PR firms should be obsessive about service. Savvy clients understand that gaining media coverage is not the only (or even primary) goal of public relations; the real goal is helping the client organization achieve “success,” however that client defines it.
To deliver service that moves the client toward those goals, the PR firm’s own structure matters. Our firm is organized differently than most PR firms; we use senior-level independent consultants, supported by a small administrative team. We keep our overhead limited and work to ensure that our professionals spend virtually all of their time on client service. Because our clients are also entrepreneurs, most recognize and appreciate our orientation. Some PR firms, particularly but not exclusively the larger ones, seem to create a sense of divided loyalties among employees; it is often unclear whether staff members are beholden to the PR firm or to the client. Because we’ve eliminated that divided loyalty, clients find it easy to work with us. And, because the professionals on our team have been at this business for, on average, fifteen to twenty years, we deliver premium service. In other words, clients don’t pay for on-the-job training. Having a company of seasoned professionals on hand (most left brand-name agencies so they could do client work rather than manage others) is a big reason why we’ve been able to foster a superior work ethic; our consultants are just happier than they were in their previous lives. Clients tend to pick up on that. While our team isn’t housed in one place, the Internet has eliminated many of the traditional barriers to communication. One of the ways PR firms provide quality service is by communicating daily with their clients by telephone, e-mail, and face-to-face meetings. Most also use some feedback mechanism to collect input and use it to fuel changes in PR strategy and tactics. Most clients are open in terms of their goals and whether the PR firm is meeting those expectations.
Comments