PR gurus will talk your ear off about the importance of, and their skill at, reputation management and visibility and perception building. That's all well and good. But PR that doesn't improve an organization's bottom line isn't worth much. Organizational survival and prosperity depends on these things:
More leads. More highly qualified leads. Shorter sales cycles. Lower costs of sales. More repeat business. Bigger first-time orders. Higher margins.
Our communications programs must deliver upward velocity to our clients' bottom lines.
Unfortunately those seven items listed above involve business factors often far afield of the typical PR professional. And yet, most successful, industry-leading organizations don't spend a lot of money on things that don't contribute to these objectives. Moreover, if money being spent on PR doesn't affect these things as much as investing the same money in the sales force or the channel, then the funds are redirected to the field. Business is pretty black and white like that. Businesses are in business to do business and make money. Making a name for themselves is irrelevant if it doesn't accrue to the bottom line. That, in a sentence, captures our PR and marketing communications philosophy. Our communications programs must deliver upward velocity to our clients' bottom lines.
Traditionally, PR has avoided or eluded the rigor of measurement. Most practitioners today still support the old-fashioned idea that this is a creative, subjective business. If these providers are still offering the traditional tactics only, then they are stating a truth. Clients of traditional services have to hope all the right things are being done, but agency turnover now at historic highs would suggest a diminishing tolerance for wishful thinking and a growing appetite for at least some things metric. At AgencyNext, metrics are a fundamental component of our service model. While we still can't measure everything we do, including all the traditional communications tactics we provide, our portfolio includes communications options that come with serious analytics. For anyone who has long endured the uncertainty of traditional PR and marketing communications options, at least some of our new media offerings are a breath of fresh air.
Contact us anytime for a more detailed explanation of how PR is changing and how you can know much more about your communications ROI.
