Patricia Baronowski-Schneider
Pristine Advisers
New York, NY
Patricia is CEO of Pristine Advisers, an IR/PR/Media Relations/Marketing firm with 33 years of experience working her way to starting her own Company a decade ago. She can be reached at pbaronowski@pristineadvisers.com
It goes without saying that no company can succeed and grow without investors. Companies can thank investors for getting on their feet in the initial stages of operation, and for their continued growth.
Those reasons, and many others, help emphasize the vital role of investor relations. Businesses must communicate honestly and effectively with investors if they want to experience true long-term success. That’s also why many companies have an investor relations department – whether it consists of one person or several.
So, what is the role of investor relations? How can your company utilize investor relations to build a strong company? Let’s take a look.
Investor Relations: What They Mean & How They Work
The role of investor relations changed in 2002 because of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a regulation that increased how much and how often publicly-traded companies had to report financial and trading information. Since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, companies haves become more transparent and honest with investors. In turn, investor relations became even more important.
If one word best describes what investor relations mean and how they work, it’s “communication.” The IR department is the portal through which investors and company executives communicate.
IR Communications
Investor relations involves not only passing important company information on to investors, but acting as a translator for the language Wall Street speaks. IR also means communicating a company’s values, interests, positions, as well as releasing financial information.
When to Engage With Investors
There’s no “perfect” time to engage with investors because communication should be ongoing. It means taking a proactive approach to communicating with investors from the minute they show interest in your company, because they’ll become important allies when subsequent funding is needed, for instance.
When The Need For Investor Relations Becomes Even More Important
While it’s true that there’s no perfect or right time to engage with investors, because communication is ongoing, there are instances when investor relations have added importance:
- During a company’s initial stages
- During a time of change or transformation (such as during the development of a new product or process).
- When the industry or infrastructure affect financials or future projections.
There are many ways in which a company communicates with investors, whether it’s through email, newsletters, mailings, etc. The bottom line, however, is that investor relations serve a crucial role in strengthening the relationship between a company and its investors.