Joining forces

Activities don’t have to be carried out alone. In product marketing, companies often come together for the purposes of a mutually beneficial promotion, one which can strengthen the brand values of each product on offer. This can work in business to business public relations as well. In Royal Mail’s case the partner was the promotional Handling Association (PHA). Their need was to heighten the awareness and understanding of this specialist area of response handling and to highlight just how crucial it was to get it right – most importantly to use a professional company, and one, where possible, which was a member of the PHA. From Royal Mail’s point of view it offered a chance to form a closer, mutually beneficial bond with a valuable group of customers and to highlight the vital job they did, one which was becoming increasingly important as more FMCG companies and others came into the market, and boosted the need for effective handling of on-pack promotions which were linked to the building of consumer databases.

A two-year programme was developed. Case studies were created, sponsorships arranged, media opportunities exploited. It was a rock-steady, tried and tested, knocking on doors and creating opportunities programme. But it did work. The number of companies saying they’d use a PHA member for handling work rose by over 10 per cent in the first year alone and the body is now regularly approached for press comment. Media coverage has been positive and strong on the right messages, and handling is now part of the marketing media’s annual agenda.

Conclusion

Without doubt customer demands for greater and greater service levels are going to be with us for good. That goes for domestic customers and business customers alike. Just as they grow to expect more from those people who service their needs in the home – from supermarkets and other retailers to suppliers of everything from the telephone line to the rented television – they are also demanding more from those who service their needs while in the office. They are less loyal than they used to be and more willing to shop around. They are also more vociferous than they ever were before, and will complain loudly and clearly if things are not right or not put right as swiftly as they can be.

Added to that, service has become a part of what a company uses to differentiate itself from the crowd. In a highly competitive and rapidly changing marketplace, service can make or break a customer-client relationship. The reputations of good service providers need to be defended and promoted; the reputations of those who seek to join them need to be enhanced and built.

In this environment PR can help – both in the ‘traditional’ manner through proactive media work and the protection of an organization when under attack, and by developing communications links with key target groups, and working to develop new approaches to handling a company’s key clients and influencers.

Here are some points to remember.

• Creative ideas are exciting and can win awards, but simple ideas can yield rewards when well planned and skillfully executed.

• Use every communications device at your disposal to put across your message.

• Borrow the best ideas, even those from other communications disciplines, and learn from the most successful campaigns.

• Don’t be afraid to join forces with other organizations where there are mutual benefits.

• Don’t just track media coverage, establish measurement techniques that find out what customers really think – talk to them. Having gauged their perceptions, set about changing them if they are wrong.

• Keep on top of the issues and developments that surround your organization. It will help you to compete and innovate.

(Anne Gregory. Public Relations in Practice. – Kogan Page, 2001. – P. 109-122)