Dear Colleague:

How to Be a Good Client

Two companies — with equally powerful stories to tell to the same size audiences — can use the same PR firm, and one will get twice the results. Why? One client handles the firm more effectively.

You will get far more results from your PR firm if you are fully engaged in the PR process: Keep the firm continually informed about your strategic focus and company developments. Provide continual positive and negative feedback on their performance. Return calls quickly. Meet your account people at least once a month, if it’s feasible. Listen to their advice.

At the start of your relationship, determine with the firm how you will measure its work. Offer a bonus for results above an agreed-upon hurdle. Monitor invoices and monthly reports to ensure that the firm is delivering what it promised. If productivity starts to lag, be sure to let your account VP know.

Edit, approve and return news releases and other text quickly. If a few people must approve the release, distribute it to all of them at the same time, with a firm due date.

And expect a flow of ideas. PR is a highly creative field. Your firm should suggest strategies against your evolving objectives and tactics beyond the ABC’s of publicity, speechmaking, and events.

Your PR Firm’s Credo

Choose a firm that promises and delivers the following: (1) They really know your business as well as they should; (2) They know precisely why you employ them; (3) They learn what turns you on and off. They use your products, “fly your flag;” (4) They provide “we” service — not “I” service — because they believe that you want more than just one point of view, rather than one account person’s ideas; (5) They listen more than they talk; (6) They think one step ahead, aiming for early action on your important developments; (7) They never forget your sales force, working hard to keep them proud and productive; (8) They are “pro-active,” not “re-active.” They double-check, to avoid surprising you or getting surprises from you; (9) They keep out of your politics; (10) They don’t overpromise; (11) They show up on time, act quickly for rapid results. Meet their deadlines and proofread flawlessly; (12) They prepare you thoroughly to ensure that you meet and present efficiently; (13) They tend your PR budget carefully; buy effectively; find ways to save; (14) They never cease looking for creative solutions and new opportunities.

Top Quality PR: What to Expect

About three years ago, a great PR man who is now at IBM gave a talk on getting the most out of a client-agency relationship. He mentioned what he expected from a PR firm that had scheduled a company executive meeting with an editorial board: help brief key reporters on the company and its important issues before the meeting; analyze the publication’s coverage of the company and its industry; evaluate the media’s editorial opinion on relevant issues; read the beat reporter’s past stories on the company and its industry to determine the person’s hot buttons; give the company attendees bios of the editors and reporters along with personal, anecdotal experience, to help understand in advance possible interests.

Now that’s being thorough, and that’s what you should expect from your PR firm.

Stories from the PR Trenches

A $5 million company hired a PR firm for a six-month trial period. (The client sells complex systems for $75,000 or more.) The firm produced solid publicity in the desired magazines, but when the coverage didn’t increase sales, the company fired the PR firm. Lessons: a PR firm should be evaluated on what it can control; the fact that sales don’t increase is a matter of product and sales capability. Still, the company should have put the PR program on hold until the product and sales policies were improved. Actually, the product has been upgraded and the PR firm rehired.

A company in a rural location became increasingly resentful of a larger competitor that was getting publicity about developments similar to its own. Its CEO felt it couldn’t afford an internal PR person, and it wouldn’t get good PR service from a firm located beyond driving distance. (It didn’t think there was a reasonable, suitable PR firm nearby.) One of its board members had successfully used a White Plains firm, which was engaged on a trial basis over the phone. Lesson: It’s 10 months later now, and the company has received 19 articles and news stories. The PR firm has never met anyone from the client face to face. The company’s not jealous anymore — and business is climbing.

Driving Traffic to a Site

Webmasters know how to get your site onto the various engines and indexes. Just to be sure, have them look into sites that explain what to do: www.useit.com, www.selfpromotion.com, and www.reference.com/promotion/index.html.

Hand submit your URL to the ten top engines, use a service’s “automated” process for the many others.

Resubmit every quarter. Make sure you’re using an exhaustive list of meta tags. Set up reciprocal links to as many other sites as practical.

Put your URL on all printed material as well as an automatic sign-off to all emails. New material on your site is a reason for a re-visit — so announce updates, etc. right on your site. Consider paying by the hit driven to your site through Goto.com and RealNames.

Consider free web classified ads. Hold chats with celebs and experts on your site. Book experts on other sites that link to yours. Survey site visitors and put results on your site and publicize. Add special sections catering to subcategories of your audience. Offer free easy-to-download software. Add decision-support capability to help buyers evaluate alternatives.

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