trendSpotting Report
Juanita Mo

All PR agencies experience common problems that arise with difficult clients. These folks can be super demanding, might need a little extra handholding, or can have unrealistic expectations regarding PR campaign results.

All clients have certain goals for their PR program: they want a lot of ink, increased revenues and/or new business partners. Whatever the objectives, it is our job to develop specific strategies and tactics to meet client goals. So it is imperative to remember that a new customer with little PR knowledge will likely have misperceptions of PR and unrealistic expectations of how our program will impact their business.

I once worked with a client who was looking to expose the banking community to their product. Unfortunately, they misidentified the ideal target and proceeded to “sell” exactly the same way they approached their consumer and business sales prospects. They believed media would naturally and regularly use it—“It’s so perfect for them”—rather than analyze the experience with the direct the purpose of writing an article. The client wanted endorsements, not reporting!

PR can drive sales and it can drive traffic, but there is no given and there cannot be a correlation. This particular PR novice needed much counsel and even more education in terms of what to expect from our work.

On the flipside, it’s the job of any good PR person to clearly communicate to a client what they can actually expect from a PR campaign in full swing. PR professionals always manage client expectations by educating clients about potential campaign results and so provide input and advice from the beginning of their relationship, on the aspects of a client’s business that affect the PR plan.

Below are key points on how this may be done well.

1. Control Expectations by Focusing on the Right Targets

Every client will want a positive feature in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. But of course. Many companies, especially start-ups, will not receive high-profile attention from top-tier publications off the bat, especially if their message is initially more initially for grass roots tactics and venues.

High profile media becomes more likely if a well-informed PR program focuses on the real target (e.g., consumers, businesses, or industry organizations) and clients need to see that without a product or service that delivers on the company’s claims—it is unworthy to go out with the “news.”

A strategy pursued aggressively in the wrong direction will yield no effective results! To properly manage everyone’s expectations, including our own, PR professionals need focus on the right targets and explain how, yes, low-hanging fruit will get us going, moving upward. After success in smaller outlets, we will then regroup and move onto the big fish.

2. Train Clients to Think of Their Company as a Story

It is important for clients to think of what they do as a “story” and look out for interesting developments such as new products, upgrades, customer deals, partnerships, and any trends they pick up on while out in the field; all of this may be attractive to the media.

It is our job to counsel clients on factors influencing what is and isn’t news, and those moments of real advice include timing, significance, and prominence, not to mention what types of results we can expect from certain announcements and specific calendar events.

Once a client understands what makes a good story they will start to recognize when expectations are and aren’t realistic.

3. Preach Consistency of Message

Advise clients to stay consistent. Please!

Ever changing messages confuse the media, as well as potential business partners and customers. For a journalist, let’s say, to understand a company that story must have a strong foundation. This means identifying a client’s core messages and competencies at the beginning is paramount to formulating a pertinent corporate story that has legs.

Too broad is too simplistic, and too extensive is just overcomplicated.
We find it best to keep messages dedicated to a few main points (PR 101). A client’s strength needs to be identified and then emphasized, but it is equally important to acknowledge and address weaknesses, either to validate them within the story or to get them out of the way.

Trying to educate clients (or those around the Boardroom table) on what PR is can be challenging. But after you succeed at getting definitions across, there is a light bulb that goes on and half your work at retaining the relationship is done. The best way to really manage the newbie’s expectations is to spend time in an educational setting, assuming nothing about prior knowledge. This saves lots of hours and headaches down the road.

Since we’re all in the business, these rules are important to keep in check. Appropriate realistic and aggressive tactics that support clear and understood strategies keep both parties satisfied

The longer we work together the more we learn.

Juanita Mo is a talented RLM Account Executive who prides herself on clear and concise communications. She has no qualms about advising clients to miss the train for Unreasonable-Land.