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.