The Westwicke Blog is designed to deliver information and insights into the ever-changing world of healthcare communications.
The relationships you build with investors are crucial to your overall business strategy. But as you develop a strong investor relations (IR) plan, consider the following core elements that will help you build a credible reputation with the right audience. From fine-tuning your messaging to nurturing shareholder relationships to selecting the right partner, the investments you make now, will pay off over the long-term.
Scan the pages of the news and you’ll likely see stories of failed IPOs. Despite fast growth, some companies that go public are plagued by poor preparation and questionable business models. But completing an initial public offering (IPO) is a significant decision for your healthcare company and will transform the way you do business. As the largest healthcare-focused investor & public relations firm in the U.S., our team has handled countless healthcare IPOs. As a result, we’ve witnessed wins and successes as well as IPO mistakes companies make in their quest to go public. If you’re running a company that’s growing fast, avoid these big mistakes as you look to go public.
Drawing investor attention can pose a challenge, even for companies with groundbreaking, new science. In a space teeming with competition, it’s vital that emerging biophama companies developing innovative therapies also establish strong messaging to reach and intrigue potential investors.
Your earnings calls are more than just numbers – they present an important opportunity to make a favorable impression and add context to your financials while establishing expectations for investors. Prepare your team and set yourself up for a successful earnings call with these eight, simple best practices.
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”
— Thomas Jefferson
Just as honesty fuels wisdom on life’s great matters, candid thoughts from outsiders can prove invaluable for corporate executives seeking to learn how key market participants view their company. A perception study can play a vital role in gathering these opinions.
At Westwicke, an ICR Company, we know what constitutes investor relations (IR) best practices for one important reason: as former investors, bankers, analysts, and salespeople, we have the experience to understand information flow dynamics on Wall Street and the proven strategies. We have discussed specific best practices of a good IR strategy at length – sometimes in broad strokes and other times in greater detail. Every once in a while, however, it is important to pick your head up out of the trees and view the forest to get a sense of the prevailing buy-side perspective on IR and confirm that your intuition is in fact correct. I recently came across a global buy-side survey conducted by Rivel Research Group that underscores our qualitative expertise on IR strategy with quantitative measures. It is important for management teams of publicly traded companies to consider these buy-side perspectives as they approach IR.
To some companies, the annual letter to shareholders is an art. Warren Buffet, for example, may write a 30-page letter that addresses a range of topics — some that have little relevance to the letter’s intended audience. However, as you prepare to release your annual letter to shareholders, the best approach for most companies is to keep it clear and concise. This letter is an important piece of communication with your investors, and it should clearly lay out your vision, goals, and milestones achieved. Here are six tips to make your letter as effective as possible.
Your leadership spends a lot of time developing and writing public messages about your company’s story — whether a press release, the corporate deck, or the script of an earnings call. And while the intended audience is often the investment community, it’s important to consider what other constituencies will read these public documents. Your competitors, the media, and even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will likely read your news as well.
To execute a successful non-deal road show, you must put in the planning and work. It’s critical to pinpoint the right city and sponsoring analyst to make the most of your trip. However, that work and coordination is well worth it. By getting on the road and telling your story to the Street, you’ll experience many benefits. Here are what we consider the top 10 benefits of non-deal road shows.
As the year comes to a close, it’s time for management teams to start thinking about their 2019 investor relations strategies. How can you learn from your efforts in 2018 — and what needs to change for the year ahead? Should you shift the focus of your activities or hold steady on the path toward the goals you outlined for the past year?
Here, our team of IR experts at Westwicke provide their best advice for creating a top-notch investor relations plan that aligns with your company’s goals and priorities for the upcoming year.
