Smart Marketers Integrate Public Relations Into Their Business-to-Business Marketing Programs By David Brimm Writing in an issue of Ad Age, Maureen Hall makes the point that the real breakthroughs in creativity and branding are happening within the business-to-business arena. She writes, “We've found that working on the B2B side of the business offers several other advantages. We're the first to get on the inside track of essential business concerns of our clients. We're right there with them discussing how to gain broader distribution, and figure out how to develop a go-to-market strategy. Some of our best client relationships started when we helped them gain access to new channels of distribution or develop sell-in programs to launch a new product. The knowledge and insight we gained working on the B2B side of their business gave us the clear advantage when they were ready to develop the consumer campaign.”
In my experience, B-to-B marketers don’t even think about public relations until the marketing program is already formulated. By then it’s too late. That’s because public relations professionals can look at marketing programs and discern program elements that aren’t immediately apparent.
Public relations professionals can see aspects of a marketing program that lend themselves to ideas outside of the mainstream. This is important in positioning of new products or services. Public relations professionals can help create “news,” which can complement other marketing ideas. Public relations, in fact, increasingly leads the branding function.
One of the inherent drivers of brand identity occurs within the entire area of media relations. Your customers read trade magazines. They notice which companies are frequently included in the publication as sources and which company’s experts are called upon to comment on industry developments. You should become one of those sources.
Review the editorial calendars of key trade publications in your industry. There are bound to be themed issues that reflect your company’s expertise. Contact the editorial staff and let them know that your company has expertise in this area. This is often time consuming, so you may want to outsource media relations activities to an agency with expertise in B-to-B public relations.
Remember that as B-to-B marketers, you are trying to communicate to your customer base. That includes reaching out to existing customers and prospects. You need to reach them with as many voices as possible. That means in addition to advertising, direct mail, and on-line promotion, you need to include public relations.
A important aspect of public relations has to do with crisis management. If your company starts making the “wrong” kind of news, due to a crisis, having a good relationship with industry reporters can often help mitigate the coverage. Having a relationship with your company, and knowing your traditional above board way of doing business, can often result in your receiving the benefit of the doubt when something unforeseen occurs.
Think about another aspect of public relations: internal communication. Negative press can hurt company’s morale and even impact earnings and stock prices. Being proactive with a public relations program can give workers an enhanced appreciation for your company’s work and its products. Vendors and customers also like to see the companies with whom they do business get some good trade coverage.
Don’t forget about letting public relations play a role if you participating in trade shows. Considering the expense to exhibit a trade show, ship a booth, staff it with sales personnel and pick up their expenses, trade show participation offers an opportunity to make marketing dollars go further. Think about issuing news about a product or service that can be distributed to trade editors attending the show. “Work” the show floor by looking for badges on journalists, and drop off releases in the press room. Have a press release ready to give them. Keep in mind that their job is to find news on the exhibition floor. Help them out by giving them some of your news.
If you have really big news or significant product introduction, hold a press event in your booth before the show opens. It’s quiet and there is less stress on their schedule.
As Ms Hall concludes in her story: “Business-to-business work is about building a brand from the inside out. The brand message that we communicate to our clients' business constituents is often the same message that is carried through to the consumers in the marketplace. So even though we once thought that consumer advertising was sexier than B2B, we've corrected our wayward ways and sought out these opportunities.”
David Brimm is president of BrimmComm, a full-serve public relations agency based in the Chicago area. He has 25 years of experience, primarily in the business-to-business arena. He has a specialization in corporate counseling, strategic planning and media relations management. His current clients represent health care; financial services; technology; construction/building; interactive marketing. Contact him at 847-444-1198 or visit his website at www.brimmcomm.com
To learn more about this author, visit Dave Brimm's Website.
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Dave Brimm
(Visit Dave's Website)
David Brimm has 25 years of experience in
the corporate, agency and association
sectors, with a specialization in
corporate counseling, strategic planning
and crisis communication. His current
clients represent health care; financial
services; technology;
construction/building; publishing; and
law.
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