Does your business need PR? In short, yes it does!

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ definition of PR is:

“Public Relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.  Public Relations is the discipline that looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”

PR raises company profile, controlling and managing its reputation and creating relationships with the key people interested in your business, all of whom are fundamental to its success.  Using both traditional and online media, PR can considerably increase your company’s reputation, raise awareness of what you do, educate potential customers and position you as an expert in your industry.

This, in turn, can generate more enquiries and sales.

A successful advertising campaign can cost a considerable amount.  Remember, advertising is not as powerful as PR, with editorial endorsement so powerful, that a page of PR coverage is worth 3-5 times a page of advertising.  In today’s media-rich market, there are plenty of opportunities to shout about your business.  And if you don’t do it, you know your competitors will.  Always watch what your competitors are doing.  If they are receiving significant press coverage and you aren’t, what are they doing that you’re not?  My guess is, they have a strong PR team in place.

You need PR because, in order to survive in the marketplace, you must communicate more effectively than your competitors.

But, don’t just take my word for it.  Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft famously once said, “If I was down to my last dollar, I would spend it on PR”.

Enough said.