Worry Makes People Buy...

Sometimes I lay in bed at night worrying about what people are laying in bed and worrying about!

If you want to sell a service or product to anyone then one of the best things to be is a solution provider – and to do that you have to know what their problem is.

Public relations may be all about education but most people do not want to be educated or sold to…but they do want solutions to their problems so they can sleep easily in their bed.

So, before deciding on what stories to get out to the media it is a good idea to picture the typical client and speculate on just what might be their biggest fear or their nightmare scenario. If you can then show that you have the solution for them they are likely to want to listen to you…and maybe even buy something!

For some of Empica’s clients this is an obvious tactic. Acorn health and Safety, for instance, provide training courses that help people prevent accidents and injuries in the workplace.

But for others it is less obvious that the “fear factor” is there. PKF accountants may appear to be a service provider – but really they are problem solvers and help people when they are worried about getting that return in on time, concerned that the business deal they are thinking about doesn’t add up or worrying about future growth.

A good tip then for any business person is to address the concerns and problems of their potential customers.

Spreading The Word

During this winter’s snow days a number of large round snowballs appeared alongside the roads near the place I live and that rare practical example of the “snowball effect” could be seen for real!

The theory is that getting publicity is very like building one of those giant snowballs. Someone has to start the thing off but once it starts rolling it starts to gather pace and snow and gets bigger and bigger.

Having a rare chance to try out the snowball effect for real it seems it doesn’t happen exactly like that. The snowball might turn over a few times but you have to keep giving it a shove to keep it growing and progressing – and do you know that is exactly the same as publicity.

Publicity for our clients works best when we start it off in a particular direction then keep giving it a little shove to make sure it works and keeps rolling along.

The most recent example for us has been the Cadbury House Alien campaign. Aimed at creating a bit of local publicity for the gym in the early weeks of the year the story gathered momentum and with some judicious shoves by us ended up literally rolling round the world with enquiries coming in from Australia and coverage in the USA.

Our PR works best when we keep pushing it and pushing it so that it gathers its own momentum – rather than firing one shot and hoping it hits home.

If all this talk of snow makes you feel a bit chilly then you can also think of it as spreading like a fire. We light the matches and we keep fanning the flames so that it continues to get bigger.

Riding The Tiger

For most people just trying to grab the media’s attention and gain some coverage is the number one goal of their media relations effort.

But for those who have already grabbed the spotlight the skill is to pick and choose the opportunities offered by a hungry media to ensure that only those that have some advantage and progress the cause are taken up.

When Empica helped launch the national charity Afghan Heroes in September we knew it would gain major national attention. After all a charity inspired by mothers who had lost their sons in the conflict could hardly be more topical or have more human interest.

We also warned all involved that we would have to ride the tiger of the media over the next few months.

A whirlwind of activity has followed with the issues surrounding Afghanistan constantly in the media. Of course many television programmes, radio stations and magazines have wanted comment from someone affected by events in Afghanistan creating lots of opportunities for mums of soldiers who have been injured or killed.

But they are not all good opportunities for the charity and the Empica role has been to help select the ones that would help take the charity forward and not just be a wallow in someone’s grief or produce good television and radio.

Good media relations is always about selecting the opportunities, even when you are not so much at the centre of the news agenda. A well chosen feature opportunity or the right story in the right place at the right time is always better than spreading your message far and wide.

It is flattering to have television programmes and producers knocking on your door for comment but dealing professionally with the media when you have something to promote is the key to success – and that means being selective.

We asked 1,000 people…

You hear it every day – especially on commercial radio; those magic words “in a survey of 1,000 people”.

The subjects vary from whether women prefer chocolate to shoes; what colours people like to wear or what are the most exciting features of a mobile phone.

The PR Survey – far different to the scientifically researched survey carried out by major research organisations – has been a staple diet of the media for many years and it is invariably public relations specialists who provide these items.

But the appetite for them never lessens within the media for one very good reason – people love to hear them and they are exactly the stories that they go home and chat to their family and friends about in the evening.

For every person who might read or hear about such a survey directly there are another eight who hear about it from their friend or even from strangers they encounter. We just can’t resist passing lifestyle trivia facts on to others!

Back in the heady days of the 1980s I worked in an Absolutely Fabulous style agency where a survey could be conducted by just asking around the office; ringing a few mates and getting the cleaner to chime in with a view.

The media got wise to such antics and now insist that the survey has to ask 1,000 people – even if it isn’t particularly scientifically carried out. So for some time, when required, Empica has sent people out with clipboards – and yes roped in relatives and the cleaner – until the magic number is reached. It takes time and effort to get 1,000 I can tell you having found 1,000 “Yummy Mummies” and 1,000 people who have visited a chiropractor!

Thankfully we now have those wonderful social networking sites and we are seeking 1,000 people who live in the South West of England and have an opinion on something to join our regional “Opinion 1,000 Club” on Facebook. The club, when it reaches 1,000, will mean we have on tap people ready and willing to provide answers to those important lifestyle questions for our clients – we even plan to bribe them with prizes.

Opinions are sometimes vital, sometimes fun and sometimes purely so that the public can say “fancy that”…but hopefully they will always be a good source of interesting material for the media.

Opinion Club 1000 (South West UK) on Facebook

The Wobbly Table Of Good PR

Italian and Greek restaurants are renowned not only for their excellent food but for the attentiveness of staff and the warmth of welcome.

One of the ways they have built up the great customer service reputation is through the “wobbly table” stunt, which gives customers a feeling that they are being cared for and looked after from the moment they walk through the door.

Too many people think that good PR is about doing everything perfectly and promising people the best in the world. In fact good PR is about under promising but over-delivering and that is where the “wobbly table” comes in. Has it happened to you?

You walk into a restaurant (almost always Italian or Greek) and a smiling person greets you and escorts you towards a table. Just as your party are about to sit down the greeter moves the table and finds it wobbles.

With a great deal of fuss and palaver the greeter makes a huge point of finding a beer mat or piece of cardboard and folding it. The greeter crawls on the floor and shoves the card under one of the table legs and won’t let you sit down until – with profuse apologies – the table is as solid as a rock.

Your party sit down and are handed menus and already you are impressed. This is a restaurant that really cares about your comfort during your stay – you study the menu while already convinced it will be a meal to remember.

After your meal you leave a generous tip and the greeter kicks the piece of cardboard out in preparation for the next party to arrive – so that the over-servicing pantomime can take place again.

Businesses should all look for ways that they can create the “wobbly table” effect for customers. Always be willing to do that little extra that people didn’t expect when they bought the product or service.

A small “free” added extra can go a long way towards customers coming back again and – more importantly – it gives them something to say about you when they talk about you to others – creating the most vital of all public relations phenomena: word of mouth recommendation

The Media Spotlight Can Hit At Any Time

There may seem little connection between Britain’s Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle booking into a rehab centre and relatives of those missing on Flight AF 447 waiting for news.

Both stories shared the front pages this week and were reported with equal gusto. Look at the photographs of relatives as they arrived in Rio and in Paris to find out about their loved ones. They were instantly surrounded by television cameras, microphones and photographers. Journalists asking them how they feel and what they have got so say.

None of us know when we might suddenly be the subject of a story and how you cope with such intense media pressure when your emotions are so raw is a trick few of us rehearse.

Of course the relatives of Flight AF 447 neither sought media attention or wanted media attention. But they are at the centre of a major event and each story they have to tell will be a harrowing human interest tale that the media will lap up.

Susan Boyle on the other hand sought out fame by entering the Britain’s Got Talent competition. However, I doubt in her wildest dreams she expected to gain the worldwide media attention that she sparked. The result, for someone who has lived a quiet life in Scotland, is a shock to the system that requires specialist help in a clinic.

Businesses and those in the public eye should prepare for the days when suddenly the media focus is on them. Preparation will at least mean they have thought through the likely moves by the media and that preparation needs to include some mental strength to realise what the media requires and why they are suddenly interested in you.

In some ways the media behave like an out of control class of children when there is a big story to chase. Knowing how to calm them down and get them into an orderly position to impart information to them is the key to good media relations at such times.

Of course that is not a role for the relatives of Flight AF 447 but those around them need to provide them with that support in handling the media as well as the counselling and medical help they need to cope with their loss.

For Susan Boyle it is essential that those who are getting rich as a result of her fame put some of that money into paying media advisers to help her through the transformation from an unknown to an international famous face.

Face To Face Is Better

We often hear that the public relations business is all about communication. In fact at its best it is all about changing people’s opinions and perceptions through that communication.

We spend a lot of time shaping messages. Then we find an appropriate media through which to send that message. Traditionally we think of newspapers, radio and television doing that job – these days it is websites, blogs, Twitter and the limitless resources of the internet.

But the most powerful way to change opinion is through the most basic form of communication – face to face meetings and chats.

We saw a great example of that this month when Prince William popped round to personally apologise to 109-year-old Catherine Masters after The Queen sent her the same birthday card for the fifth year in a row.

The pensioner had written to the Queen to complain that the monarch was wearing an identical yellow dress on the front of each card. William turned up personally to have a chat and, hey presto…one dissatisfied customer is now very happy indeed.

Now I am not suggesting that businesses send the MD (or the MD’s grand-child!) round to see every dis-satisfied customer – but there is a big lesson for all of us here.

Too often businesses hide behind e-mail and letters when a telephone chat or a face-to-face meeting will pay dividends. At Empica we have been involved in helping one major corporate prepare for public consultation meetings over a major planning application this month.

The people who will have to face the public at the exhibition are understandably nervous but a run through of the major issues that are likely to be raised and a rehearsal of the company line has boosted their confidence.

Simply being there to answer face to face and showing that you are a human being too is a powerful way to get your message across to potential critics.

The people who attend the consultation will feel much more valued and will also feel they have contributed to the plans – and not just been communicated with! By bringing about as many opportunities to meet your customers face to face you will increase your business reputation – and ultimately your income!