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As a publicly traded company, you understand the value of improving Investor Relations (IR). Engaging more effectively with private investors and investment banks helps you generate more capital, improve consumer confidence, and augment your brand reach.
Having the right IR team on your side is certainly beneficial. But picking one can be challenging. Your first step is to check your IR team’s portfolio and references. For example, a top IR services provider like Q4 is trusted by over 2,700 globally renowned brands such as Shopify, VISA, Spotify, McDonald’s, Walmart, Salesforce, National Bank, and Netflix.
They even boast strong references.
Here is what Erin Rheaume, Senior Manager, Investor Relations at EA, had to say about them, “One thing I always appreciated about Q4 was their stand-out customer service. When I came to EA, I had strong opinions for our new website and had absolute confidence that Q4 could help me execute on that vision.”
You should also check with current and former colleagues. Ask them to suggest the best IR partners in their professional experience.
Here are some other factors to consider when trying to match with a good IR team:
1. IR Website
A website designed specifically for IR is critical nowadays. It helps boost your market reach and provides investors, shareholders, and the public with key details about your operations and financial standing.
Find an IR services provider that specializes in developing cutting-edge internationally renowned IR websites. They should develop a website that platforms your distinctive brand, helps your company draw investors, establishes what you do, and encourages visitors to respond. Additionally, they should have the expertise to develop a website that offers a compelling narrative, user experience, and slick design.
Other must-have features in an IR website:
- Enterprise security, safeguarded with SOC-2 Type 2 certified data management, providing 99.9% uptime.
- Fully capable of meeting SEC and GDPR compliance.
- Fully integrated analytics to help you understand the effectiveness of your messaging.
- Straightforward management backed by around-the-clock customer support, even during critical periods.
In addition to best-in-class IR website development skills, your IR services provider should also serve as a consultant. Their insights into design and content will enhance your website.
Your IR website developers should also offer a realistic project timeline and have the experience to meet their goals. The best IR website managers can finish their work in the promised timeframe without sacrificing quality.
2. IR Events
The COVID-19 pandemic may be diluting, but its effects on how we do business could be permanent. There has been a significant shift to the virtual landscape, with the most successful companies delivering high-quality online engagements to their global markets. A good virtual event can broaden your efforts toward wooing investors.
Select an IR services provider with a virtual events team that specializes in leveraging specific technology solutions for IR and capital markets. With the right virtual events team on your side, you can control your IR storytelling and engage your audience with confidently delivered key messages.
An IR services team should expertly oversee all your event management and planning, allowing you to focus on influencing investors. Their dedicated team should handle your event management plans with great attention to detail and tactical and consultative methodology.
Look for the following skills in your IR virtual events management partners:
- Impact accelerating strategy development across all annual investor engagements.
- Skills in cutting-edge audio, video, and multimedia.
- Secure implementation with password protection, email domain filtering, and more.
3. Streamlined Workflow
Avoid IR solutions providers that offer isolated workflows. This style of productivity results in inefficiencies and weaker insights. Instead, match with an IR solutions provider that unifies your IR strategy across your website, virtual events, and aggregated insights to help you share your value proposition with the right investor.
Workflow unification should integrate your:
- Website
- Earnings
- Targeting
- Market intelligence
- Reporting
- And more
Moreover, a unified communication strategy will help you earn a more effective online digital presence, hassle-free earnings process, and enhanced engagement with investors.
4. IR CRM
You probably know Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software as a platform to help you manage your key relationships with your client. An investor relations CRM goes much further than that. It takes multiple, complex data sources from across your portfolio and presents them in a consumable fashion, providing key insights and actionable intelligence to simplify your workflow.
Turn to an IR partner that can overhaul your digital workflow with the right CRM platform. Their platform should have the following key characteristics:
- Easy-to-use
- Intuitive
- Large global contact capacity
- Advanced reporting
- AI targeting
- Sector insights
- Sophisticated targeting
- Web and events analytics
- And more
The modern IR climate demands modern IR solutions. Select an advanced IR team that provides fantastic customer service, insightful technology, and is driven by advanced market experience and expertise.
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