Good PR can increase a brand’s ability to win new business. Julie Clare, chief executive at Clear B2B, recommends six steps to help target your PR more effectively.
While you may already be convinced that PR is a great tool for getting people to think and talk about you and your company in a positive way, it can also help you target your PR more effectively and increase its power to win new business. Here are six tips to help you achieve this objective.
1. Establish your goals
You may be a company that currently works over a range of products or services, but make sure the new business drive is specific to the types of business you want to work with, not just the product you are selling. Focus your attention on why you are doing what you do and know what success looks like.
2. Identify your targets
Narrow down who you are communicating with – both key decision makers and powerful influencers. Do your homework about their world. This will enable you to create a strategy that ensures your targets not only keep coming into contact with your company, but with a growing fear that their competitors will discover you first, so they will feel compelled to seek out your services to help solve their problems.
3. Choose your words
The key messages will underpin all your PR activity whatever the communication channel, whether you are tweeting, blogging, writing thought leadership pieces or news releases. Keep the message clear and be prepared to be bold and challenge your competition.
Seek emotional connection – after all it’s the attention of the people within the business that you are looking for. Focus on the human story and remember ‘be interesting’ and stand out from the crowd. And of course don’t forget to weave in your strong company values. This will boost the emotional attractiveness of your company and help tick a few of those tricky procurement boxes.
4. Be front of mind
Surround your targets with your key messages so when they decide they need the services or products your company offers it’s your name on their lips.
There are a myriad of channels through which you can communicate – from the more traditional methods to the ever increasing social media choices. To create a successful new business PR campaign you need to choose, integrate and use these tools effectively. This is one of the key areas where professional PR support can make the difference.
To ensure business keeps flowing through the door, getting the plan right is essential. Tactical hits are far more effective when they are part of the fundamental strategy, not a replacement for strategic planning.
5. Balance variety
Turning the power up on your new business PR plan must balance variety with timescale and budget constraints. This will help define the type of campaign you select, so you achieve impact without spreading resources too thinly. And in a world where the sales process is very much in the hands of the customer, ensure you exploit the many channels and opportunities for customers to engage with you of their own volition.
If you are looking for a quick-win campaign then face-to-face opportunities, such as exhibitions and conferences, provide an excellent way to win new clients. Here your PR can really make waves with your audience when they are at their most receptive. Consider using stunts or activities that lure people in, make them smile and get them talking. Step out of your sales comfort zone and if you want future clients to come and talk to your business make sure there is something in it for them. Never underestimate the value of a comfy chair and a cup of coffee.
Coverage in trade and business magazines can be a really effective tool, as well as a boost to the company ego. Getting the opportunity, developing the angle and crafting the feature feels well worth the effort when it is in print and the phone starts to ring. In this form it can also be reproduced as a sales resource and handed out to potential customers. Coverage is particularly powerful when the publication date ties in with an industry event.
Other quick-win campaigns can be crafted from a small number of key stories run in rapid succession that present your people, services, company and products in targeted publications, saturating the area for a short period of time to create maximum impact.
Longer term, these smaller pieces of coverage and regular mentions also strengthen your position as a main industry player, an expert and someone worth talking to. They also help build up a strong digital presence for the company and provide much needed fuel for a social media campaign.
6. Don’t stray from essentials
Finally, with your PR campaign targeted and planned to lure in customers, you need to ensure you hit the home run. In common with all PR activity the essentials are the same; good headlines, relevant topics and quality content. Don’t be tempted to stray from any of these requirements, even for paid editorial. Make sure your customer notices your message, wants to read what you have to say and goes away with the right impression.
Don’t leave any PR stone unturned and make sure stories work as hard as they can in their various forms to get your business noticed.
