A PR firm manages the flow of information between an organization and the public. Thats it. That is the main purpose of a PR firm. Sounds simple, right?
Well, it is and it isn’t. The great thing about PR is that it can be managed directly by the business if done correctly. The bad thing about PR is that it cannot be managed directly by the business if not done correctly. That might sound like a stupid redundancy, but it is hitting home on the point I will be making - if from business inception (or business youth at least) you handle your own PR effectively then you are on the right road. Big companies often rely on PR firms to manage their public affairs because they didn’t start right from the beginning.
Here are three simple ways you can keep on top of your companies PR, now and forever:
1. Be Honest and Forthright. Nothing can sink a ship faster than lying to the world and themselves that there are no icebergs in the water. A look at the Enron situation illustrates this point. Enron’s CEO, Kenneth Lay, had built a workplace culture of enthusiasm and business strength. In the background, however, things began to slip and the business was going to see cutbacks. To bolster his business up, he opened off shore accounts, opened the business to shady internet trading and did a lot of dishonest things to make it seem like their assets were larger than they really were. Just like the little white lie we’ve all told, Mr. Lay tried to hide his first lie with a second lie, his second lie with at third, and so on. Before long, Lay was embroiled in one of the largest accounting/business scandals the US has ever seen. The best PR a company can build for itself is the appearance and reality of 100% honesty. Because you and your employees are human situations may occur (dishonesty) for which you will need to set the record straight. It is imperative that you set the record straight and not just try to sweep it under the rug. As long as these situations are far and few between the public will respect you for coming out with the truth, especially when it is hard to do so. This is the best policy you can implement to maintain a successful PR campaign far into the future; if you never get caught up in a scandal you will never need a cleanup crew.
2. Speak Up. Your business is excellent at what it does. It offers great value to the consumer, right? If not, then you need to first start by adding value to your product line. Once you are offering 100% quality and then delivering 120% quality you will be set. I’m assuming you already have that down, though. So now you need to speak up. It’s okay to brag about your company’s successes. If it is a big success, like an acquisition or contract with another business in the local limelight, then you shoshould write up a short press release and email it to all the local papers and stations. If they are small successes then you should still talk about them, blog about them, and write them up in the monthly newsletters you send out to your customers. Take every opportunity to speak up and news of your company will be spreading fast. Be creative in speaking up and word of your business will spread even faster! For example, you can get a customized license plate frame for everyone in your family. They cost under $15 a piece if you get them from HERE. The company that prints them is in Hong Kong, but I’ve used them before and their work is good.
3. Collaborate Within Your Industry. Whatever industry you are in your company is sure to have complementing businesses you can work with. For example, if you run a shoe repair shop then your business complements would be local shoe stores. Build a creative idea and pitch it to your business complement. You’ve most likely seen business cards sitting on the front counter at businesses - often times cards that aren’t advertising the business where they are placed. Arrangements like this are usually easy to make if you also agree to carry their cards. Creativity is where you will really shine though, and stand out from your competitors. For example, instead of putting a business card on the checkout counter at the shoe store, why not put a business card inside each box of shoes? Or perhaps a vibrant sticker inside each shoe that offers 50% off shoe repairs services. Arrangements like this are more difficult to make, but are much more worth it too. Be flexible and creative in collaborating with business complements and you will get a lot of free publicity.