Running up that hill

When is the right time to start doing PR?

Think of a steep hill. You want to get to the top. What do you have to do to get there?

If you are driving a car, you would just press your right foot onto the accelerator, increase your speed a little and start the ascent.

It’s the same with PR…you can’t get to the top that quickly from a standing start and yet all too frequently businesses hesitate to put their vehicle in gear in sufficient time to meet their needs.

PR is undertaken for various reasons: there might be a particular project or campaign, launch or event that you wish to promote but what underpins this is the need to be seen and heard, for people to recognise your brand, its values and your range of products or services. Visibility and reputation are key.

It is this incremental approach which can be the longest lasting… by extending opportunities to learn about your brand before delivering the sales pitch means that a prospective customer will be more inclined to listen and consider the offer. They will already know something about you, be familiar with what you do and the extent of your product range or services.

Businesses that have a longer sales transition often understand this more than their fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) counterparts. They get the importance of influencing people who are key to the buying process, keeping them informed and connected as they enter the sales funnel. Reputation and presence are all important in big-ticket procurements.

Those in the FMCG world are more used to the rapid turnover and the application of the marketing mix may lean more heavily on the here and now to maintain or prop-up sales quotas, especially when selling direct to consumer.

However, FMCG businesses will have many routes to market and there is a need to balance requirements and resist the temptation to invest too heavily in one area, for example social media and digital marketing. Yes, the immediacy and shop window opportunity may help shift units in the short term and are ideal for highlighting promotions and customer offers.

But these immediate returns may be short-lived. Converting impulse buyers into loyal, regular customers needs a qualitative approach and this takes commitment to a longer-term strategy.

When you reach the summit, you will know it – by way of measurement or anecdotally – and that PR has helped get you where you need to be.