Beth Snellen has the scoop when it comes to analyst relations… and the well-rounded experience to back it up! Currently an AR strategist at IBM, she brings insider expertise to her role — having spent years as a Gartner analyst, where she was key initiative leader for AR best practices. Before that, Beth was AR director at Wind Communications (the leading AR services agency ARInsights acquired earlier this year) and a freelance AR consultant.
In short, when Beth talks AR, you listen.
That’s why we were thrilled to feature her as a speaker at ARchitect User Forum 2024. Beth shared a powerful 4-step process for aligning AR with business success:
- Understand stakeholder priorities.
- Determine how AR can help.
- Describe target outcomes.
- Measure success.
This is all encompassed in “strategic AR,” according to Beth — a philosophy every AR pro should embrace. Below, we’ve rounded up 10 golden nuggets of AR wisdom Beth shared. Let’s dive in!
1. Fight for your worth
Even as AR has evolved over the years, “two things have remained the same, and that is AR’s battle for resources, and AR’s battle for respect.” So, don’t be passive — take steps to demonstrate your value and earn more support.
2. Become Irreplaceable
“The best way for job security is: Make yourself indispensable. And how do you do that? Well, for AR folks, we have to link what we do with business success.” (See Beth’s 4-step approach above.) Tying AR to business success doesn’t stop there — you also have to explain and promote your results.
3. Understand Business Priorities First
Don’t put the cart before the horse: “You’ve got to figure out what’s important to the business before you can figure out how AR is going to help.” Priorities and action plans will cascade from there.
4. Be a Strategic Partner, Not Just an Order-Taker
Setting expectations with stakeholders is part of the job: “It’s really important that you become the business partner who can give them the advice on what AR can do. Don’t just sit there and take orders; don’t let them [just] tell you what they want you to do. You need to be the leader who’s going to provide that advice.”
5. Create Comprehensive Engagement Plans
Be thorough in your planning. It’s important to go all-in: “You’ve got to have a full engagement plan. If you can show stakeholders, how all the little puzzle pieces fit together — and give them a complete engagement plan with how it’s going to get to [key] outcomes — then they’re going to be less likely to line-item you… They’re going to trust you more.”
6. Smart Outsourcing is Key
Don’t be afraid to ask for help — and be discerning about the help you get. “If you have bandwidth problems, maybe you need to outsource… I’m a big fan of contractors and agencies… You can pick the level of expertise and support you need, customized to what you need. Do you need somebody to carry out some tactical project, like an event, or do you need somebody who’s going to be there every day, interacting, giving advice to your executives?” Beth shared key things to look for in your AR support partner: experience and a shared AR philosophy. “Make sure whoever you’re bringing into your organization is going to be representing your team and your company in the same way you would.”
7. Standardize Your Processes
Templates are your friend! “Consistent procedures across the team create trust and efficiency. It’s important that the team uses the exact same procedures so that stakeholders know what to expect.” Beth noted consistency also helps when you’re managing a team. “If someone’s out on medical leave or, someone’s on vacation, the other team members can slide in. If you have pre-made templates, you don’t have to recreate the wheel every time.”
8. Simplify Stakeholder Communication
Give execs a dedicated AR contact. “I would say it’s actually more important that the stakeholder has a single point of contact than it is to make sure the analyst has a single point of contact. It’s much easier to coordinate sharing an analyst, especially if you’re using ARchitect correctly, than it is a stakeholder. [Stakeholders] want one point of contact.”
9. Invest in AR’s Future
Bring on the next generation of AR mavens! “Gen X is becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of the AR workforce. So, if AR is going to continue, we’re going to bring in some new talent [and] going to have to develop them.”
10. Cultivate Essential AR Skills
What’s in a great AR pro? “There are core skills that make somebody successful. You need to be able to communicate. You need to be able to be a strategic thinker. Having strong business acumen is very important… You have to have an ability to understand and learn, a curiosity and interest.”
Thank you, Beth, for these winning insights!
And stay tuned, as we continue to summarize other can’t-miss lessons and food-for-thought from additional User Forum presentations.
