|
WHY YOUR PR PROGRAM ISN'T WORKING
& WHY IT MAY BE YOUR FAULT!
By Alan Caruba, PR
Counselor
One of the most common
complaints by clients is that their PR counselor or agency just isn't getting
the results for which they had hoped. In many cases, it's the client's fault.
Here are some of the things you may or may not be doing to insure that you get
your money's worth from the effort being undertaken for you.
1. Lack of
Communication. In a time when the "news cycle" is 24 hours a day,
a PR firm has to be able to react swiftly to breaking news that can enhance or
harm your interests. That means that a quick call from your PR advisor needs
your attention so that he or she may act on your behalf to issue a news release
or contact a member of the media to call attention to your role.
2. Failure to DO
Anything Newsworthy. It's called news because it has sufficient merit to be
passed along to readers, listeners and/or viewers. If you company is not doing
anything, then you simply will not generate any news. Many times, a company will
actually be doing something of interest, but not recognize it as a platform for
a PR effort, i.e., putting up a website and then not telling the PR firm about
it! Holding an annual training session with a major industry figure and then not
permitting the PR firm to invite the media to attend and learn about new trends,
issues, etc.
3. Failure to
institute a "Crisis" Communications Program. Many companies are
under siege from special interest groups opposed to their products or services.
Failure to authorize your PR firm to create a plan that identifies the
procedures to immediately take can turn any unexpected or adverse publicity into
an even bigger disaster.
4. Failure to Respond
to Media Inquiries. In the intense competition to secure media coverage, the
failure to take a reporter's call immediately only means that he or she will go
elsewhere to secure the information they need. Reporters routinely work on
several stories each day and cannot afford to wait around an hour or longer to
get a response. If the story directly affects your company, you need to
demonstrate you are willing to answer questions or risk being regarded as
"guilty" until proven innocent. In cases where your company has been
"positioned" by your PR firm as an expert source of commentary and
information, failure to respond quickly leads to the conclusion you're not
really a good source. Your competition will benefit if they respond when you do
not.
5. Too Much PR for the
CEO or President. Many CEO's believe that the real role of the PR firm is to
make sure they get lots of media coverage while their company's products and
services go begging for it. While it is common practice to "quote" the
CEO in most releases since he or she is the obvious spokesperson, spreading the
recognition around is a good idea, particularly if the company employs experts
who may, in fact, provide a better interview. In addition, if and when a CEO
leaves the company, all the effort that has been invested in creating their
personal image is lost and must begin again with the new CEO.
6. Avoiding the Press.
Many companies today have decided they're better off avoiding the press. And it
is true that much business news coverage tends to be negative. However, there is
also a trend toward giving a company the benefit of the doubt. (See
"crisis" control above and Failure to Respond to Media Inquiries.)
Here again, thoroughly briefing your PR firm on what the company is doing, what
new products and services will be introduced and when, what the key public
issues affecting your company may be, et cetera, will allow the PR firm to run
interference for you if, indeed, you do not want direct contact. This means
developing a real sense of trust in the judgment of your PR firm to protect your
interests and, perhaps, at the same time, be more aggressive in defending you.
7. Not Thinking Long
Term. Many clients who have never engaged in PR previously, even though the
company may be successful and been around a long time, do not realize that it
takes a long time to develop credibility among news professionals before they
begin to routinely look to you for commentary or give coverage to your news
releases and events. It can take up to a full year before this occurs, meaning
that all the efforts of your PR firm may yield relatively little response
initially. It will happen, however, if you are prepared to make the initial
investment to become "a player" to whom news people turn for comment
or information. (One great way to do this is to take an advertisement in the
Yearbook of Experts, Authorities & Spokespersons, an annual reference that
news professionals use every day for a quick source. See their link on this
website.) Mostly certainly, a PR plan is the first step toward establishing
specific goals and objectives.
8. Understanding that
Dissemination of News Has its Costs. Just sending out a news release once a
month may work for a trade association or company that wants to insure its
"visibility" in a relatively small market area like a State or
vertical market, but to get news out quickly these days, one has to understand
the costs involved of using services like the PR Newswire or the Businesswire,
North American Precis, and other comparable companies. They are on a par with
the Associated Press and other mainline news services and their information is
received in the same fashion. A company can tailor its distribution of news to
cities, states, or nationwide. A large company will also want to generate video
news releases and that comes with a hefty pricetag.
9. Ignoring the Wide
Spectrum of PR Outlets. While most clients would like to see themselves
mentioned in The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and other major news
outlets, the fact is that there is a vast spectrum of news outlets that cannot
and should not be ignored. These include major trade publications, newsletters,
local, regional, and national radio and television programs. A good PR firm will
want to reach out to these outlets for the opportunities they represent to tell
your story. A company profile in a major trade publication can be reprinted and
used by sales personnel, distributed to customers, et cetera. A mention in a
specialized newsletter can generate inquiries about one's products and services.
10. Advertising is Not
PR. That fact is advertising should be integrated with your PR program, but
advertising is not PR. It is time or space bought to tell your story, but PR is
the process of securing news coverage. In some cases, if a particular issue or
event is having or will have a major effect on your company, your PR firm should
be engaged to create the advertisement's text. Then let your ad agency do the
placement. The need for ad people and PR people to work together is essential
and both should be encouraged to trust one another. There is a tendency of one
to regard the other as a threat. Some large advertising agencies include PR as
part of their integrated services. Many smaller, more specialized PR firms do
not engage in advertising unless it is specific to a problem that needs
immediate attention. Note how Mobil Oil maintains an active advertising program
that reflects its PR need to focus attention on the major issues affecting them.
11. The Cost of
Monitoring The News. There is very little point in hiring a PR firm and then
not monitoring the success of the PR program by engaging a clipping service to
determine how much media coverage is being generated in print. When this
monitoring to radio and television it adds to the cost. On the average, the
"reading fee" for most clipping services is about $300.00 and that
does not include the cost of one clip or a hundred clips. It's an investment
that is, however, essential.
12. Your PR Counselor
or Firm is Part of Your Company. Dealing with your PR professionals at arm's
length, not inviting and expecting them to become an integral part of your
company, is a sure way to keep them largely in the dark and unable to provide
the very advice for which you are paying. You wouldn't do this with any other
key supplier, but it is too frequently the case with PR professionals. Why? They
often have the unpleasant task of saying "no, that's not a good idea."
13. Failure to Join
and Support Trade and other Business Groups. Every business and professional
activity these days is represented by various groups of those companies and
individuals involved. Failure to join and actively support their activities,
particularly in the area of legislative and regulatory relations, is to fail to
understand that you will rise and fall together. If a particular business
activity acquires a "black eye" then all suffer. The PR function of
trade associations can range from very active and very good to invisible and
dismal. It is an essential aspect of doing business today.
14. Failure to
Actively Communicate with Customers. Many companies that are highly
dependent on the good will of their customers fail to even provide them with a
quarterly or semi-annual newsletter telling them about the quality of the work
you're performing or the quality of the products you're selling them. Customers
always welcome news of new products. Tips on how to run their own operations in
relation to the products and/or services you are providing is also welcome. A
customer newsletter is a PR function.
15. Failure to
Actively Communicate with Employees. There's something of an American
tradition to have an adversarial relationship with employees, despite the
benefits you may extend. Often they feel like they are the last to know what's
going on in the company. True, some things have to be withheld in their early
stages of development to avoid industrial spying by your competition or for
other valid reasons, but your employees are also your front line for
communicating the positive aspects of your company's products, services, and
other programs.
This is often seen as a
"Human Relations" function, but this department in many companies
plays a rather defensive role and may not be well suited to maintaining company
morale.
For the reasons outlined
above, the best efforts of your PR Counselor or firm may suffer because the
proper amount of cooperation and support simply does not exist. And, of course,
it's easy to blame the PR professional for not getting the results you want.
Copyright, Alan Caruba,
1999
Permission to reprint is granted.
Use of this commentary implies the provision of the published work.
|
