A PR strategy can be the key to opening the door to new business, improving engagement for your brand and, most importantly, your overall reputation.
When looking to foster mutually beneficial relationships, you need to focus your energy on building trust, respect and transparency with those entities, whether it’s a new client, your consumers, employees or a potential partnership.
These are just some factors that contribute to good business relationships. It is, however, important to remember, that neither of these will be achieved overnight, as relationships in their entirety take
time to build.
Don’t worry though, we’re here to help you speed up the process.
Here are four PR tactics you can use to form great business relationships:
1. Start an open and positive dialogue
In the world of PR, it’s key for practitioners to initiate a positive and influential dialogue with their clients. Whether they’re writing press releases or speaking at an event, this is an
essential part of any relationship and forms part of all PR pros communication strategies. That is why, when initiating a conversation in a business relationship, remember to do your research before saying “hello”.
You wouldn’t just walk up to a stranger on the street and talk about what they need, would you? Of course not!
That’s why you need to have a good opener, and this can only be done by taking a personal interest in the person that you are looking to start a business venture with.
When there is an effective, tested and positive communications strategy in place, you are less likely to experience any confusion or frustration in your daily interactions with the people you are conversing with, whether it’s internal or external stakeholders.
Those responsible for developing the business and internal and external communications strategies can use PR methods such as this to create their own strategy that is, of course, more inclined towards their own respective clients.
A positive, open dialogue will not only ensure a strong first impression with a new client but leave a long-lasting influence on how relations going forward with that particular person are navigated.
2. Always honour and respect your clients
No matter who you are or what your product / service is, the
one thing that any brand must always strive towards is to keep its clients happy.
The reason for this is most important: They are the reason that your business exists, grows and succeeds because they pay for your services. And you don’t want them to walk away.
To foster good relations, be like the PR pros and honour and respect your clients’ wishes. Sometimes, the temptation of twisting a client’s arm is there, especially if they’re willing to pay
big money, but there is simply no honour in taking advantage when it's at their expense.
A good way to start practicing these methods is to stick by any and every contract that your brand obtains. This is not to say that partial compliance will do; if you sign that contract, you agree to
every word that lies in the written agreement between you and your client. Remember, if you cannot keep your word, you definitely won’t be able to keep your client.
3. Network whenever you can
You’ve seen PR pros running around like headless chickens at every event: take the hint. Networking is
important. Connecting with people as frequently as possible will not only enhance your business relationships but it also plays a vital role in creating new ones.
That’s why, as a businessperson, it’s important that you attend events as often as you can. It’s essentially
the place to get client referrals, industry news, connections and new business opportunities. At events,
everyone is important, and therefore, dismissing someone because they’re a ‘junior’ could make you lose out on some important insight.
Additionally, that inexperienced person could be a good investment, or even a key player in your industry later on, so it’s best not to burn the bridge before you even get there. Talk to
anyone. Meet
everyone.Make it your mission to see everyone as a significant individual; learn from them, understand things from
their perspective and ask about their own business ventures as well. After you attend events and have collected and made note of all the social media handles, email addresses and business cards, make contact with those that stood out and try to keep the communication alive for as long as possible.
PR pros use this method themselves because it works. It
will open potential doors for your brand in ways that no other methods can.
4. Apply a consistent strategy throughout your communications
The best communications strategies are the ones that are consistent; face it, have you ever seen a Nando’s ad that made you go “that’s not what Nando’s would do!”. You haven’t, and it’s because their PR agency ensures that their messaging is always the same and always relevant.
The same tactic needs to apply when you’re communicating with clients and stakeholders; people interested in your business need to know where your head is at, all the time. Over time, they learn to grasp that style of communicating, which, in turn, gives room for you to analyse whether your communication has been effective or not.
When you're consistent in your communications efforts, you’re simultaneously creating accountability, meaning that people will come to rely on you. Consumers will see you as reliable and trustworthy and people
like those who they can trust.
Additionally, in having a continuous and unchanging strategy, you’ll always be aware of when or where things went south, allowing you to see where to resolve issues and ultimately fix the relationship.
Keeping good relations with industry players can make running your business a walk in the park. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Utilising events as PR opportunities can highlight your key reasons for participating in the excursion and help you to execute your goals. Learn more in our article, Three ways to use events as PR opportunities.