Thinking of engaging a PR firm for your business? Before you get too quick into the decision making, ensure these 5 checklist boxes have been ticked.

• Before you Engage a PR Agency: Decide on your PR Goals Before You Do Anything Else

As with all PR and marketing programs, defining goals before getting too far into making decision about retaining an agency, is the first duty call. In corporate communications, strategy is the first step to success that leads to tactical execution.

And good strategy always start with goals.

As you look to engage a PR agency, decide on what your organization is trying to achieve with the engagement. A few great insights are: brand awareness, thought leadership, attention for a specific service or program, etc.

• Before you Engage a PR Agency: Decide on What Size PR Agency is Right for You

PR agencies come in all different shapes and sizes, and the agency that is right for you, might not be the one you’d predict. There are many reasons to go with large PR agencies (global reach, massive relationship networks) and just as many reasons to choose a boutique PR agency (smaller, more closely knit teams, local expertise, niche industries, etc.).

One thing to keep in mind is how much your budget will mean to the agency you decide to engage. Say for example, you are looking to engage a PR agency in Lagos Nigeria; a N700,000/month retainer could be one of the largest accounts if you hire a boutique PR agency, but a very small account if you are to engage a large PR agency.

Bear in mind, the bigger clients usually get the A-team. If your budget is modest, you might want to consider a boutique PR agency for your engagement.

• Before you Engage a PR Agency: Ensure They Have Obvious Expertise and Trending Knowledge in Corporate Relations

The rules of the marketing and PR game change so quickly, especially in the digital age. You know you’ve got to keep up or be out of the race, but does your PR agency know this?

A great client-agency relationship is built on expertise about current trends, customized to suit your specific business needs. Ask questions that reveal how familiar your prospective PR agency is, with corporate communications strategy, ask if your prospective PR agency can advise on social media engagement.

Don’t feel awkward about requesting proof. You can never go wrong asking relevant questions before engaging your PR agency.

• Before you Engage a PR Agency: Decide on Whether You’d Have an RFP Process

You could always just engage a PR agency that you already know or have heard good things about. However, if you have never hired the services of a PR agency, it is strongly encouraged that you go through the formal request for proposal (RFP) process.

And more importantly, whether you are settling to engage a boutique or large PR agency, ensure to hire a PR pro with specific RFP experience to help lead the process if it’s your first time.

In the end, the idea is to be able to carefully weigh the prospective PR agency’s capabilities against your company’s goal and expectations.

• When you Eventually Hire a PR Agency: Be Sure to Understand Your Contract

So you have checked all 4 boxes and decided on the PR agency that is best for your company’s engagement? Great. Now, this is the part where you commit to signing contract and/or statement of work (SOW).

Make sure to review the contract carefully, with a lawyer if possible, and understand all key terms (cost/budget, duration, team, hours/days you will receive based on budget, how they will report progress results, etc.).

If anything seems off in the contract, red-line it and negotiate. Great PR agencies will agreeably appreciate that your asks are reasonable.

While the process of engaging a PR agency may seem daunting, these 5 checklist boxes will make the process of hiring one, less stressful, enable you to take calculated risks, and help you make informed and wise PR decisions.

Rethink your engagement: Hire a PR pro as fast as yesterday!

Talk to Phyllion: corporate relations is at the very core of our business.

So, let’s be serious. You shouldn’t dress this way on your first date-night with your PR firm – it’s strictly business.

And really, to be honest, you rarely have date-nights with your PR firm. In fact, you won’t – at least not on your first meeting; well except it’s 10:00 in the morning with you, but it’s night in some other countries of the world.

“Okay, got it. Remind me again, what am I doing on this column?”

If you’ve made it this far into the article, very nice to meet you, we’re on the same page. You’ve probably already realized the value of public relations for your business. But if not, and as a refresher, think of PR as Top of Funnel customer touch point. As marketers know, we must touch our prospective customers a few times before they buy, and there are different ways to do that, PR being one of the most powerful.

So, how do you handle your first, most important meeting with your prospective PR firm? Usually, the pitch presentation where you’d get to know if the PR firm is a good fit for your company’s engagement.

The choice of the PR firm for your company’s engagement is a very sensitive one. Shared below are 7 non-negotiable questions you must ask and consider, on your first pitch meeting with your prospective PR firm.

Here is how to “dress” for that date:

• Be Sure You’re Ready for a Relationship – in the First Place

So why do you need to engage a PR firm at this time? What is your business trying to achieve? What company goals do you have, that you need corporate communications expertise for?

Defining goals before heading on into a relationship with a PR firm, is the first point of call. Great PR agencies are expertise in providing your organization thought leadership, brand awareness, media engagement, corporate event coordination, up-to-date industry news, among a host of other services.

If any of these is your organizational goal at this time in business, then you’re on the right track to dressing up for your first date with a PR firm.

• Make Specific Request Regarding their Pitch Presentation

Your first date with your prospective PR firm will be a formal presentation where the prospective agency pitch to you; in effort to win your business. “Dress” for that meeting by making two very specific asks, earlier on:

1 – Ask that the PR firm only send people who will be on your account from day one, to the meeting. This way, you won’t get caught up in a situation where you are pitched by the A-team, but assigned to the D-team. Bait and switch situations can hurt your business, and should be avoided at all cost.

2 – Ask for an RFP process, especially if it’s your first time engaging the services of a PR firm. The RFP will usually guide you in selecting a qualified vendor that will plan, coordinate and administer public relations services for your organization.

• Don’t Ignore the Importance of Chemistry

On your first date, it is important that you like the team you’re hiring. Of course it is important that they are qualified and will do a great job, but it is equally important that you like the PR firm, and want to work with them.

It’s really no different from hiring people to work within your own internal team, you want to be excited to work with them every day!

• Make Sure they Have the Right Background

On your first date, before committing, interview the PR firm and find out what kind of companies they typically support. The right field is always a deal.

The mark of a great client-agency relationship circles back to synergy. If the client is able to lean on the agency’s professional experience and collaborative skills, then it’s a win-win relationship.

• Make Sure they Have at least One Idea you’re Excited About!

In pitch meetings, great PR firms that have done their homework and prepared well for their first date with you; will present a few different PR campaign ideas based on your RFP requirements.

At least one or two of the ideas presented should be creative, out-of-the-box, and cool enough to get you excited!

• Be Sure that Who you’ve Got, Has Got you Too

How well does this PR firm know your company or type of business? Great PR agencies have unique approaches that cut through commonplace beliefs and get to the heart of the matter.

Can your prospective firm demonstrate that they’ve spent a lot of time to discover what your customers are truly looking for? Be sure the PR agency you engage has taken the time to get to know your business and industry.

• Make Sure you Won’t be Breaking the Bank

You want the best, but your budget is important too. You’ll need to make sure to clearly articulate your top-line budget, including base retainer fees, marketing expenses and incidentals.

Make sure you both have a clear path that requires written approval for any month’s expense that exceeds your budget.

You have every right to expect all of the above in your relationship with a PR agency. If the agency doesn’t deliver on even one of these items, it is fair enough to move on if you have to.

A great PR agency will hit them effortlessly – or at least have a good explanation if it can’t.

These are critical questions to ask before you sign on the dotted line. Your relationship – and your company’s success – depends on it.

Are you looking to engage a PR firm like yesterday?

For us at Phyllion: corporate relations is at the very core of our business.

That’s all we do. And we’re great at it.