This is important particularly when it comes to PR. Public relations is often one of those things that comes second to business operations.  And yet, relating to your publics well must go hand-in-hand with your everyday operations.  If you’re not forging good relationships and improving the ones you have every day through every interaction, then your business may eventually fizzle out and your operations will be for naught.

If you have a list of PR or promotional ideas for your business, either written or in your head, pick the top three and implement them. Be clear about your goals, do the best job you can, and enjoy the process of building strong relationships with the people that matter most to your business success.

So what are you waiting for? Your public is waiting. Reach out to them today.

(1) Fact sheets are short. The rule of thumb is to keep a fact sheet to one page. One page is all you need to communicate the key messages about your company or one of your company’s products, services or issues. One page is also all that people will read. No one has the time or wants to read long content. If your fact sheet is bleeding over to two pages, revise it and revise it again until it’s one page.  Take out all unnecessary points and words.  If you’re finding it impossible to get your fact sheet to one page, chances are good that you need another fact sheet to tackle a portion of the information.  Whatever you do, don’t make the font miniscule to pare down the text.

(2) Fact sheets are easy-to-read. Fact sheets are formatted like websites with tabs or books with chapters. They have headers so readers can glance at them to find the information they want and skip what they already know or don’t want. The key is deciding which headers are the most important ones for your business.  If the fact sheet is for an event, you’ll need to include the overview of the event; the time, date and place; purpose; and who to contact to get tickets. If it’s for an issue or project, you’ll need to think about the most frequently asked questions you receive from your publics so you can answer them on one sheet.

(3) Fact sheets are to-the-point.  They make you boil down your key points into the most pertinent facts.  Many of our clients, especially those in technical industries or those facing complex or controversial issues, feel the need to explain their situations and reasoning in great detail to the general public. While there is a place for detailed information, it’s usually best reserved for niched target publics, in other words, those who need to know.  Details are also best conveyed in small, digestible chunks. They provide the essential truths and the direction necessary for people to dig deeper if they wish.

(4) Fact sheets are cheap.  Fact sheets can be printed on your company letterhead; copied in black and white; and distributed as necessary. They’re not fancy pieces. Better yet, they can be revised anytime and then reprinted as needed.  You can also offer a paperless option, which is entirely free. Just pdf the document and then post it on your website for people to download.

(5) Fact sheets save time. As we mentioned above, when you’re deciding what headers to include on your fact sheet, think about the most frequently asked questions people have about your products, services, or issues. If you can answer them concisely and well, you can be proactive by directing target publics to your fact sheet and avoid having to answer the same questions over and over again.

Check our our other fact sheet posts including how to write a fact sheet, fact sheet templates, fact sheets for sale, and much more.

This deal is a perfect example of collaboration at its best, where all involved win. Mokihana Insurance is our client and also our insurance provider, so we know them well and know they’ll provide our clients and friends with the same great service we receive. Anyone who acts on the deal is likely to save money plus a chance to win an iPod Touch.  By promoting the deal in our e-letter, we’re making our e-letter valuable to our readers.  If respondents end up getting their insurance from Mokihana, the company builds its insurance business.  The positives abound.

Think of the companies you do business with, collaborate with them, and promote the collaboration.  Enhancing the value your customers receive by leveraging the good reputation and services of the businesses you deal with helps everyone.  Collaborating to win is the height of public relations because it serves all of your publics and grows your business all at once.

That lesson really struck us, partially because we could relate to it so well. In the more than 10 years that we’ve been in business, we’ve come to know how important it is to have a good relationship with our clients’ administrative assistants. After all, they control the schedules, mail, email, phones, and much more, even critical decisions. Often, they are the face of the company in the community and to employees.

The other reason we liked this lesson from a public relations perspective is that it acknowledges that every business has many target publics, within and outside the company, and that each of those groups are comprised of many individuals. All of those individuals are significant to the success of the business. So next time you embark on a communications campaign, pull everyone into the loop from the janitor to the boss.

And never underestimate the importance of all the other not-so-obvious publics as your company’s potential ambassadors, from the FedEx and UPS folks to the AC repairperson, the solar contractor, the business supply order rep, etc. Your interactions with all of them are a reflection of your company’s image and level of service. If those interactions are negative or even forgettable, that will be the impression these publics have of your company. Likewise, if those interactions are positive and special, so will be your company’s image, which will trickle down to repeat sales, referrals, and profits.

Usually potential clients contact us by phone or email and in most cases, they’ve been referred by someone who knows us.  The first conversation is usually brief and only includes introductions – who the client is and who we are and what the client is looking for in terms of PR services. Then we set up an initial client consultation. We don’t charge for this consultation, though some consultants do. The initial client consultation lasts about an hour and often begins with the client telling us, in detail, what they want. In other words, they have a an idea about what they’d like us to do for them, from writing a news release to planning an event or another traditional PR task, even placing ads.

Once the client has had a chance to tell us why they’ve contacted us, we ask them a series of questions to determine who their target market is and exactly what they would like to achieve as a result of their PR efforts. Particularly, we want to know what are their quantifiable business goals. We keep asking questions until we get down to specifics like how many widgets they’d like to sell, why, how, and by what date. Then we assess the client’s resources including their budget, their available human resources to implement the PR tactics, the skill sets of those human resources, and the time they have. We discuss perceived challenges to the client achieving their goals and the opportunities that exist. We talk about what kinds of PR tactics they’ve tried and what the results were. We also explain that public relations is a long-term commitment and requires the client’s time and effort.  We are not the ones that need to relate better to their publics; they are. Thus, they need to be committed to carrying out our recommendations.

Once we know what the client wants to accomplish and how we will go about helping them, we create a detailed, written proposal, which we email to the client, usually within a week of our first meeting. The proposal spells out exactly what we will do, when we will do it, how much our professional fee is, what the other expenses are, as well as an overview of what we discussed in the initial meeting. Writing everything down ensures that the client and we are on the same page, literally and figuratively. We also provide potential clients a referral list, past clients of ours that they can contact for more information about us and how we work.

What clients don’t often realize is that they’re not the only ones doing their due diligence.   After we meet with a potential client, we research them. If we suspect that they don’t have good intentions, we don’t give them a proposal. Or, if they’re a new business and they don’t have a business plan, we tell them to write down their plan first and then come back to us when their goals are clearly defined. Or, if it’s clear that the client is looking to be hands-off or is otherwise unwilling to put the necessary resources toward what they want to accomplish, we let them know that now may not be the right time to hire us.

We generally recommend two ways of working together. The first is on a project basis. In this instance, we work with them on a specific job, such as a developing a website, promoting an event, initiating and training them to manage social media accounts, etc.  We charge a one-time project fee and the job is done when the project is completed. The second is on a longer-term (usually about 6 to 12 months), retainer basis in which we create and direct a comprehensive PR Plan. The PR Plan consists of a multitude of strategies and tactics that work together to achieve the client’s goals. In this case, we charge a monthly fee that secures our time for the contracted period. This monthly fee covers our cost of developing the plan, coordinating the implementation of the plan, and being on-call for general PR consultation throughout the contracted period.

Fees always have to be explained clearly.  The amount we charge depends on the depth and complexity of the work, whether it’s a rush job, and if it involves highly sensitive issues.  Clients ask us what our hourly charge is and we tell them, though we also explain that paying a consultant hourly is incredibly inefficient. Clients always get more than they pay for when they hire us on retainer; we become part of their “camp” for the time they retain us. They also have the ability to spread payments out monthly, which is important for their cash flow. When it comes to project fees and full-scale PR plans, those sometimes require us to secure estimates from our associates from web designers to graphic designers, photographers, direct mail houses, attorneys, videographers, and so on.

If the client approves of the proposal, we both sign the contract. After that, we invoice the client for the amount of our down payment. Once that payment is received, we begin our work.

So now you know what happens when a potential client contacts us. It’s a worthwhile process to ensure that expectations are mutually clear and that we can provide the best possible service.

To ensure that you get what you want out of contacting a PR firm, here are a few tips:

• You don’t need to know what PR efforts you need. That’s the PR firm’s job. They will recommend what they believe is best for you. What you will need to provide them with is what you want to achieve as specific, measurable terms. For example, “I want to sell 5 houses in Greenville in the next six months.”
• Bring along any current marketing or promotional materials so that the PR firm can become familiar with your current branding and messages.
• Have an idea of the budget you have available to spend on your PR efforts, and be willing to share this budget with the consultants so that they can recommend the best strategy for that amount.
• Research the PR firm before contacting them. Write down any questions you want to ask them so that you can ensure that you are clear on how they work and will serve you.
• Be willing to share. Sometimes companies face challenges or other barriers that they may feel like withholding. No one or company is perfect, and PR firms need to understand your entire situation to provide you with the best recommendations.

Are you interested in outsourcing a PR consultant? Contact us today to inquire about how we can best serve you!

1. Quick – An email is instant. Almost as soon as you press send, your recipients will receive your message in their inbox. With the ever increasing use of smartphones, tablets, etc., people are constantly retrieving email from anywhere, not just when they are seated at their computer. Your email will most likely be read by most recipients within minutes of when you sent it.  Eblasts are also a fast way to communicate with your publics in the event of an emergency.

2. Cheap – Email blasts coordinated through email marketing companies such as Constant Contact or Vertical Response provide very inexpensive options for emailing your contacts. How cheap is it? We just sent an blast to 600 recipients and paid a mere $9 for it.  When you compare this to the price of purchasing an ad, it is a small investment.  These companies also have monthly payment options for those who want to send more frequent emails.

3. Easy – One of the best parts of marketing with an email blast is that you can do it yourself. You don’t need to hire a graphic designer, html programmer, or other vendor to send an eblast. Of course, you can if you want to, which will ensure the utmost professionalism and maximize all aspects of the piece. However, if you don’t  have the financial resources to do so, it is not necessary.  Email marketing websites like the ones we mentioned above are user friendly, for those who have general computer skills, and also provide phone assistance should you need help. They also offer many free professional email templates that you can insert your information into and send.  As with any new program, taking the time to read instructional blogs and tips helps to make creating the eblasts easier and allows you to take advantage of all of the features.

4. Effective - If you were to purchase a print ad, you would choose a publication that you presume your target public reads. Then, you have to hope that your target public actually reads the publication and your ad attracts their attention. With an email, you can be assured that your message will go directly to your recipient’s inbox, which has a higher likelihood of catching their attention versus the ad. Also, these email programs provide very detailed measurement. You are able to generate reports that tell you who opened the email, clicked on a link, forwarded to a friend, etc.  With an ad, there’s no way to know exactly how many people saw it and acted in it, unless they mention it to you.

In business and public relations, results often take some time to yield. But, if you want to do something right now that you have total control of and that can influence your customer to act now (click on a link, print out a coupon, visit your website or social media account, make an order, etc.), we recommend sending an email blast.

Click here for tips on business email best practices.

Situation: You send information to someone by email and then wonder if they ever received it because you never heard from them since you pressed “send.”  After a week, you forget that you even sent the email because so many things have piled up, until your boss asks you, “What ever happened with that email you sent to so and so?”  Gulp.

Lesson: Respond to emails within 24 hours, so the recipient knows that you got their message.  Even if you’re running short on time and are unable to answer their question or provide the information that they are requesting immediately, respond within 24 hours with a short acknowledgment that you received the email and let them know when you will be able to respond completely. If you’re the email sender, go into your sent file the next day and follow up politely with those from whom you are awaiting a response.

Situation: You receive an email that has been sent to a large group of recipients whose email addresses all appear in the “To” section.  You are annoyed to see that your competitor is on the list.

Lesson: When sending email to a group of people, include only your email address in the “To” section and all of the recipients’ email addresses in the “Bcc,” or blind carbon copy, area.  That way, everyone’s email address as well as business dealings with you remains private.

Situation: You receive an email from someone in all lower case letters, with little or improper punctuation, no greeting or farewell salutations, and half of the words missing.  You strain your eyes and your brain, but you can barely make out the meaning of the message, and you wonder how the person ever survived this long in the business world.

Lesson: Of course you don’t have to refer to the “Chicago Manual of Style” every time you write an email, but take the same care in writing an email message as you would composing a letter.  Start off with a polite greeting and end with an appropriate good bye.  Double check your spelling.  The recipient will be glad you did, and you and your business will be perceived as high quality, respectful, and easy to understand.

Situation: You meet someone new at a meeting and send them an “it was nice to meet you” email afterwards.  The next day, you receive from your new contact no less than 12 forwards, including a several chain letters, jokes, and 101 tips on how to use Coca Cola and dryer sheets to clean your house.

Lesson: Sending out an occasional humorous email to well-known business associates is fine (as long as the humor is appropriate and non-offensive), but never add business associates’ email addresses to your personal email lists, and avoid sending “junk mail” altogether.

Situation: You request product information from a new vendor. A company representative emails you back with the information and says that you can call him anytime to find out more details, but he forgets to give you his phone number.

Lesson: Create an email signature and set it to appear on all of your email correspondences. The signature should include your first and last name, title, company, and all of your contact information (mailing address, phone numbers, fax number, email address, website address, etc.).  You never know when a contact will need this information, and the easier it is to find, the easier it is for them to reach you and in turn, for you to make your next business deal.

Practice these lessons consistently. When in doubt, err on the side of being more conservative. Your daily emails will be sure to boost your overall PR.