Hosting an investor day can be a powerful way to raise management visibility
and credibility, highlight the depth of your management team, and clarify
your company’s value proposition and growth strategy. But planning a
successful investor day is no small task. Here are five tips to help you
along the way.
1. Have Clear Objectives.
It’s crucial to start the planning process with clear objectives. Why are
you hosting the event at this particular time? What investor relations
outcomes do you expect? What messages do you want to communicate? Who should
deliver prepared remarks?
For example, planning an investor day around a major announcement adds
excitement and gives you the opportunity to provide the Street with a deeper
level of detail. This in turn creates an additional incentive for investors
to attend the event. These announcements can range from the arrival of a new
CEO to a major product launch, a transformative acquisition or a new
corporate strategy.
It can make sense to include third-party speakers in addition to your
management team, depending on the focus of your investor day. For example, a
company that recently announced a new drug might invite a physician to speak
about its benefits. A software company launching a new product could include
a user panel discussion. Selecting the appropriate speakers is instrumental
to successful investor day messaging.
2. Do Your Due Diligence in Selecting the Venue and Date.
Countless hours of planning go into organizing an investor day, so do your
due diligence when selecting the location and time of year for the event. It
can be helpful to reach out to your sell-side analysts and key shareholders
in advance for their opinions about the timing or location you are
considering.
Key things to consider:
* While New York City is the default location for investor days
because of the potential for higher attendance, there may be a compelling
reason to select another venue. For example, a new manufacturing facility
could showcase your company’s unique competitive advantages.
* Time of Year. It is wise to avoid holiday periods and stay away from
typical vacation weeks and earnings seasons.
* Conflicting Events. Check for any conflicting industry or investor
conferences, as well as any planned events by your peers.
3. Create and Follow a Detailed Timeline.
Developing a highly detailed timeline is imperative to keep you on track
while planning your investor day. Holding weekly update meetings for the
investor relations team and any outside consultants will ensure that you are
on track and not missing any important deadlines.
Key items to include in your timeline:
* Action Steps. Identify every single action step with the target
completion date and the name of the person responsible for implementation.
* List all the deliverables necessary for the event, such as the
invitee list, conference room setup arrangements and speakers’ presentations
and scripts.
* Highlight all deadlines related to your venue and vendors, such as
providing the conference center with a final count for meals. Being
systematic will help avoid last-minute headaches and potentially additional
rush charges and fees.
4. Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse.
Rehearsing for the investor day is essential. It allows your speakers to
practice their delivery as well as make sure they are successfully
communicating the key messages you want the audience to take away from the
presentations. Conducting a full run-through of all of the presentations
will ensure that the timing is in synch with the schedule, and that the
prepared remarks will not run too long – or too short. It also is a good
idea to go through potential questions and rehearse the appropriate answers.
Key things to consider when rehearsing:
* Presentation Training. For members of the management team who may
not be as experienced with presenting to investors, it is worthwhile to
consider
build confidence and ensure a dynamic delivery.
* Reg FD Training. If your speakers are not familiar with Reg FD, it
is important to get them trained by an expert so they know what they are and
are not allowed to say when talking to the Street.
5. Gather Feedback (to prepare for your next event).
Preparing a feedback survey to distribute to attendees following your
investor day will provide management with a deeper understanding of the
Street’s opinions about your company as an investment, as well as the
effectiveness of the event. Understanding what messages were successfully
communicated and what areas may need some work can help shape and improve
your future communications.
