As all LSU students strive to finish the last two weeks of the semester, I’ve been focusing on what most of my fellow graduating seniors have been looking into: how to position myself as a better candidate for employment than other applicants—something that’s especially important considering the competitiveness the U.S.’s economic distress has created. I was reading tweets and articles about PR when I stumbled upon “10 Tips to Become a More Successful PR Pro,” an article posted to Spin Sucks by Matthew Royse. I thought the article was decent and helpful, but I took much interest in Royse’s fourth tip: “develop deeper relationship.”
In a world that has become obsessed with social and virtual communication (with me included), he reminds us of the importance of taking the time to develop and cultivate face-to-face relationships. Also, Royse puts into perspective the priorities of service-providing fields like public relations. Clients are our only avenue to success; if not for satisfied clientele we would not be in a position to continue in our professions.
While pushing to put on a successful, effective campaign for Louisiana Delta Service Corps (LDSC), I believe we, Prelude PR (PPR), almost forgot our client. We were consumed with writing and design materials, but luckily, we’d previously planned a meeting with Betsy today to catch up on news within the LDSC office. This very fortuitously planned rendezvous helped us to assure our client that the organization and its overall well-being is important to us. Had we not planned today’s meeting, I’m not sure when, if ever, we would have had an opportunity to speak with the organization directors. The phrase “time is of the essence” has never rung more true than these last few, trying weeks.
Nonetheless, this situation lead me to consider ways to optimize the remaining days to maintain my and PPR relationship with LDSC. So, like every person of my generation, I started a Google search! I found four articles that all include thorough lists of different ways to build B2C relationships; I’ll post the links to those articles later, but I’ve compiled some of my favorite suggestions below:
1. Engage in and encourage frequent two-way communication
- This is a way to ensure that you and your client develop a strong, comfortable loyalty to one another.
- It also ensures you, the PR agent, are always in the know about the happenings of your client.
2. “Visit the Trenches” as Kim T. Gordon says
- If at all possible, step our of your comfort zone and do some work with your client. Introduce yourself to the client’s responsibilities.
- This tells the clients that you really are interested in them and the things they are passionate about.
- It could increase the client’s respect toward you and/ or your agency.
3. Work ethically and stay transparent
- This suggestion is simple yet profound. Integrity goes a long way, especially when your job is to build a positive image for clients. Practice what you preach.
- Transparency can provide your client a sense of security and trust toward you and the agency.
What would you propose the best relationship building tactics are?
The previous list was a combination of advice and tips from these articles:
- 7 Relationship-Building Strategies for Your Business by Kim T. Gordon
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