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Why Small Businesses Should Turn to Public Relations During a Down Economy

Written by: Dave Brimm

Article Overview: The common consensus is that during a down economy, failing to market your small business gives your competitors an advantage. Failing to keep your company’s name and its products and services in front of current and prospective customers means that when the economy recovers, it will take you that much longer to re-establish your market presence. Public relations, will allow you to launch your awareness campaign without spending money on production and media buys. Public relations allows small business the time and space to tell your story

Why Small Businesses Should Turn to Public Relations During a Down Economy

The common consensus is that during a down economy, failing to market your small business gives your competitors an advantage. Failing to keep your company’s name and its products and services in front of current and prospective customers means that when the economy recovers, it will take you that much longer to re-establish your market presence.

Advertising can be cost prohibitive, and it often means limiting the media reach you can afford based on your budget limitations. And since advertising relies on repeat exposure, you must maintain the program to recover your investment.

Public relations, on the other hand, can cost-effectively reach your customer base. Hiring a small PR firm, or an experienced PR practitioner will allow you to launch your awareness campaign without spending money on production and media buys.

Public relations allows small business the time and space to tell your story. If you offer a unique service or product, it is hard to communicate its attributes in an ad. Instead, a press release picked up by an industry trade magazine will reach your customers. More importantly, the third-party endorsement bestowed upon a story written about you or your representative conveys a degree of expertise and industry knowledge that will resonate with your audience.

If you want to reach a local audience, community newspapers offer ample opportunities to submit press releases. In addition to the printed version, most every community paper has an on-line version that is open to more, and longer stories. In addition, the audience is larger than that receiving the paper at home.

This is a time to reinforce your sound community commitment and your products and services. People like to do business with people they think they know. Placing stories in papers or trade magazines through public relations allows you to stay connected with your audience. And that’s worth every cent!

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