One of the top reasons people hire PR companies for their business is to increase their return on investment (ROI) with respect to both PR and marketing. But what steps can you take to push that ROI from PR companies even higher?
The Importance of ROI
ROI is arguably your best metric to determine the effectiveness of your relationship with your PR companies. It’s a measure of how much return you’re getting from your collaborative work, compared to how much you’re spending on it. It’s effective because it controls for so many variables simultaneously, while giving you a clear illustration of the value you’re getting from each engagement. As a simple example, it’s much more valuable to spend $10,000 with a PR firm and get $50,000 of value than $100 on a PR firm and only $300 of value. The latter PR firm is less expensive, but the former PR firm has a much higher rate of return.
Ideally, every PR firm you ever interact with will be able to yield an ROI that’s at least positive. However, there are several strategies you can implement to make sure your ROI is as high as possible.
Two Methods of Optimization
Ultimately, there are only two ways that you can boost your ROI. You can either reduce the costs of a given engagement or increase the benefits. If you’re going to stick with your existing PR company, you may be able to negotiate a lower price, but it’s more likely that you’ll need to devote attention to the second half of the equation. In other words, most of your ROI improvements will come from increasing the benefits of working with each PR company.
Select the Right PR Companies
The first and arguably most important element of your strategy is choosing the right PR companies to engage with. Not all PR companies are equally capable of returning an impressive ROI for your business, so do your due diligence carefully. Look for PR companies with excellent capabilities, proven past results, and a high value to cost ratio. It’s also important to screen for PR companies who are willing to work collaboratively and adapt over time.
Set Expectations Early
The earlier you set expectations with your PR companies, the better. In your initial meetings, make sure you collaboratively set expectations for each other. Make it clear how you define success and what types of results you’re hoping to see. Your PR companies should also help to set your expectations, so you know what kinds of results are within scope. This is also a great time to get on the same page with respect to high-level strategies.
Communicate Openly and Transparently
As much as possible, communicate openly and transparently with your PR companies. The more information you can provide them, and the more guidance and direction you establish, the better they’ll be able to do their jobs. It’s also important for you to provide feedback whenever appropriate.
Listen to Expert Advice
Many people don’t get full value from their PR companies because they don’t listen to their expert advice. You hired these PR consultants for a reason, so make sure you take them seriously when they recommend various strategies and tactics.
Get Involved
You’ll likely see a higher ROI if you involve yourself deeply in the process. PR companies can work more effectively and accomplish more if they’re familiar with your brand, your goals, your strategic vision, and your philosophy. Collaboration can also lead to greater creativity, which as we’ll see, is invaluable for seeing better results.
Be Creative
Creativity is indispensable in PR and marketing. Creative experimentation is one of the best ways to learn about your target audience and your brand’s relationship to its competitors. It’s also a great way to stand out and achieve greater visibility and impact.
Analyze
Work with your PR companies to analyze the objective data associated with your campaigns. The better you track and understand your results, the better you can improve things in the future.
Keep Pushing for Better Results
Finally, keep pushing for better results. Achieving a positive ROI with a PR company is good, but it’s better to push it higher. There will always be new strategies and tactics to try, there will always be inefficiencies that you can iron out in your relationship, and there will always be opportunities for further refinement. As long as you keep trying new things and incrementally improving, your ROI should keep climbing higher.
Working with PR companies is a smart move for any business that wants to improve its marketing, advertising, and general PR efforts. But if you want to get the most value for your money, you also need to strategize for how to optimize your ROI.