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.
/// COMMENTS
No Comments »Karen Pierce Gonzalez
February 28, 2008 2:11 pmThank you! This is a topic that I believe must be explored with every client. Different ideas of what is achievable can generate problems, for sure.
After we discuss what the short term and long terms goals of a PR campaign are, I ask clients what their measurement of success is. I give them information about how media works and identify for them the importance of authentic and timely development of news angles (which are part of an effective, professional campaign).
I have also prepared a few one sheets that I give clients and this really helps them understand what pr can and cannot do.
The one-sheets are:
1)From interview to headline to reprints: What Happens To a Story Inside a Newsroom
2)What to Expect: What is Public Relations; What To Do and What Not To Do.
3)How We Work: Karen Pierce Gonzalez Public Relations
4)PR Checklist for events, speaking engagements, etc. (this outlines what the client can do to complement any pr effort).
When everyone is on the same page the experience is much more successful…
Thanks for bringing this up!
Best, Karen