Are You Ready to Hire a PR Firm? Part Three

We recently saw this article by Gini Dietrich on PR Daily about knowing when you are ready to hire a PR Firm, and we loved what Dietrich had to say about growing a business through publicity. We decided to put together a series that shares Dietrich’s article, and along with a few of our own ideas about the hiring the boutique firm. You can catch Part One Here and Part Two Here.

Here is Part Three of how you know you’re ready to hire a PR firm:

5. You’re willing to take some risks.

Dietrich from PR Daily:  Technology has completely changed the way a PR professional does his or her job. Using the Web—and social media, in particular—means you’re going to build your brand and gain awareness much more quickly than in the past. It also means you’ll be under some scrutiny. Make sure your PR firm has experience with crises on the Web , and be willing to let them get you out there. The more uncomfortable it is for you, the more likely it is to work.

 ABPR advice to the boutique client: It can be scary to open your business up to anyone’s free opinion. And especially with smaller businesses we often find that we have to do a bit of handholding to become comfortable with being open online. We try to help our clients understand that the days of controlling the message and the reaction of the public isn’t a reality any longer. Instead, there are vibrant conversations happening online, and we try to help our clients become an open and authentic part of that conversation. But as Dietrich pointed out, you’re not going to be apart of that conversation without taking some risks.

6. You’re uncomfortable.

Dietrich from PR Daily:  There is nothing worse than a prospect saying they want out-of-the-box thinking and then asking for really boring, non-sexy strategies. If the PR firm doesn’t make you a little uncomfortable when you meet with them the first few times, nothing you do together will be extraordinary. It’s the discomfort that gets us to stretch beyond what we think we can do. Let the firm guide you down that path.

ABPR advice to the boutique client: This is true for any client no matter what size you are. If you’re ready to grow, then it’s going to take some stretching outside your comfort zone!

7. ABPR Additional Point:  You’re ready for Your Success (we added this one. Hope you don’t mind Gini!)

Many of our clients want publicity but don’t realize that if we garner big media attention, they will need to be prepared. For our clients (we handle mostly book PR) this means a few things:

Stock Availability: When you get a great media hit, chances are you’re going to need quick access to stock. If you’re a self-published author, how quickly can your printer get you the books and how fast can you get them out to your customers?

Placement or Distribution: Once people hear about your book or product, is it going to be easy to go out and buy it? Is the book available in more places than amazon.com or on your website? And if it is only available on your site, is your site prepared to handle the increased traffic and are you ready to manage the fulfillment and customer service?

PR Professionals, what other things do you recommend to your clients before getting started? 

Thanks to Gini Dietrich for letting us weigh in on your great article!

XOXO,

-a