Schnitger Corporation

Strategic Discovery — Market Insight

Frequently Asked Questions

We get asked a lot of questions, from “what is an industry analyst?” to “what do you do all day?” to “how can my firm interact with you?”. This FAQ gives some general answers, but please get in touch with us if you have specific questions!

What is an industry analyst?
Industry analysts are experts on a specific area of the economy. One firm tracks unemployment data, another looks at gas prices, and so on. Schnitger Corp. specializes in engineering software, the CAD, CAE, PLM and other tools used to create the objects and infrastructure we rely on. We know what users do with these products, the benefits they derive and the problems they have. We talk to people, read research papers and attend conferences so you don’t have to.

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OK, but what does an industry analyst DO?
Schnitger Corp. may not be typical in this regard, but we generate market data (size, growth rates, potentials, slices by vertical & geography, and so on); help clients find new opportunities; work on acquisition due diligence; analyze go-to-market plans; participate in product launches; speak to internal and external stakeholders about market dynamics; help principals prepare for investor meetings; write white papers; validate strategies and positioning and generally act as an external sounding board for your ideas. Sometimes, our best value is an outside perspective, based on a long history in this market. We do this for and with investors, software and hardware companies and the buyers of these technologies.

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Do you make money blogging?
No. We are not paid for blog posts and do not accept advertising so that you can be sure all posts truly reflect our opinion.

We generate revenue by consulting to software and hardware companies, investors and end-users and by writing and speaking about our research. We do this on a project basis, (helping in an investment team’s due diligence project, for example), on a retainer (as part of a long-term strategy engagement, perhaps), or on an hourly basis (as on a recent expert witness engagement).

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How should I/my company work with an industry analyst?
Schnitger Corp. thrives on information. Keep us as informed as possible – call, email, brief us, send press releases and invite us to your user conferences. Use your quarterly update meetings to tell us what’s new, what you’re thinking of trying, what’s working (and what isn’t). Let us tell you what we’re hearing and seeing in the marketplace, from your customers and competitors. We’re an external, independent part of your team.

Sporadic contact has its place, too. Use this if you need help validating a decision, such as whether an acquisition candidate has a good reputation in the market, or if you need a white paper or presentation to augment a marketing or sales program.

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How do you gather competitive intelligence?
We interact with a LOT of people about all sorts of things. Sometimes this is in confidence and, in those cases, we don’t talk about it. At all. But 99% of the conversations we have aren’t covered by non-disclosure, so we are free to use this information to draw conclusions, connect dots and otherwise bring a very wide perspective to competitive scenarios.

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How do I sign up for Hot Topics?
Hot Topics can be delivered to you by putting your address into the “Get this blog in your inbox (via WordPress)” box on just about any page. You can also set up automatic delivery of the blog to your favorite feed reader and connect to us via LinkedIn and Twitter.

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What’s the best part of your job?
We get to talk to people who’ve done really cool things that often weren’t possible before. Analyzing the flow of blood through an artificial human heart, designing a robot that will investigate another planet, making prosthetic devices that change lives. But some of the best user stories come from the satisfaction that designers and engineers feel when can they do their jobs better today than yesterday. Then engineering software is really helping, and that’s awesome! (See – we really do get excited about this stuff!)

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