Your clients have frustrations, problems, wants and needs, many of which have been causing them pain, day in, day out for a very long time. Try using public relations to educate, engage and excite them on how you can ease their pain. People always feel better about their business when they can be of service to others and public relations is one way to get the messages out.
You probably have boxes of old brochures that you wrote sales copy for extolling your expertise. Unfortunately, some business owners and managers still believe they need to create brochures about themselves. A public relations strategy will do more and do it more effectively.
Public relations can educate your clients and prospects
Create an education kit that can be adjusted to suit your different market segments. You need to be able to address different mediums and be able to personalise easily if required. Ask clients how you can assist them to provide a better service. Their questions and your responses along with ‘sound bites’ are what you should find in your public relations education kit.
One big change taking place is the avoidance of frivolous meetings trying to educate people. Businesses can no longer justify education that leaves participants with no ‘how-tos’ or practical usable information. Of course, the better the information the more it will be passed on for you.
It is easier to hold people’s attention if your public relations can convey the message of caring in addition to product and services information. By researching your customer base and spending time with them learning about what they do along with their frustrations and problems you will make a huge difference to how well you can educate, engage and excite them in your public relations campaigns.
Connect with their world and understand it before you engage in any public relations. People resonate with who you are as much as what you’re saying. If you are to arouse feelings of enthusiasm in someone, you must be enthusiastic in your public relations. If you want others to be excited and eager to do business with you, you, along with your public relations people, must be excited.
Look for content that will successfully engage public relations people
Focus your information and content on ways and means people can propel themselves successfully into the future while engaging and being excited about your business. This is always in your interests as public relations people who are successfully growing will propel your business as well, if what you are offering has enough appeal.
The benefits of public relations might include
An informed and educated public relations person or organisation can actively participate in the improvement of your business’s outcomes. It helps them to identify opportunities and reduce their frustrations and problems. Increasing everyone’s confidence in dealing with your business.
- Increasing the business’s ability to cope with and manage change.
- Increasing everyone’s confidence and trust in your business.
- Facilitating diagnosis and understandings of your business.
- Empowering clients to make decisions related to your business.
- Increasing a client’s ability to plan for the future utilising your offerings.
- Increased satisfaction and loyalty.
Practical public relations ideas for smaller businesses
Public relations does not need a large budget to be effective. What matters most is having something useful to say and sharing it consistently with the people who care about it.
- Write short articles that answer common client questions and share them on your website and social media.
- Offer to speak at local business groups, industry events or community organisations.
- Share practical tips with industry publications and local media when a topic is in the news.
- Celebrate milestones, new services and community involvement with a short news story.
- Ask satisfied clients if you can share their experience as a case study.
Keep your public relations message consistent
Everyone who speaks for your business should tell the same story. Agree on your key messages and keep them simple so your team can repeat them with confidence. Check that your website, social media and printed material all support the same message.
Review what works every few months. Note which stories attract interest, which channels bring enquiries and what clients mention when they contact you, then build on those results.
