By Dionne Domyan-Mudie, Founder & CEO of The Publicity Workshop (TPW)
Finding the right PR firm for your needs is not a box-ticking exercise, but a relationship in which both parties have skin in the game. Clients bring their requirements and anticipated ROI to the table, and PR specialists put their skills and reputation up as surety.
Both parties must be happy that they have made the right choice – and this is where things get interesting. From the PR side, we must “feel it” – get to know a prospective client from their mission and vision to their future growth plans. Our success hinges on our clients’ success.
The client, having entered a partnership rather than merely outsourcing their PR needs, must trust that their PR firm has the experience to guide them, and take advice and guidance. Not always an easy thing to do, but it’s part of our offering that we take extremely seriously.
Your PR firm should keep on top of what is happening in your market, and which platforms would be most valuable for you at any given time. This may mean shuffling some of your budget from radio to digital media to take advantage of a current trend, knowing that your PR specialist has enough experience to know it’ll be worthwhile.
As a company that offers public relations, specialist writing skills across all industry sectors, social and digital media marketing and management, reputation management, event planning, management and coordination and marketing strategy assistance, we must know where your budget would be best spent at any given time.
It’s TPW’s business to keep abreast of marketing opportunities that, in 2023, are not “what we’ve always done”, but “what is winning right now”. It’s a whole new world out there, and changing with every new MarTech and IT development and publishing platform.
Your SLA’s must be met and your reputation managed, all in a whirlwind of “always on”, innovative opportunities. This is the time for trust, and carefully reviewing the suggestions your PR experts make.
“You do you” is not just a social media meme – it’s an acknowledgment that your focus must be on your company’s primary purpose, while ours is on making sure your target audience knows what that is, who you are, and how you can bring them the best product or service in your specific industry.
Indeed, a relationship with your chosen PR specialist is like a marriage… you may not always like what you hear from each other, but you always have to listen. It’s not just how your marriage looks from the outside, but how it works on the inside. So, before either of you say “yes”, ask yourself: “Do you take this partnership to be one in which both trust and success can grow?
