Start with Why!

In the world of public relations, the best strategy is to start with why. Thus, your communication plans will reflect the purpose of your public relations campaign by directly addressing the primary brain of your clientele, facilitating mutual understanding and sharing of values. Two key elements for informed decision-making and shared emotion: inspiration, the reason you wake up in the morning, and why your customers will choose you over your competitors.

Note that the information provided here can be applied in both the digital world and the physical world. However, some tools or good practices apply more in one than the other, you find the right common ground.

Now let's get our hands dirty. Start by defining the three pieces of information on which all public relations work will rest.

1. The values ​​of your company
2. Your goals
3. Your target audience

These three elements will help you define the way you will put together your various strategies to build long-term relationships with your customers.

The values ​​of your company are its reason for existence, what you bring to the world. Which essentially differentiates you from the competition. Think of Apple and Samsung! Basically, these two companies offer consumers similar products with some nuances on both sides. On the other hand, the organizational values ​​behind each brand will make the consumer look one way or the other. This is the first segment of your target audience.

Once you have a well-defined business foundation (values), you need to set realistic and achievable goals related to your values. Your goals will dictate which communications approach to focus on in order to achieve your long-term goals embedded in a consistent public relations plan.

The target audience will be determined by the data sets that you obtained based on your active clientele. Values, age, gender, consumption patterns, and geographic location may represent a small part of the segmentation information that determines your target audience. These are not essentially exclusionary elements, but more specific criteria for segmenting your communications to an interested audience.

The Right Message for the Right Audience Through the Right Media

This plan, once you have it in hand, will serve as a checklist for the future and serve as a solid foundation on which to support you in the event you are ever in doubt.

Once the first three steps are completed, the articulation of a good public relations strategy is essential for any company concerned about its image, its influence, its customers and its success. In practical terms, the message you send and the medium you use should be primarily defined by your PR plan. So you ensure the right message, for the right audience, through the right media.

By keeping an eye on the needs of your customers, you will give your customers a good idea of ​​the famous "why" you do what you do. And let's be honest, if your friends are talking about a company or a product, you're much more likely to be a potential customer; the same principle is becoming common among our peers.

Maintain a Solid Reputation

Whether digital or in life, your reputation will help you in every way! It is therefore very important to pay close attention to the management of your community.

Reputation is a function of the general perception of the different facets of a company: the price-quality ratio of the products or services; the effectiveness of customer service; financial performance; the innovations; community relations; environmental practices; leadership, etc. A good reputation provides greater attraction and retention of talent, a higher cost-benefit ratio and established credibility. These are particularly practical elements in terms of openness to new markets.

All in all, the PR plan cannot act alone. Rather, it is the foundation of planning that keeps a certain consistency over time and in the evolution of your business.

Keeping in mind that this is a complex subject, setting up your public relations plan is one of the pillars of your business. And although I cannot give you a perfect personalized recipe, I hope I have been able to enlighten a lantern on this subject and allow you to ask yourself the right questions!