The PR strategy differs for a company selling a service compared to a company selling a product. Abby Carr’s article the B2B Bliss blog, ‘PR in the Service Economy: Eight Ways to Build a B2B Reputation’ explores some of the things to consider when doing PR for a service based company.
B2B service companies are great clients because they stretch us to come up with a clear vantage point on technical and often enterprise level matters. But they can also be tough clients because they are very busy, as well as risk averse and slow to adopt change. Here are some of the things we think about to get out of the traditional “lather, rinse, repeat” kind of PR.
1. Raise the Altitude. First, get up above product. If you are discussing the features and benefits of what the company sells, you won’t get the audience’s full attention. It’s like looking at photos of someone else’s kids. Find out what the audience truly cares about, and focus on that. Here’s a great example of a major financial company surfacing the issues of concern to its customers, who are heads of HR: MetLife’s 8th Annual Employee Benefits Trends Study.
2. Carve out an Issue to Own. Second, don’t be afraid to make an idea the hero of the moment. The idea can be an issue, a trend, a topic area – think “privacy” or “motivation” or “risk” or “capital flows” — but it’s not the product. Then build a microsite or a blog or a strong point of view around that. We have seen consulting firms take this tack, and predict that corporations will do so as well.
3. Be of Service to the Communities you Care About. What does your client know that can help the communities that they serve? How can you help them do their own business better? Often, research, benchmark data, opinion, counsel can be packaged in a way that galvanizes decision-making. Here’s an example: BDO’s Retail Survey.
4. Enter the Ongoing Conversation. If your client is discussing a topic that matters, and has a point of view or research that extends the conversation, then you better be finding the right dialogues, and the people (bloggers) who are influencing them. Addict-o-matic is a great way to find them.
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Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
