Next to doing the right thing the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing. John D Rockefeller ~business magnate~
People react according to how they perceive a thing and how it makes them feel. The decision to purchase an item is often influenced by how the buyer feels about the product. A large percentage of buyers purchasing decision is highly determined by customers’ product knowledge and awareness of one product over the other.
Why do most businesses compete for who makes the most impressive impact?
Why do many businesses contend for who leaves the most lasting impressions on customers?
Why does one business sell out over the other even when they literally do the same thing?
All of these questions and more point to one thing… Consumer Perception and Public Relations!
So, What Then is Public relations (PR)?
PR, as it is generally referred to, is the art of maintaining valuable communication between an organization and the public. It encompasses all the effort put into corporate branding, social awareness and reputation management of a business in the public eye.
For SMEs and startups, the biggest misleading questions are often
Do we really need PR? Can we afford PR? …Only “big” companies run PR.
Well, of course, you need PR. Yes, you can afford PR, and as a matter of fact the big companies we admire got to where they are today by building PR from the scratch.
Are you struggling with any of the issues listed below and still wondering how exactly PR can transform your business and get you the numbers even as a startup or SMEs; simply read on.
- You have a great product that truly works but not too many people know about it. You desire to increase awareness and get your products right in the face of your target audience. You need PR! Harvard Business School puts it that 75% of business growth for most startups is highly dependent on PR.
- You only get one time customers – they patronize once and barely come back in a very long time. You wonder why this happens and wish to create lasting relationships with your clients. You need PR! The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) asserts that 82% of customer’s loyalty is built up by a business’ efforts and activities around PR.
- Your business is involved in a scandal. You are aware of the negative impact this would have on your brand. Your competitors are gearing up to take advantage of the situation but you need to win your reputation and regain customers’ trust. You need PR!
- You have a new product line. Fresh initiative with improved customer service. You know what valuable impact this could have on your business growth and expansion if only you could get more people to be aware. You need PR!
- You’ve invested much into your business; you know the only way to gain ROI is when you sell out. But you’ve got staff to pay and operation cost to cover and so you obviously need to increase sales in order to break even. You need PR!
- Lastly, you are in an already saturated industry. Everyone seems to be doing the same thing. Competition is high and so your customers are divided but you simply wish to stand out from the crowd and be noticed for your unique product and services. You need PR!
What are the Benefits of PR for SMEs?
Storytelling Techniques Create Lasting Impressions – Especially when narrated from a third-party perspective, customers tend to relate more to the brand when a business share relevant stories than employing the use of traditional advertising.
Boosts Social Media Presence and Increase Outreach to Target Audience – With PR your business takes a better position on social media especially with the trend of most businesses profiting out of social media platforms. More so, you reach a larger percentage of your target audience who are among the estimated 8 million users on social media worldwide.
Showing Expertise and Thought Leadership – The more relevant stories you share, the more of a thought leader you become. This invariably impacts on your audience positively as you are seen as an authority in your field and a credible expert people can trust.
Reputation and Crisis Management – PR sets your business in the spotlight for the right reasons. Nothing crumbles a business more than negative perception or scandalous reports. With PR your business is portrayed in good light, leaving only positive impressions to consumers.
Increase Sales and Business Expansion – There is everything to gain when it comes to sales and PR. Your PR campaign creates a proper atmosphere for increasing sales for your business as you begin to engage in media promotions, content marketing and more.
Create Awareness – Publicity is about the numbers and PR truly brings in the numbers for SMEs. As you engage in media relations, media startegy, content creation etc you reach out to more of your target audience who in the long run leads to loyal customers.
Media relations – Build and maintain the positive light of an organization in the media. Keeping the media up to the date on the company’s recent activities. This will on the long run to attract investors and show credibility.
Community relations & CSR – Build a healthy relationship between an organization and its community. It creates a good relationship for an organization with the community leaders and authorities by providing lasting solutions to social problems affecting society. This will put the organization in the good light and increase loyal customers.
Now that we all see the undeniable importance of PR for startups and SMEs, it is imperative to mention here that there is a way to getting it right and likewise a way to getting it all wrong. But for the purpose of relevance to this article, let us focus our energy on how to get our PR right.
To get the best results from PR that would convert into sales for your business, you would need a working PR campaign and a dedicated PR Consultant/Team.
How can a PR Consultant improve my business?
A PR consultant is an expert you need to create and manage your PR campaigns. With a PR Consultant, your business moves from where it is to where it ought to be in accordance with your set goals and objectives. PR consultants come in handy to train and retrain you and members of your organization on Business communication, Reputation management, building customer loyalty, Crisis management, employee relations, Improving Customer Relationship and Experience etc.
A full-service PR Consultancy firm as Blanche Aigle Communications specializes in providing SMEs and startups with extensive PR services such as Media relations, Brand perception and Image building, Community relations & corporate social responsibilities, Government relations, Crisis communication/management, Media Strategy and Buying, Content Creation, Market research, Digital PR, Intelligence marketing and more.
With attention to details and core specialty in startups, SMEs and startups can benefit from these diverse services and leverage upon the opportunity to expand their business outreach, increase awareness, strengthen customer engagement and further convert to more sales.
For SMEs and startups, a quality PR campaign is one that is Unique to your brand, such that it connects to your target audience; Cost effective, Achievable and Measurable by results and feedbacks.
In conclusion, the benefits of running PR for your business cannot be overemphasized especially in today’s digital age. As an SME thriving in an ecosystem as Nigeria could be challenging. With increasing competition and unpredictability of customers choice and preferences, adopting PR is your sure bet to standing out from the crowd and carving a niche for your brand.
If you take nothing out of this piece, here’s one point you should bear in mind…Running PR implies you don’t just have a business, but you have a brand people believe in and a name people trust. You’re not just selling products but creating real value for more people, therefore, building lasting relationships converting into sustainable and increased patronage for your business.
Nene Bejide is the founder and CEO of Blanche Aigle, a public relations company in Nigeria.
