Help Us Help You

Liz Hutton

As PR people, we want to help our clients. Our job depends on it. If we do not make our clients happy, then it is simple -- we lose those clients. This is great motivation in itself for a PR rep. We think about what we can do to make our clients happy all the time. But what makes a good client? How can clients effectively work with PR agencies to make the most out of their time with us? Here are a few tips on how you can help us help you to make the best out of your PR investment:

1) Provide information overload. As a client, it is important to make sure to give more than enough information. Don’t be afraid to tell a PR agency everything and anything they need to know, even some things you think may be irrelevant. More often than not, we can make useful connections with information that a client might not see at first. Being open and upfront with the information you CAN share (news, events, challenges, etc.) helps us to do our best job for you and your company. 

2) Be responsive. Many clients ask their PR reps for lots of coverage, but when the curtains rise, they are not available to give them any information. If you hire a PR agency, it is necessary to recognize that many times, PR reps have to turn things around within the hour at the mercy of the news reporters. Journalists are frequently under immense pressure to report a breaking story (or four). If a journalist has a question, responding quickly not only makes your company look good, but it also gives us credibility as a PR agency. Your responsiveness and accessibility help us build better relationships with the reporters, which ultimately leads to more stories and media coverage for your company. 

3) Realize we are on your side.  We want the best and most media coverage for our clients just as much as they do, but there is only so much we can do as far as timing and placement. For example, we can have the most amazing event with all of the information sent in to the media, but where, when, how and if the story gets placed is ultimately up to the news outlet. This amazing event could be set to appear on the front page one day, and the next day before it goes to print, a breaking news story on the other side of town occurs. Your event is no longer relevant. It is not anything we did or didn’t do; simply, what the news outlet wants to cover that day has changed. It is important to be understanding about the type of coverage we are able to garner. Trust us that when all is said and done, our goal is to achieve your overall marketing and communication goals.  

Successful PR goes hand-in-hand with the relationships we build, but relationships are certainly not a one-way street. This list is obviously a small start, but it gives you a good idea on ways to make the most out of your PR investment. Instead of making this a business transaction, make it a real relationship; you will be sure to find your perfect PR match. 

“Hey client, are you there?”

Lauren Hannaford

Like many industries, PR pros occasionally run into clients who understand the importance and value of PR, but for various reasons, have a hard time carving out ample time to communicate with their communication team and provide what’s needed to execute strategy in a timely manner.

Over the years, we have personally seen strong satisfaction and success correlations among clients who are communicative, set a certain time during the week to talk to us or assign another staff member to be our point person. We stay on track, we get things done and we are successful. Now, many of our clients who simply cannot keep up with us each week are still very successful accounts. There are many paths we take to ensure that we continue to garner news coverage and carry out other projects. We just have to have “information transfer” meetings. And that works, too.

Similarly, we see correlations among clients who aren’t the most communicative in the bunch. While we love all clients nevertheless, this lack of communication can create staleness or a stall in action for the account, and we just don’t like that. We like to stay busy for all clients all of the time. That’s what we get paid to do!

The simple truth is that if you are considering retaining a public relations firm like Obsidian, expect for us to “need” you on a regular basis. The key to a successful relationship is regular communication.

Here are a few helpful tips on how to keep things on track despite your busy schedule:

1. Set a certain time during the week to review projects and communication, and provide feedback on those. 
2. Assign a point person that has time within their role to be a liaison. 
3. If weekly call is not possible, plan to have a longer meeting once a month. 
4. Vocalize your preferences on how we communicate with you (phone, email, text, etc.)

You talkin' to me?

Courtney Liebenrood Ellett

Tim Westergren, the founder of Pandora, emailed me the other day. Yep, that’s right. And today, just 30 minutes ago, I got a message from him on my cell phone.

The above statements are absolutely true, but they might not mean exactly what you think they mean. No, Tim and I aren’t friends, and Pandora isn’t one of our clients. But I am a loyal Pandora listener. And that is why Tim contacted me.

Tim sent me (and most likely the other 52 million Pandora listeners) an email about an important piece of legislation that has just been introduced in Congress that could end long-standing discrimination against Internet radio. He asked me to contact my senator to urge him to support the Internet Radio Fairness Act. And guess what? Tim then provided Sen. Bob Corker’s contact info right there within the email. Sure, that info is easy to find, but to me, it was more than a convenience factor. I now KNEW that Tim was talkin’ to me. 

So, did I email Sen. Corker right away yesterday? I did not, but I did pay a lot of attention to the email and put it on my to-do list. Besides, and I hate to admit it, I’ve never contacted a politician before in my life – about anything! Then came the message on my phone. I was on my daily walk (listening to Pandora, of course), and between songs, Tim took the opportunity to follow up with me. It took maybe 10 or 15 seconds to reinforce the message of the email, and my next song started playing.

I came home from my walk, got on my laptop and emailed Sen. Corker right away. Within minutes, I received a “Thank you for contacting my office” email in response.

So yeah, Tim from Pandora was talkin’ to me. And better yet, I was listening.

The Donut Tells All

Sarah Lichterman

It’s quite amazing how a delicious, glazed pastry can put social media into perspective. More than 1 billion people in the world are active users on social media sites, according to the International Telecommunication Union. Facebook users make up 90 percent of this population with more than 900 million active users. The remaining 10 percent of the market is dominated by Twitter, with 200 million users, and LinkedIn, with 150 million users.

Needless to say, social media usage is growing every single day. With new sites emerging, it is easy to get lost in the never-ending web of social networking. The overall intent of social media is for users to communicate and interact with other people on a global level. Reconnecting with old friends, creating new relationships, promoting a business and receiving store coupons are among the many perks of this new-age technology.

The problem with the rapid growth is that it can be difficult to decipher the differences between the sites. You wouldn’t want to go to YouTube if you were looking to connect with old friends from high school, would you? No, you would use Facebook or LinkedIn. This confusion, and frustration to some, is where the donut steps in.

Photo courtesy of Tosh.O

Social media explained:

• Twitter: In 140 characters, update your status by saying what you are doing. Hashtags can be used when discussing a popular topic to connect you with others discussing the same idea.
• Facebook: Use your profile to share your likes, interests and background information.
• Foursquare: Smart phone application that allows you to share and save places that you visit.
• Instagram: Smart phone application that turns you into a photographer with your own personal photo blog, complete with the ability to edit photos and use different lens filters.
• YouTube: Video-sharing website where you can view and share videos.
• LinkedIn: Connects people in professional occupations by sharing skills, previous work experience and education. Capability to upload resume and receive recommendations.
• Pinterest: A social photo-sharing website where you can create and manage themed image collections.
• Last FM: Music recommendation service where you can share your favorite tunes and the music you are currently listening to.
• Google+(G+): An extension to the search engine function of Google.com, includes messaging, video chat, photo editing and forums. Atmosphere is more formal than other sites.

And so here we are, social media in a nutshell (or should I say, do-nutshell?). There are many similarities between these sites. Nevertheless, if you have a specific target in mind, make sure to choose the correct outlet in order to maximize the benefits social media. Good luck!

Is that in my job description?

Katie Pemberton

When you have a working relationship with a PR, advertising or marketing firm, the expectation is that their work will result in more people becoming aware of your organization and possibly becoming actual clients. What we stress to potential and current clients is that our efforts could send a million prospects your way, but if those prospects have a negative experience when contacting you or visiting your location, you’ve lost them. We happily uphold our end of the bargain when our work informs or educates people about you; what happens after that is all on your end. (But we can help! More about that later.)

One key thing to remember, repeat and live by: Customer service is in EVERYONE’S job description. Of course, a salesperson or clerk knows their job is to help customers, but it’s important for everyone from shelf-stockers and back-end operations staff all the way up to the president to understand that, yes, customer service is their job. Every person who a customer considers part of your organization is an ambassador, whether they realize it or not.

Not every member of your organization is going to be conducting interviews with reporters, but every member of your organization, top to bottom, should be able to speak intelligently about what you do. A good rule of thumb is to never say anything to the general public that you wouldn’t want on the news. I have known reporters and other members of the media to call an organization and not identify themselves as news media. Does the thought send a shiver down your spine? Then read on, my friend.

At Obsidian, we work hard to help clients craft the messaging that we will use in our various tactics to elevate your company’s profile, from media coverage and media interview preparation to collateral materials and social media. It’s so important that your company demonstrates message alignment across all those channels. What I mean is if an ad or brochure says your restaurant can cater to vegans, but your servers have no idea what guests are talking about when they inquire, your messaging is not aligned. If you give an interview and say you deliver a seamless customer experience but then someone visits your location and is dismissed, ignored or not guided step-by-step through the purchase process, your messaging is not aligned.

So how do you make sure your company is communicating a consistent message?

• Communicate with your staff and be transparent. Make sure staff is aware of and trained to answer questions about anything a member of the public could see in a story about you, on your website, on Facebook, etc. For example, if you are offering a Groupon deal, make sure your sales clerk knows about it and knows how to ring it up. Share successes with staff. If someone sees in a news story that last year you had a banner year and mentions that in conversation with your employee, that employee shouldn’t be hearing about it first from a customer.
• Make 100 percent certain every employee understands that HE or SHE personally is the face of your company. If your accountant happens to answer a customer call, he should hold that customer’s hand all the way to the person she needs to speak with. If your executive director is walking through your office and is stopped by a member of the public, she should stop what she is doing if at all possible and help that person find who she needs to speak with. No, maybe your accountant can’t take a customer order, and maybe your executive director doesn’t have the time to give a tour to every person who comes into your organization, but it is their job to make their brief entry into that prospect’s experience a pleasant and professional one. 
• Consider hosting an ambassador training. Obsidian leads these sessions for many clients, where we educate the front-line staff of an organization on the various channels of communication, the importance of the first impression and how to make a positive one, how to choose what types of words to use when speaking with customers, etc.

The bottom line is this: A customer doesn’t know and doesn’t care what is in whose job description. Customer service and ambassadorship must be everyone’s responsibility.

The Disconnect Created by Technology

Crystal Jackson

If you gave someone a call a few decades ago and he or she was away from the telephone, you’d have to wait and call back. Then came caller ID and voicemail, so the days of waiting by the phone and guessing who was calling disappeared. Those were simple days of long ago. Now, if I want to get in touch with clients, I have to ask if they would like a phone call on their cell, office or home number. But their options don’t stop there! They can opt to be reached by text message, email, snail mail, a Facebook message, a tweet, or we could always just Skype or “hangout” on Google+! Where and when will the madness end? When it comes to the relationship between you and your clients, is technology making you want to change your relationship status to it’s complicated?

As PR professionals, we have to be in the know on the latest and greatest ways to communicate. We’re paid to do so, but when do we need to ditch our modern gadgets for an old-fashioned face-to-face chat? Well, don’t look at me! Who am I to tell you what to do in your relationship? It’s already “complicated,” and I’d hate for that status of yours to change to single because I misadvised you. However, here’s what I can tell you.

No matter what the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg creates to make communication easier for our progressively lazier society, face time with your clients will always be crucial and important to your relationship. Depending on the client, you may need face-to-face contact weekly, monthly or quarterly to maintain a healthy, beneficial and continuous relationship. It’s not the technology that is causing you two to drift apart; it’s you! When you’re first engaging a client, ask how often they’d like to get together to review the plans you’ve made for them. Ask them their preferred method for communicating, but also set dates and times for you to chat in person over coffee, lunch or a cocktail.

You and your client may have busy schedules, but it is imperative that you make time for each other. The level of trust and confidence needed for a successful PR relationship takes time to cultivate and just like any other bond, you must spend time together. This ensures that you’re both on the same page and know exactly where the relationship is headed – whether that is to the CNN newsroom or to changing your status to “in a relationship.”