Decision making

When you make a decision to buy a product, or engage with a company, your decision is not purely a financial and logical decision and too many companies assume that it is.  Emotion plays a role and whether that emotion is articulated (through a response to a pitch or a sales person), or subliminated (through a reaction to an advertisment or a brand image) there is still a need to engage emotionally with your target audience.

Are you doing that?

How to retain your clients

It’s pretty simple really.

Service.

I can’t think of anything more that needs to be said.  Lots of blogs write all sorts of stuff about deliverables, fears and suspicions. They talk about answering your clients fears and allaying concerns and even talk about the way to engage with your clients so they don’t feel “inferior” to you.

It’s all pretty much crap.

All you need do is give your customers what they are looking for. Give them the service that they want. And the service that they are paying for. And the service that they expect.

It’s that simple.

Dont talk the talk, if you won’t walk the walk…

I am surprised by clients who want one thing, then expect something else.

They want a greater online presence but don’t want me to engage online with anyone – especially with someone they don’t know.

“Who is this person?”

They want media coverage, but decline all media opportunities because they are too busy right now.

“Maybe later!”

They want to embrace social media and new opportunities but they can’t use email.

They are looking for new markets, more customers, new ranges but reject all new ideas.

“Yeah but no.”

I am not sure what is holding them back but one thing I do know, is that it is incredibly frustrating.

And I am not sure whether I need to approach things differently, or they do. Is my role to educate and convince them – or is it their role to look outside of their own box?

I have been trying to not only sell  media opportunities to clients, but also to sell clients to the benefits of PR. I am selling clients to new media, clients to social media, clients to advertising, clients to websites, clients to networking, clients to podcasting, clients to ebooks, clients to social networking, clients to socializing, clients to enagement and clients to every other possible idea, company or oportunity that I can think of to promote their company online and offline.

It’s exhausting.

Client checklist

1. Speak simply. Briefing me is your audition for briefing the media. If you can’t tell me what your business does clearly and succinctly, then I can’t put you in front of a journalist.
2. Don’t talk in acronyms. They are hard to understand and no one else will know what you are talking about. You are trying to inspire passion, not puzzlement.
3. PR is a collaborative approach, not a combative one. I am on your side but sadly, I am not a mind reader. We are a partnership that together, hopefully, can create something better than you could do on your own.
4. Let me change your words. That is what you pay me to do. I know you loved all 3,079 of those words that you wrote down for me on forensic accounting legislation or property law but I need to ensure that other people will love them too. My writing is not cast in stone and guess what, yours isn’t either!
5. Don’t treat me like I don’t know anything. I may not know your area backwards, like you do, but I have to come to terms with a variety of industries quickly. And if you talk down to me then I am going to assume that you will do the same to a journalist. And guess what? They are definitely not necessarily on your side.
6. Just because a media release is issued doesn’t mean it will be published. If you want a guarantee, take out an advertisement.
7. Think strategically. You don’t have to do what your competitors do. You can do something differently. That is why you have come to a PR firm in the first place after all. And if you want to be exactly the same as your competitor then there is nothing really distinguishing you. You have no USP.
8. Define yourself. Who are you and what makes you unique? If you can’t answer that question, it make it hard to sell you to others.
9. Remember your customers. Who they are and how they find you drives your PR strategy. There is no point embracing Twitter, Facebook, or even a specific trade publication if your customers aren’t in that space. Go where they are. It is really that simple.
10. Spokesperson. The best person to speak to the media is not necessarily the CEO. It might be the CFO, the CIO or even the receptionist. What you need is the person who is best at communicating to your target audience. That’s the only decision you need to make.