By Kristy Hesom
“I want!” doesn’t always get, and this is especially true in the PR sphere. Clients often have unrealistic or misinformed expectations, which can lead to disappointment.
Misconceptions about PR can lead to clients having unachievable goals, and leave PR professionals with incurable headaches. In order to manage these expectations, PR agencies have to have open and honest communication with their clients, and sometimes need to educate them too.
Expectation VS reality
“The client may not have worked with PR or a PR agency before, so they may not understand the process,” says Kerbel. It is, therefore, important to explain how PR works, and what clients can expect.
Bianca Quinn-Diavastos, head of business solutions and strategy at
25AM, mirrors this sentiment, saying that clients have unreasonable expectations based on their lack of insight: “We manage their expectations by discussing the processes we follow and the time it takes to complete the work and, where possible, offer ways that we can shorten the process.”
Honesty is the best policy
When it comes to managing client expectations, professionals agree that honest and open communication is essential.
“If you cannot meet a promise to a client or a client’s expectation, let them know immediately,” says Quinn-Diavastos.
Kerbel agrees, pointing out that if a client has an idea in their head that the PR company doesn’t think is in their best interest, it is essential to let them know. It is, however, important to then provide an alternative solution instead.
Gallarelli also agrees, saying that honesty and openness are key to managing expectations, and that agencies must not over-promise.
Communication is key
As with any relationship, communication is one of the fundamentals of managing client expectations. “We can’t work in a silo, it’s a partnership. The more information and cooperation that we have from the client, the easier it is to plan, implement and achieve the desired result,” says Kerbel.
Communication cannot be once off, it needs to be open and regular, says Quinn-Diavastos, and Kerbel agrees.
“This communication cannot just take place at the beginning of an event or a campaign. It’s a relationship – it needs to happen on a day-to-day basis,” Kerbel reiterates.
Show me the money, honey
One of the biggest challenges that PR professionals face when it comes to managing client expectations is budget, especially in a challenging economy like ours.
“Clients can want miracles on little investment,” says Gallarelli.
Quinn-Diavastos agrees, saying that agencies have to ensure that they have the resources needed to deliver what they have promised the client. These resources can be money, time and manpower.
Once again, the importance of honesty plays a role here; communicate budget expectations with your client, and be honest about where and how you will be spending their money.
An open recovery
Unfortunately, sometimes it can happen that a client’s expectations are not met.
Gallarelli says that the only way to recover from this is “with complete honesty, good analysis and learning lessons”. He also notes that once the shortfall has been confronted, that the agency must demonstrate ways to deliver in the future.
Quinn-Diavastos couldn’t agree more: “Let them know as soon as possible that you will not be able to provide what they expected and being honest about the reasons that you cannot deliver. It’s also important to propose a plan or solution that can help the client achieve to their goals.”
What are your thoughts on this? How else should client’s expectations be managed? Tell us below.