Outsourced: Public Relations

Kerri Guyton

Not every company has the ability – or the desire – to have an expert on staff for every task that must be executed to run a business. A company that chooses to outsource a service is looking for a specialist in that field, and it is a huge benefit for them to have access to expert advice without an expert’s full-time salary on the books.

There are challenges to overcome as an “outside” partner, especially when it comes to communication services, but at Obsidian, we are passionate about entrenching ourselves into the company and being as accessible as someone just down the hall. For us, that’s the key to success.

It’s important that we know our client brands as intimately as possible. It’s our job to “get it,” and we do that by asking the right questions and doing our research. We dig in and find out what’s important, relative, timely and interesting about a brand. We look for news, trends and happenings within the client’s industry, and we identify key audiences that should be aware of and care about the brand.

Image courtesy of http://rickmcnary.me/

We are communication advocates by trade, so we understand the importance of consistent communication in building relationships with our clients and staying informed about what’s going on with the brand. Our clients are very busy, so we drive the train on ensuring that the communication happens. We don’t have to be in the same building to be available on-demand, and in our business, response time can make or break a publicity opportunity.

These business practices usually pay off in long-term client relationships. Once entrenched, clients don’t want to let us go. We’ve become part of the team, part of the family. We know the brand like the back of our hand. We are their trusted resource for communication counsel. In other words, we’ve done our job.