Comments on: “I Wish My PR Firm was More Strategic”

By: leaderworld

leaderworld — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 06:57:42 +0000

What we are expecting from PR?
1. To help me grow my network, providing me with interesting people to meet within my business area.
2. To help me manage my public relationships, advising me on where and who I should meet.
3. To be a connection facilitator.
4. Monitoring my brand reputation and keep teasing people to make them want to know more about my company.

LeaderWorld – public relations agencies,public relations firm, public relationsjobs,public relations services,team building,team building, training,media jobs

By: Debbie Boyce

Debbie Boyce — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:13:24 +0000

I agree completely! The firm I work at recently switched from our longstanding weekly accounts update meetings to smaller account focused meetings. Before, so much time was used dealing with administrative issues and staff going off topic there was no room for any creativity to flow.

Since the change, our meetings are brief and we have time to discuss trends within the market, industry professionals etc. which often leads to new ideas/strategies. These meetings have allowed us to focus on fresh ideas and they also have helped strengthen our relationships with our clients and account staff.

By: David Morelli

David Morelli — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:39:38 +0000

Seemingly unnecessary post that is unfortunately extremely necessary more often than not.

Have forwarded to all account managers here at Cohn & Wolfe in Toronto as a friendly reminder.

Funny how us PR professionals sometimes don’t practice what we preach: consistent, useful communications with your intended audience.

By: Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius

Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:54:52 +0000

In my humble opinion, strategic relationship goes beyond special events and “account maintenance” afterward. Yes, it takes two to tango, but ultimately it is up to the PR professionals to ask the right questions and provide that extra value to the customer (I hate the use of the word “client” due to history of it). Big events are merely blips in the cardiogram of the relationship with the customer. Building that upward-moving trend in the strategic relationship with the customer is what AEs need to hammer into their heads.
Not waiting for the customer to initiate, not skimping on senior PR staff time to look for additional ways to add value – those are the initiatives that will make the relationship most successful and profitable for both sides. Most PR agencies are very project-focused. The successful ones have long-term relationship/strategy focus.
No prudent executive will mind an increased expense on the PR agency, if revenues are increasing faster than the PR bill (as long as they can link the two). Good PR agencies are very hard to find. Truly strategic and customer-aligned ones are even harder to find.

Just my 2cents.

Apolinaras “Apollo” Sinkevicius
Revolve, Inc.
Flexpertise – Law – Capital

By: Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius

Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:54:52 +0000

Just my 2cents.

Apolinaras “Apollo” Sinkevicius
Revolve, Inc.
Flexpertise – Law – Capital

By: Lindsey Groepper

Lindsey Groepper — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:42:15 +0000

I just passed this on to all of the account reps here at BLASTmedia. We discussed this very topic last week and this puts our discussion points together wonderfully. Thanks for the analysis…

By: Shany

Shany — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:44:34 +0000

Absolutely agree with this post! One of the strategies that my team has implemented is meeting with our clients in-person once a month. Nothing beats the face-to-face interaction. It keeps the ideas flowing and fresh. When you engage your client in this way it is natural to brainstorm and pull in people who may not participate in your regular calls. Another way that we stay engaged is that we ask to participate in sales calls. It is surprising how much you can learn from these quick chats.

Shany
Follow @sseawright on Twitter.

By: Jeff Webster

Jeff Webster — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:10:33 +0000

We made a move to hold more strategic meetings vs. traditional account status updates with one of our longest agency clients about a year ago. This shift has led to some amazing, ROI generating results, as well as a stronger agency/client relationship. We’re now viewed as a true partner vs. a vendor and this certainly helps us deal with the bumps in the road that are inevitable in this business.

Great post, Todd.

By: @ahg3 (Arthur Germain)

@ahg3 (Arthur Germain) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:47:33 +0000

Todd,

Thank you for such a clear, focused analysis. It strikes right at the heart of every client engagement. When you stop working with the client, when you’re not breathing the same air, sometimes that air evaporates. Thanks for another terrific post.
@ahg3

By: Megan Lane

Megan Lane — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:10:10 +0000

We just did this today–the client was happy to take the time to walk us through what’s important to the company and in the market these days, and we left with a new arsenal of ideas to get us through the next quarter.

In addition to the program recharge, face time with clients is crucial to gaining and keeping visibility, transparency and trust.