How much is enough?
By Danny Sullivan
In the world of the PR agency, you can never really achieve enough. The nature of the client-agency relationship dictates that clients will always demand more of their PR firm, even if it outperforms all expectations. And why not? It certainly keeps the agency on its toes and companies need to ensure that they continue to generate high value from their PR program. Still, for the PR practitioners working diligently day in and day out, it can sometimes feel like a lot of effort for little thanks. So how do PR folk stay positive in the face of seemingly insurmountable expectation?
For a start, good communication with clients is an important step. Even if the expectation remains tough, ongoing feedback, both positive and otherwise, ensures that the relationship is about more than just the results and helps the PR function to become a more integrated part of the client’s marketing mix. This is beneficial to both sides.
But in addition, PR agencies need to become internally aware of the value of what they are delivering for their clients, and it may require elements other than feedback to bring this perspective to bear.
Probably the most effective way to do this is through the setting of objectives. By establishing in advance with a client what kinds of results would constitute success, it is a simple process to then determine if what is being delivered meets those criteria. Even with set objectives, the client’s appetite for greater and improved results is likely to be undiminished, but the achievement of such objectives offers the PR worker an element of satisfaction that is as vital in this profession as it is in any other.
