Public Relations is one of those professions everyone has heard of, yet few understand. Most people recognize that PR falls under the marketing umbrella, but they’re often hard-pressed to explain the differences between PR and other marketing activities.
One of my favorite analogies likens varying marketing strategies to a circus: “Let’s say the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying ‘Circus — Coming to the Fairground this Saturday!’ That’s advertising. If you put the same sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flowerbed, that’s publicity. And, if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.”
Public Relations impacts perception. The trampled flowers in the scenario example could be perceived in several different ways — good or bad. The goal of an accomplished PR strategy is to position a company, its products, services, and leadership in a positive light. Using third-party endorsements such as press, analysts, and other key influencers (e.g., the mayor in the example above) helps to build credibility and shape customer opinion.
So, how does this benefit a company’s sales? Going back to the circus analogy, if the activities in the example above encourage the townspeople to go to the circus, a company has a captive audience to entice with food, encourage them to play games, visit booths, and ignite their interest in seeing other shows. That’s sales. PR can get an audience in the door, but it takes sales to get them to spend their money. And therein lies the rub. Those townspeople need to like what they see once they arrive at the circus, the price needs to be right, and the quality needs to meet or exceed their expectations. Even better, there needs to be no other circuses that offer the same mix of entertainment anywhere nearby.
Companies often fail to see the nuances between PR and sales when they are eager to move product(s) and increase their bottom line. Even the most successful PR strategies that yield top-tier media coverage and attention in national, business, tech, and key press trades and verticals, garner great social media attention and drive traffic spikes in the company’s website and social channels, don’t necessarily translate to sales conversions.
Why?
To use another famous analogy: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”
Some of the most common mistakes we’ve seen companies make over the years are overpromising and failing to deliver on the promise of their technology or service, or pricing their product too high for the target audience.
PR is built on the foundational building blocks of trust with consumers, and sales can derail that if customers feel cheated or let down. Sometimes, it’s even simpler issues like a purchasing portal that is clunky, a product that’s not offered in their native currency, or a browser experience that doesn’t translate across mobile channels.
Customers are finicky and flighty, and companies have only a few moments to capture their attention and convert them into a transaction or sale. Companies that do it right will create a loyal relationship for years to come. Companies that do it wrong will take two to three times the amount of positive PR to lure them back.
The brightest C-suite leaders know PR is a critical tool in their sales arsenal, but recognize it isn’t the only tool. The best PR strategists work with their clients to map communications efforts to business goals. They will also give clients candid feedback on the best way to position their product to exceed customer expectations.
Seasoned PR teams have seen and experienced it all. Listen to their advice — they’re equally invested in seeing your company succeed.
Interested in working with an all-senior public relations team that can craft PR messages that cut through the noise and resonate? Get in touch with us at hello@wearemgp.com.
