For online practitioners its often about pushing the envelope, being innovative and introducing the next widget.
But many clients that I have spoken with are more focussed on
- How can this help me achieve my business objectives?
- How can I make this cost effective?
- How can you make this easy for me to try out so that I can see the results for myself?
As we potentially head into “technical recession” this will become even more evident. Traditionally PR does very well in these conditions and this cycle will be no different.
“Give me measureable results and I’ll give you my advertising budget” is a typical response from CEO’s and decision makers and the reason why PR (online and tradtional forms) will grow in the 2008 and 2009 fiscals.
Whats more- PR now has the power of search engine optimisation and online marketing as a discipline to help clients build their reputations and create inbound links to their profiles, stories, websites and products.
The onus rests on practitioners to keep it simple and have an empathy for clients navigating rising input costs and provide them with comfort that online PR can actually help reduce risks for them, increase brand awareness, build reputation and marketshare in an environment where competitors have gone to ground trying to keep their head above water.
Smart companies will use this time to gather momentum amongst their online users and audiences and smart practitioners will help them deliver value , not by delivering over the top innovation all the time (though this has its place) , but by focussing on delivering tangible business outcomes.
