If you are a business owner, then sooner or later the question arises before you, how to tell people about your service or product? Perhaps you produce the best products in the city or even in the world, but no one knows and will not know about it. After all, there are a lot of similar products on the market that are already known to the buyer. This is why every business needs advertising and public relations. As a rule, the enterprise organizes a department with the same name, which is engaged in promoting your brand to the masses. What is the benefit for the company in such a division, how much it will cost the company and whether advertising is effective in the modern world, we will understand in this article.
What is the "public" and why get involved with it?
Any company does not work in a vacuum, but in the information space. This space includes not only potential buyers, but also your competitors, the media, people who will not be your customers, but who can convey both positive and negative information about you. Organizationpublic relations is about getting information flowing from you to all these sources. If you do not see the need for such connections, because you work successfully and have a constant circle of clients, then you are a monopolist in the market. All other businesses need to be loud about themselves and their product.
Company image
Any enterprise has its own image from the moment it starts its work on the market. At first it is neutral, you and your products have not yet been tested. However, later, any of your actions can make the image either positive or negative. The market is designed in such a way that it is many times easier to get a negative image than to win a good name. Moreover, if people talk well about you today, this does not mean that this trend will continue tomorrow, because you need to constantly work on a positive image.
But negative reviews are easy to earn, but very difficult to get rid of. Any buyer negativity is passed on to your other potential customers and leaves you without demand for a long time.
Now let's think about the product of which company will interest the buyer in the first place: the one that everyone praises, or the one about which only bad things are heard? It is to create and regularly maintain a positive image of the enterprise that a reasonable leader creates a public relations department.
The role of public relations in today's world
If you are still in doubt about the need for a functioning public relations department, then let's consider what role this structuralunit in your organization.
First of all, this is the creation of a favorable information field around your company. Experienced advertisers are able to provide the company with a positive image, constantly maintain it. Advertising and public relations are essential elements for the successful operation of a firm, along with a legal or accounting department.
Pr-public relations
Many people confuse advertising and PR activities. In fact, these are different concepts. Public Relations (public relations), and this is how the abbreviation is deciphered, includes not only advertising, but also marketing and sociological research, communications, journalism. If the purpose of advertising is to impose an opinion about a product and sell it, then PR works more globally, its goal is to form a public opinion about the company and, accordingly, about all the products of this company.
Public relations specialists work with information: analyze incoming data, study the target audience and its expectations, and provide the consumer with the necessary information about the product and product in the form of advertising.
Besides, the pr-department employees constantly receive feedback from consumers and send suggestions for product improvement to the director of the enterprise. How many employees should be involved in these functions? It depends on the vision of the leadership. At some enterprises, a department of several employees is formed, and if the company is small, thenone person can handle all the tasks.
Loy alty of the organization's employees to their own brand
We must not forget that advertising and public relations also includes the so-called "intracorporate pr". How can you convince the public that your products are great if people in your organization don't agree? This is the first step that an experienced PR employee takes. He convinces all employees of the enterprise of the importance of what they do. For this, trainings, holidays, corporate parties are used. All these events are aimed at making each member of your company feel their importance in the common cause, appreciate and love their work and the product in which they participate.
Advertising as part of public relations activities
Advertising is the promotion of a product at a coarser level, and at the same time more effective.
When your PR team is gathering information about customer expectations, it's time to let potential customers know that you're the one making the product or service they need. After all, if a “nameless” product enters the market, it is unlikely that anyone will be tempted by it. People buy what they hear. No need to think that we are talking only about advertising on television or radio, such methods of promotion are very expensive and not always effective. Promotion specialists know that the basics of advertising include word of mouth, media publications,banners and billboards, product promotion with the help of promoters, tastings and promotions.
How much is public opinion worth?
Advertising doesn't necessarily cost a business a "tidy" sum. Local publications will be happy to publish an article about your production if you invite journalists to the enterprise, give them a tour, and provide quality materials. Do not forget about the World Wide Web, today you cannot do without your own website.
It will be very useful for your company to participate in sponsorship programs, help orphanages, orphanages, support for sports events, festivals. Participation will not be free, but it will certainly be cheaper than commercials during prime hours. Residents of your city will definitely appreciate your impulse and notice your brand.
Remember that advertising media are famous for their rich arsenal, and an experienced and PR manager should understand this. If your company continues to remain unknown with a functioning public relations department, know that employees are inefficient.
What shouldn't a PR department do?
Many leaders are tempted to "load" pr-managers with all sorts of organizational work. This can be a mistake, because by fulfilling your current organizational assignments, the employee will not be able to build long-term strategies for the future. What should not be delegated to the PR department?
- Be an employee on the waiting list. If you need a secretary orcourier, then hire him. But do not shift this kind of assignments to your PR-manager, as then the work that he directly performs - advertising and public relations will suffer.
- Self-raising money for activities. Of course, employees will need funds for activities. Articles in the media, banners, promotions costs money, and you must determine in advance how much you are willing to allocate for promotional activities. However, remember that if your advertising managers will attract money, their work will be ineffective.
- To independently decide how much money is needed for work. This is the second extreme - to give the "reins" into the hands of your managers, who themselves will determine their own budget. Believe me, an experienced and creative specialist can shamelessly spend an amount equal to your annual gross income on advertising.
Pr-manager of a small company: his salary
The development of public relations, as you already understood, is the item of expenditure that should be immediately included in the budget of the enterprise. The head does not wonder how much it will cost him to maintain the accounting department, but pr still seems to many to be something superfluous, not very necessary. This is a big mistake, remember that without ads you will just stay where you are today.
How much does it cost to maintain a staff of public relations managers? It depends on the size of your business.
If you work at the city level, you won't need many employees. One or two people who know the business will be enough. Remember that an experienced PR-manager is a "man-orchestra". He himself knows what to do, where to run and with whom to negotiate. If the hired manager mindlessly sits at the computer, then such a “specialist” is not suitable for you. Within a month after you have a public relations service, even if in the person of one person, you should have your own website, information about you should appear in local newspapers, and your enterprise should be heard by citizens. How much to pay such a manager? Of course, a specialist considers himself simply invaluable, but in general, his salary should not be inferior to the salary of the leading managers of your enterprise. Remember that this is the person who represents you in the market and "makes" the face of your company.
Organization of a PR service for a large organization
If your company has branches in many cities, then you need to think about creating a small public relations department in each city. Each city has its own audience expectations and preferences.
The organization of an advertising service can be done in the form of creating a general coordinating promotional department, as well as attracting brand managers to promote your brand at the national level and enter the international arena outside the country.
