tight time lines appreciate the rapid response. 

Give as good as you get

When talking to analysts, it is an obvious opportunity for them to ask you questions; however, it is also a great opportunity for you to get information from them.

One of the IROs explains that when she receives a phone call and engages in a conversation, she will ask as many questions about their shop as they are asking about her company’s business.  The participant wants to know what the investment philosophy is at the investment firm, who makes the decisions there, and the degree of influence the person on the phone has.  This helps allocate resources within her group. 

During those conversations with analysts and investors, you can also get invaluable feedback about your business and the street’s perception of operations, management, the latest results, or even just the presentation.

For more on excellence in investor relations, stay tuned for next week’s Tip of the Week when we reveal further insights from the IR Thought Leader Roundtable discussion.

Following up on last week’s post on how to prepare for questions from analysts and PMs, in this post we share IR Thought Leader insights and IR best practices as they relate to dealing with M&A.

M&A

Your company’s communications never matter more than when you’re fighting M&A or in the midst of an M&A situation.  Having been a takeover target this past year, one of the IROs shared several takeaways from the experience, which we summarize in the text below.

First, we have always believed that our website was the hub of our communications; the takeover period solidified this point of view.  When dealing with an M&A situation, your company will need to communicate with a diverse group of stakeholders – from investors to analysts to the media – who will require continuous information and insight on the situation at hand.  Your website can be a central point of contact for this group and a vehicle to post updates, messages from the C-level, video clips, etc…

Second, it is important to go back to the essentials of your company’s IR program.  What strategies are in place? What does your investor base look like? How have you communicated effectively with them in the past?

We had disagreements with several advisors who suggested that we communicate only via the basic methods; however, this didn’t agree with the IR plan we had in place and the communication strategies we usually employed, which were much more interactive.

In the end, we stuck to our guns and used video and did a number of things on our website throughout the event.  I believe that our shareholders appreciate that we weren’t just putting out one piece, and then they wouldn’t hear from us for days.  Any news, videos, comments, all went up on our website, and we found it was the best way to keep everybody up to speed when the demand for information was so big. 

For more on excellence in investor relations, stay tuned for next week’s Tip of the Week when we reveal further insights from the IR Thought Leader Roundtable discussion.

Following up on last week’s post on ‘Analyst Relations’, in this post we share additional IR Thought Leader insights and IR best practices as they relate to planning an IR program. 

IR Planning

Critical to the success of any IR program is implementing a comprehensive strategy that provides direction and forms the bones of the annual IR plan.

This strategy should include defined objectives and tactics, which will allow you to measure the continued success of the plan. In addition, a detailed calendar will ensure that management understands the amount of time necessary on their part to execute the plan. 

One IRO who participated in our recent roundtable discussion breaks the year down into main publications – annual report, quarterly reports and quarterly news releases – when planning the company’s IR schedule for the year.  The participant then breaks the year into two pieces – Q1/ Q2 and Q3/Q4.  Marketing efforts for the first half of the year are planned in the winter months and marketing plans for the last of the half are planned in the summer months.  Roadshows typically follow quarterly results.

Another IRO suggested using investment banking conferences to help define the year’s schedule.  Show up a day early and leave a day late, and schedule investor meetings around the conference events.  This will help define the company’s non-deal roadshows.

The IRO explains that it is not necessary to have a hard number of events, for example 8 non-deal roadshows, 2 analyst days, etc…  This number will typically be defined by the number of conferences in your space. 

Take a look at the number of conferences in your sector, consider your coverage, rank your analysts, and rotate through them throughout the year, guaranteeing that they all get a marketing day at some point.

Above all, the IROs all agreed it is important to be adaptable and build flexibility into your plan.  Markets are dynamic; events, deals and news will pop up during the year that will throw your IR plans off.  

It is a good idea to sit down at least twice a year to review the plan in place and map out what the coming months will look like.  Consider what’s working and what’s not; which milestones you are meeting and which you are not; and make adjustments to the program as necessary. 

For more on excellence in investor relations, stay tuned for next week’s Tip of the Week when we reveal further insights from the IR Thought Leader Roundtable discussion.

We recently co-hosted an IR Thought Leader Roundtable with CIRI, to explore what constitutes “excellence in investor relations”.  The roundtable included senior IROs from across Canada, including multiple winners from last year’s IR Awards.  Over the next month, each week we will share insights and IR best practices that arose from the discussion. 

 Analyst Relations:

After issuing an  earnings announcement, schedule a brief call with each analyst  for after the  conference call.  Keep your earnings call short and as soon as it is complete, begin your rounds of calls with each analyst.  Give each of them about fifteen minutes and move from the East to the West Coast.  Analysts will appreciate the accessibility and knowing that they can publish overnight and present the research to the Street the next day.

For high growth or technology-based companies it is a good idea to also frequently send analysts relevant info and articles on the industry and to post these on your homepage in an industry news section.  It’s a great way to keep analysts in the loop and engaged, and to ensure that the timely information is getting to investors.

For more on excellence in investor relations, stay tuned for next week’s Tip of the Week when we reveal further insights from the IR Thought Leader Roundtable discussion.