Be A Silo Smasher

It takes a lot to be an effective professional communicator. One of the early lessons I learned in public relations is that it helps to be a silo smasher.

Silo smashing can occur for clients (I've actually been in rooms where in-house sales, marketing and communication teams rarely, if ever meet except to discuss budget issues). It can also occur within a communications organization. If the only time teams meet is to discuss a specific project/initiative (i.e. new trade show booth) and not examine a holistic approach to marketing communications, they may miss an opportunity or new perspective to more effectively target and reach potential stakeholders.

Effective silo smashing is about facilitating relationships across organizational and departmental lines, encouraging internal collaboration, and fostering opportunities to effectively raise awareness of a product/service/idea and foster an organization's brand awareness. Being able to "walk through walls" to meet with and get other organizational leadership and knowledge experts to collaborate often yields better overall ROI for marketing and communication plans.

Professional communicators are in the best position to be the silo smashers in that communication and marketing development means taking a "big picture" approach to solving a client's business issue. Consequently, the expertise and information that is needed to build, implement, measure and sustain a successful communications campaign means reaching out past those whose responsibilities are confined to marketing and communications . Often professional communicators are welcomed (even if it is with a healthy dose of skepticism) when they reach out to other departments for information.

Communication plans that take place in a vacuum are less effective than those that are developed with input from relevant parties that have a different perspective on certain aspects of a product/service/program. Depending on the organization and the goals of the campaign, communicators may need to and should reach out to individuals in research and development, finance, design, and other subject matter experts to effectively communicate the value and develop a robust and effective marketing communications campaign to achieve an organization's goals. Having more information to understand the business case as well as the technical and creative case will only help to make the campaign more robust and unique. It will also help to expand the support and enthusiasm for marketing and communication efforts throughout the organization.

People often want to give their opinion and demonstrate their expertise when it comes to promoting and educating stakeholders about a product/service/idea. Learning how to smash internal client silos is a good step in enhancing client service while raising trust and creating a lasting partnership for many years to come.

Clients Can't Approve or Reject Ideas They Aren't Shown

Creativity in PR and marketing is a goal that all great professional communicators want to achieve. Creative campaigns and strategies make you memorable. They often think outside the box. Often the best ideas challenge teams to use other multichannel strategies and tactics (e.g. guerrilla marketing, event planning, mobile engagement, etc.) that often haven't been considered to enhance their client's campaign. Creative ideas to generate awareness and visibility of a client's mission can have a big return on investment. If all relevant stakeholders are taken into account, it can garner the much sought after media attention, increase awareness of an organization's mission as well as reinforce and introduce an organization's brand to audiences.

However, how many times have you been in brainstorming meetings to develop new ideas, engagement strategies, or even themes only to hear: "The client won't go for it" or "We need to be mindful and only suggest ideas that are in the client's realm of comfort."

While taking the emotional and cultural considerations of clients into account is important, really good creative ideas are often dismissed because they are perceived as "too risky" by certain members of the team in charge of the client's business. I shudder to think how many creative ideas, which may garner the most attention and bring the most success to a campaign, die on a white board, word document or collaborative wiki, never having been seen by the client for feedback/input.

Clients cannot approve or reject ideas that are never presented to them.

Professional communicators should take their client's comfort level into account when developing ideas. Showing a little creativity and refining ideas to demonstrate the potential effectiveness of a what is viewed as a newer or "riskier" strategy goes a long way.

In my experience, the best way to get what are perceived as more outlandish and radical tactical strategies approved is:

• Do research! Conduct soft soundings with trusted key media in the client's industry and other key stakeholder groups (associations, investors, etc.) to get their input on the idea(s). See if it has any interest for them and be willing to further refine the campaign based on their input.
• Do an outline/timeline of the strategy to present to client initially. This does not have to be a comprehensive plan, but taking the time to provide an overview of how the project will be executed can help convince and alleviate some of the fear that clients may have on the strategy's validity. It also shows that your team is able to execute and understands the amount of work and input that will be needed from the client side.
• Keep trying. Just because one client doesn't want to execute a newer strategy or ideas doesn't mean that he/she won't change their mind in the future. It also doesn't mean that others in the same organization won't welcome ideas outside "the press release." Demonstration of creativity as well as core communication principles goes a long way.

Now is the time to be bold, creative and present new ideas to help clients achieve their communication goals. Don't be afraid to speak-up.

10 Things PR Agencies Do That Limit Effectiveness

What a week for the PR industry. The justified outrage over the Brody PR debacle seems to be diminishing (Seriously, I was going to link to a story about it, but just search "Brody PR" and look at some of the headlines/blog posts that come up). I am finally addressing something that makes my blood boil (and yes, it makes my blood boil even more than a PR agency spamming more than one hundred technology and social media leaders) - it's the allegation that PR firms don't add value.

An article in the The Business Insider states that an anonymous former PR executive alleges that 90% of PR firms add no value. He/She then lists several characteristics businesses should look for in a PR firm to guarantee a higher ROI. Now, I have to admit, I agree 100% with every attribute listed. What I take issue with is that a majority of PR firms are unable or do not add value on a consistent basis. 

I think most PR firms add value to their client's business. I absolutely LOVE my industry and while agency relationships with a client are a two-way street, some PR firms are more effective and much better at establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with clients. But why? Why are some agencies better at this than others?

In my own professional experience, some PR firms aren't as effective as they could be because:

1. They fail to do the research to really understand a client's industry/market space. Research can be expensive. If done correctly, however, it adds much needed information to craft an effective communications strategy across all aspects of a company's marketing, sales, internal and external communications.
2. They fail to GET OUT OF THEIR OFFICES to go meet with the press/bloggers/etc. and learn about their interests (no pitching allowed). Research on the Internet will only get you so far. If a PR agency is getting out and meeting those who cover a client's industry (whether it be at industry events or buying them a cup of coffee to get to know them better), it helps in not only understanding the needs of a particular journalist/blogger, but also can help in gathering intelligence about the marketplace.
3. They fail to introduce themselves as a resource (NOT just a source) for media who are increasingly pressed for time. Hiding who clients are doesn't work (unless an agency has a good reason for doing that). I've found sending a BRIEF note of introduction to key media when a new client comes on (complete with contact information), goes a long way in building strong relationships for clients with the press.
4. They fail to effectively communicate to the client a realistic timeline for a media/awareness build, which eventually leads to frustration/disappointment. Anyone in the b-to-b  and b-to-g space will tell you that awareness and long-term engagement takes time. Communicating that upfront avoids frustration and disappointment. That is why having a sound communication strategy and plan from the get-go is so important.
5. They fail to push back on the client when necessary in order to achieve maximum ROI. Most of the criticism of PR firms seems to come from the lack of creativity and further ideas to drive awareness of a company's offerings. However, this is a two-way street: if a firm is consistently coming up with good ideas to drive awareness only to have them shot down (the "stick to the press release" mentality), a company can expect a diminished PR ROI.
6. They fail to effectively communicate their value. Media clips are nice, but PR is so much more than the latest press hit. If that's how a company is measuring effectiveness, they've just gotten publicity and NOT strategic communications counsel. Asking for an agency's advice or point-of-view on a business issue is one way to evaluate if a firm truly "gets" a company's business. It's not just WHO a PR firm knows, but WHAT they know about an industry. As I've said time and time again: Don't hire an agency to get you press, hire an agency to get you intelligence. Again, if an agency fails to demonstrate from the beginning how they measure and communicate to clients their effectiveness, a company should not hire that agency.
7. They fail to be anything more than the order takers, when what a company wants/needs a strategic partner who can use business intelligence to keep their company one-step ahead. An agency should consistently demonstrate applied knowledge on a frequent basis to show that they are proactively striving and driving a client's PR strategy.
8. They are failing to talk to the right people in a company. If a PR firm is not asking (and a company is not volunteering) senior leaders, SMEs, department heads, project managers, engineers, etc., it's not making full use of its arsenal of available PR resources and potentially atrophying its own ROI.
9. They tell a company what they want to hear, not what a company needs to hear.  Part of a PR firm's job is to serve as the much needed outside, objective third-party that is able to give insight and prevent "group-think" from occurring internally. 
10. IN SOME CASES, The people at the agency who sell the business, DO NOT effectively communicate a client's goals and objectives to the people who will be doing the work. This often leads to huge miscommunication and outright disappointment by a client who was expecting immediate results, when reality dictates that planning and (again) research be done to create and implement an effective long-term communications strategy.

I could list more, but these are the 10 things I've seen in my career that hurt a PR agency's effectiveness. Again, I need to stress that an excellent working relationship between a client and its PR agency is a TWO-WAY STREET. While agencies need to be more proactive, clients need to understand and establish how exactly they want to use and why they even want to work with an agency in the first place. Establishing goals, roles, and responsibilities for all parties at the beginning of a relationship will not only lead to a lasting partnership between parties, but goes a long way in PR agencies demonstrating value and enhancing its own reputation over time.

How to Get the Most from Your PR Agency

I've been in a lot of new business meetings lately. I've heard all kinds of stories about dealing with PR and advertising agencies when it came to account management, managing expectations and measuring results. Some are good. The majority are bad and there appears to be a lot of frustration with not knowing how to move forward internally to make sure that history does not repeat itself when it comes to poor or just plain awful account management.

Yes, there are things agencies can do to be accountable and establish strong communication with their clients. But what can clients do to make sure they are getting the most from their agencies?

For what it's worth, here are my thoughts for clients:

Get Organized: Identify a point of contact or contacts that interact with the PR agency on a regular basis. This person needs to understand the company's business goals and objectives, as well as manage priorities and requests as they come in. This person must also understand the internal approval processes and be able to route communication materials (press releases, white papers, videos, etc.) through the proper channels within an organization (corporate communications, marketing, C-Suite, Legal, etc.). This will save time and allow a company to quickly respond to opportunities as they arise.

Whoever is the point of contact for the agency, make sure they are able to cross departments (walk through walls) and get face time with the proper executives, employees and subject matter experts. I cannot tell you how many times I've heard clients say they lost an opportunity because their point of contact was unable to push something through a specific department. Give this person "executive backup" if necessary to ensure opportunities don't fall through the cracks.

Establish Goals: All communications plans should support and help achieve business goals and objectives. Know what the company or department wants to accomplish and share with your agency (this is why NDAs exist). A good PR agency will help evaluate and even create a strategy to help accomplish these objectives.

Define Success: Be open to stating what a successful PR/communication campaign looks like. A good PR agency will tell you if those expectations are reasonable and/or suggest ways to tweak a current strategy to get closer to your definition of success.

Define the success of your communication campaign upfront. It may be frequency of mentions, tone of news coverage, number of qualified leads, increased awareness in key markets, improvement in customer surveys, etc. Define success for YOUR COMPANY. What works as a measurement of success for one company may not work for another. Talk about what success means to YOU. A good PR agency can recommend ways to measure a campaign's success.

Talk to your Agency: Not all sales opportunities come from a sales department. Similarly, not all media or strategic communication opportunities come from your agency. It may come from sales, marketing, recruiters, customers or even your Web site. No matter the entry point of the opportunity, lean on your agency to find out additional information or to help create content or prepare for it. This is our job. As a strategic partner, we want to do everything possible to make you successful.

Demand Reports: Good PR agencies will provide you with regular reports. When selecting an PR agency always ask if they have a formal account management reporting structure in place. A few of the reports you should ask for are written weekly status reports, media pitch reports, monthly account activity reports and media monitoring/analysis/clip reports (if you pay for media monitoring services). Don't settle for just a weekly status phone call. Hold your agency accountable too.

Be Flexible: Not everything can be planned. There will be media opportunities and PR initiatives that "spring up" and a company will have to be reactive. Talk to you PR team on how to best handle these opportunities and make sure you have any crisis or issues management plans in place for any complicated communication issues.

Provide Access: A press release is never just a press release (and if it is, why are you spending the money?) A good PR campaign should support your marketing and sales efforts. Trolling for ink does NOT equal more sales or revenue. A good PR agency will ask to meet with and discuss business goals, products, and services with your executive team, marketing managers, sales representatives and existing customers. In doing so, they will be able to provide you with the best counsel and recommendations on how to move forward to achieve your goals.

PR Pros: What other recommendations do you have for clients to get the most from their agency?

Nightmare Clients

No, not my clients! (I love you all!)

But I do have to give a shout out and acknowledge Richard Laermer at The Bad Pitch Blog for his Oct. 5th post (rant) on difficult PR clients.

Thank you, Richard for saying what many of us sometimes feel and highlighting what several of us have encountered over the years with difficult clients.

If you are a client looking for advice on how *not* to treat your agency or are wondering what constitutes bad client behavior, check out Richard's post.

And, yes for the record: I have had similar experiences to Richard's in the past. I would love to hear from clients and my fellow PR pros on what types of behavior and actions make-up a horrible client/agency relationship.