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Choosing the right PR agency for your business isn’t a decision you should take lightly. Finding the best fit with an agency that understands your business can be the difference between success and failure.
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Good public relations (PR) is one of the most effective ways to increase your brand’s reputation, accelerate your marketing strategies, and better understand and serve your customers.
Bad PR, on the other hand, can quickly have the opposite effect and can do irreparable damage to your brand.
This is why choosing the right PR agency for your business isn’t a decision you should take lightly, because finding the best fit with an agency that understands your business can be the difference between success and failure.
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To help set you on the right tracking to finding the best SME PR agency for your business, here are some of the important things you should consider.
Know Your Budget
When dealing with any agency, you need to go into the discussions knowing what your budget is.
This going to make your task easier by reducing the number of agencies you can work with. Additionally, it helps agencies describe what they’re able to do for you with those resources.
Choose a PR Agency Specializing in Your Industry
There are few agencies that will turn down the opportunity to work with a new client. However, this doesn’t mean they’re all going to have the necessary expertise in your industry.
In fact, one of the things that separate an average PR company from a great one is industry contacts. If you find an agency with experience representing clients in your industry, you’re going to get a head start.
This is easy to establish. Ask what brands they’ve worked with. Then test how much they know about your industry when you first meet with them.
Look Through Their Portfolio
Great PR agencies are always keen to show off some of their best work. You can usually find an agency’s portfolio on their website. Or they should provide samples if you ask.
PR is a very visual and results-orientated line of work. Any agency that has helped a business will be able to show you the results. They will also be able to talk you through what strategies they used.
Look for Independent Reviews
Something else you should do when looking for a PR agency for your startup is look for independent reviews from previous customers.
Agencies are always keen to share reviews and testimonials from customers of their choosing. These will obviously only be their best reviews. Therefore, you should do some of your own investigating to find more reviews.
This is usually as simple as performing a Google search. Alternatively, check out some of the well-known review sites like Trustpilot or Glassdoor.
Meet with More Than One PR Agency
The good news is that there is no shortage of PR agencies to choose from. There are hundreds of top PR agencies in London alone and thousands nationwide.
So you don’t need to make a decision after meeting with one—no matter how great they sound.
When meeting with agencies, be sure to grill them hard. Also, try to ask several agencies the same questions to compare how they answer them.
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Go with Your Gut Feeling
Something to keep in mind is that by the nature of the business, PR agencies are great at building their own brand and reputation. It’s what they do for a living.
We’re not suggesting any agencies would mislead you. But be sure to read between the lines and make a decision for yourself based on the feeling you get as well as how impressive an agency’s portfolio is.
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