Introduction - a critical area of the small business customer communication is effective public relations. Business owners need to promote themselves and their businesses in order to generate publicity amongst prospective customer, press organisations and the investor community. Public relations management activities can create new business sales opportunities as well as create reassurance in the minds of existing customers. This business article summarises some useful tips and techniques to improve your public relations strategy and tactics...
What are Public Relations? - public relations are essentially about timely and appropriate marketing communications between a firm and its target audience. Identifying the audience is an essential first step in determining the methods of communication which will be most effective and the key messages they will want to hear about. For small firms with limited marketing budgets public relations is usually left for the owner to get their company offering noticed themselves. It is possible to employ one of the many public relations agencies available to manage all communications with news and media organisations. These public relations firms are useful as they already have good media contacts, know how to professionalise press releases, produce marketing materials and issue responses to questions from the media. However in times of economic uncertainty new business owners (while perhaps lacking formal public relations training) can still cost effectively (as well as passionately and knowledgeably) convey the key messages to their target audience themselves.
Publicity can be both good as well as bad depending on the facts. For instance fed up customers receiving poor customer service may get a firm extremely bad publicity. Likewise a firm that produces a superior quality product is more likely to receive recognition for its unique place in the market. So public relations are simply about seeking good publicity to achieve your marketing aims (while avoiding bad publicity at all costs).
When people think of a particular product or service they may associate and recognize certain brands or companies as trusted providers of those products and services. They are more likely to buy them because they have previously identified positive communications about those providers through public relations. Most entrepreneurs who start up a new business tend to think of public relations as something best left for corporate larger organisations. However effective public relations can be implemented using relatively inexpensive techniques. Exploiting the power of word-of-mouth (through convincing satisfied customers to talk about you) can be an infinitely cheaper form of publicity when compared to spending vast sums on advertising to get your message across.
For most consumers seeking information about a company the first port of call will be the company's website. How it looks and what it delivers can dictate the consumer's perception of how that company will ultimately deliver a product or service. Always seek specialist advice from a qualified Web designer about how your website looks and information it provides. Skimping on your website budget may be a false economy.
Writing Press Releases - there is no point hiding your light under a bushel. If you've got some good news then tell people about it! One of your most important public relations jobs will be to write press releases. News information that ordinarily may seem dull or are interesting to you, may conversely be of great interest to prospective clients, (in the process of seeking new suppliers for goods and services). For instance you may have launched a new product or opened a new field office. For instance, your business may have been recognised with some type of official award. Your firm may have participated in the local community event. All of these simple examples can be publicised by the creation and release of a structured and objective press release to help improve your firms public relations image.
Journalists and media specialists exist to report factual information that supports a news worthy story. A news worthy story must be of instant interest to the wider public by focusing on news readers feel strongly about. The headline is all-important and is rarely company specific - it is more likely to focus on market sectors (then with reference to individual companies within that sector somewhere in the article). By helping media journalists pick up on good news stories you are assisting them in doing their job while promoting your company in the process.
Most importantly the journalist will be looking for a hook i.e. something that grabs the attention of the reader in the headline. Most hooks are quantifiable facts or new information which sometimes unexpected, out of the ordinary or troublesome. The press release should be headed with a catchy headline to grab the attention of journalists seeking factual hooks to underpin their story.
There are many online press release services to allow all firms to distribute their own press releases across online newswires (such as PRNewswire.co.uk or BusinessWire.co.uk) and syndicate them across global online news networks. For as little as a few hundred pounds your press release can be visible to the major news networks within hours. The media sector expects press releases to be clear, concise, well written and in a common format. It should stick to the facts about who, what, why and when (while avoiding blatant self-promotion and unsubstantiated gossip and hearsay). It should be date and time stamped and authenticated by a named writer. The publisher should also add their contact details to the press release in case journalists have any further enquiries regarding it. It is normal practice to include a short summary of what your company does and it's products and services near the bottom of the press release to put the main press release into context for the reader. Many press releases will also include an quotation or extract from a senior or qualified member of your firm. This "expert comment" provides the human element and makes the story of real and meaningful for the reader.
Depending on the nature of your business try and build up a list of media contacts upon which you can call upon repeatedly in the future. This may be limited to your local newspaper or trade magazines where your geographic market sector is limited by distance or size. By producing press releases in a timely fashion and distributing them to your list of up-to-date contacts, you're more likely to get your press release published on the newswires. Remember yesterday's news is of no interest to the media. Therefore speed and accuracy will be essential factors in generating free positive public relations for your company. In addition by offering an exclusive story to journalist they are more likely to consider publishing it than not.
If you can't think of anything to write about instead put yourself in your customers shoes and think about the key issues and problems affecting them. For instance you could produce your own consumer survey based on your knowledge of your customers top ten worries or concerns related in your particular market. The greater the number of survey participants and the ease at which the results can be presented into the simple percentages, the more interest journalists will show its findings. Publicity is generated in that it was your firm that undertook the survey (despite the fact it is not directly about the performance your company) but simply the industry sector in which it operates.
Using Word-of-Mouth - using the power of word-of-mouth between your customers and their friends or associates can be one of the cheapest and most effective forms of public relations available. Most people can remember being told by friends about products or a company they've dealt with that was good value for money or provides good customer service and knew what they were talking about. This is word-of-mouth. As a small business owner seeking to improve your public relations you need to get your clients talking about you your company. Some simple examples on how to achieve this might be sponsoring some local charity events where your company name is visible on literature or on uniforms. Another example might be allowing employees to volunteer for local community-based activities in the heart of local area where your customers live. You could think about asking customers to participate in a survey (for your press release) by offering a token discount.
Get involved in Social Networking - the Internet is now the most powerful form of word-of-mouth there is. Millions of potential consumers visit online forums and blogs every day to read other people's opinions and experiences in dealing with a company or product or service. Any negative online feedback can have disastrous effects on sales. Conversely positive public relations can be achieved if the company has an open communications policy (with its own blog, forum and registered web space among social networks). For the non IT literate this may involve getting to grips with understanding the major types of online business to business networks and how you can express an opinion on the issues of the day.