CICERO

Here we are growing Cicero's online knowledge centre, in which our marketing specialists from different disciplines share their thoughts and expertise on all things B2B. Look out for regular updates with new articles from our key people.

WHY PR?

PR is vital as part of the B2B marketing mix, make sure you’re doing it, etcetera… You would expect me to say all of this since it’s what we do every day. But opinions aside, it is generally the case, especially with smaller companies or those who haven't used an external agency before, that PR is often the client’s first tentative step into an integrated campaign.

This is because it's cost-effective - on a client's first rungs of the B2B marketing ladder, a simple PR campaign can generate quick results. Of course, this depends on the client using an agency or PRO with industry knowledge, a skill for writing well-crafted press material and an eye for good photography and strong story angles.

At the other end of the scale, at the huge companies who are driving global integrated B2B campaigns, PR is equally important. This is not least because PR opportunities are already there for the taking: the trade press will already be aware of the client (who most likely spends a fortune on press advertising, which in many cases, right or wrong, will bring positive opportunities) and they will be crying out for the latest news, opinions, comments, photos and anything else they can get from that company.

Equally, in the case of more negative situations or crises, where a client has a relationship in place with a PR specialist, the potential damage to the client's reputation can be curbed immeasurably.

For both maximising positive media coverage and minimising the negative, therefore, I would go so far as to say it would be ill advised NOT to be doing some sort of PR if you are involved in marketing business-to-business.

But B2B PR is a complex business, meaning the PR team must be deeply embedded within the client's business. It requires in-depth understanding of complex subject matter and working with obscure and specialist press more often than the big-splash hits sought by our B2C equivalents.

Yet ultimately, the best B2B PR is all about making it simple - no matter how abstruse the client, the end message needs to be as simple as possible. This is where the skilled PR person will get the most success.

How should PR’s success be measured?

The question of how to measure PR is the most difficult of all, and no agency or individual to my mind has ever come up with a satisfactory panacea. Some clients require pie charts, equivalent ad values, key message indices and in-depth analyses of PR spend versus ROI – the list goes on - while others gauge it on "feel-good factor" alone.

The answer must lie somewhere in between, and every client's requirements are different. Some of the clients I have worked with in my time have demanded the former, and were never satisfied no matter how many millions you can "prove" your press coverage is worth; while others will seek one feature in a key magazine and then, having achieved it, be delighted by the benefits such as staff satisfaction, the pleasure of sticking it to their competitors, or the pure vanity of seeing their name in print, none of which can be quantified on paper!

For another example, you might need to convey the message that jobs are safe following an acquisition. Getting this message to your audience won't directly drive sales, so how do you attribute an equivalent ad value to it?

An equivalent ad value is a simple way of demonstrating return on investment if the client simply wants to use PR to push sales, but PR can achieve so much more.

Of course, everyone needs to see bottom-line benefits from PR, but the client who has been well-educated in the advantages of PR will also recognise so many other less tangible results, such as increased job satisfaction from key staff who have been made visible as industry experts; improved calibre of candidates applying for jobs; improved public image; improved relationships with their clients and suppliers or repairs to a dented reputation.

The best solution for the PR agency to demonstrate its value to the client must simply be to agree objectives at the outset, and keep the client posted at every stage.

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