Best Practices for Dealing with Investor Feedback

As an Investor Relations Officer (IRO), receiving feedback from investors is an integral part of your role. Investor feedback provides valuable insights into how your company is perceived by the financial community and can help identify areas for improvement. Effectively handling this feedback is crucial in building and maintaining strong relationships with investors. In this new blog, we will share what we believe are the best practices for dealing with investor feedback.

1. Embrace a positive attitude: Approach investor feedback with an open mind and a positive attitude. Feedback, whether positive or negative, offers an opportunity for growth and improvement. Think of it as a chance to enhance your company’s investor relations efforts.
2. Listen actively: When investors provide feedback, listen attentively to what they are saying. Let them express their thoughts without interruptions. Active listening demonstrates respect for their opinions and fosters a positive communication environment.
3. Respond promptly: Time is of the essence when it comes to responding to investor feedback (or even emails in general). Acknowledge receipt of their feedback promptly, even if you need more time to provide a comprehensive response. This shows that you value their input and are committed to addressing their concerns.
4. Show appreciation: Thank investors for their feedback, regardless of the nature of their comments. Expressing gratitude reinforces your company’s commitment to maintaining a strong investor relations program and strengthens your relationship with stakeholders.
5. Analyze the feedback: Thoroughly analyze the feedback received. Identify recurring themes or issues that may require attention. Categorize feedback into different areas, such as financial performance, strategy, governance, or communication, to better understand the context.
6. Be transparent: If certain issues raised by investors are being addressed, communicate the steps being taken to rectify the situation. Investors appreciate candidness and openness. If you disagree with the feedback, as will often be the case, explain why and what your position is.
7. Feel encouraged to push back. Investors (fortunately) do not run your business, and often overly focus on short-term issues to the detriment of long-term value creation. Many are young analysts sitting in New York or London with almost no idea on how to run well a Mexican company. Do not give the impression that will incorporate the feedback if you do not plan to. For example, many investors ask for more disclosure, for example on a key input price. If for strategic reasons you will not give out that information, say so. If investors want short-term guidance, and you do not believe that is useful, say so.
8. Engage in two-way communication: Reach out to investors for follow-up discussions to ensure that their concerns have been adequately addressed of give the reasons why they will not be addressed. Such interactions build trust and strengthen the investor-company relationship.
9. Track progress: Act on the feedback received by making necessary changes and improvements. Monitor the progress of these changes and assess their impact over time. This data can be useful in future investor communications, demonstrating your company’s responsiveness to feedback.

Also, remember that it is important to sometimes ask for feedback proactively rather than just wait for investors to give it. This can be done through perception studies, direct emails or phone calls, or live interactions in conferences and events. Doing it can get you on a virtuous cycle where investors feel their feedback is welcome and feel more inclined to give it.

Investor feedback is an opportunity. Embrace it as a valuable tool for growth and improvement. Our team, at Miranda IR, would be more than happy to help you address any feedback you are not sure how to approach.