Does your company need a kick in the pants?

Use PR to change your business for the better

Every business, big or small, has room for improvement. After all, does anyone ever really have too many customers or too much profit?

Of course, it can be difficult to know what to change or where to begin. Here are some ways you can change the way you do business forever and how PR tools and tactics can help:

1. Set an attainable goal.

For example, maybe you want to increase your market share by 20 percent or double your number of locations within five years. For any large campaign, it’s helpful to get buy-in and advice from employees and other key stakeholders.

PR can be beneficial by helping to set the stage for your initiative. We can help increase your visibility and reputation with carefully crafted messages and positive media placements. This will open doors and make it easier to achieve your goals.

2. Look for ways to do things differently.

If your business hasn’t experienced any significant changes in the past 10 years, you’re not growing. Even worse: Your competition is probably passing you by. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, becoming so accustomed to doing things a certain way that you can’t see other possibilities.

PR tactics can help you break free from your stagnant state. We can create social media campaigns for consumer engagement and utilize cutting-edge technology to better promote your products or services to your target audiences. This will open dialogue and provide a path for customers to come to you with ideas. Knowing what your customers need and how your company can be the solution is the first step toward adding value and growing your business.

3. Ask the right questions.

Do you know when and how consumers find your company as they travel through the buyer’s journey? Ask. What’s it like to work in customer service at your company? Ask.

Actually, you should never stop asking questions. This is the only way you’ll learn whether people are receiving your core messages as you intended and how they perceive your brand. Without this knowledge, you could be blindsided by a crisis or never know (until it’s too late) that something is damaging your reputation. Let PR take the lead by developing methods for two-way communication and relationship-building with both internal and external constituents.

4. Put proper measurement procedures in place.

Trying to change is worthless without measuring which changes are working and which aren’t. Some things you will only be able to accomplish through trial and error. Additionally, you have to determine a budget and learn to manage expectations. For instance, if your company CEO gives a speech to an industry group, CNN will probably not cover it. However, you might attract the interest of local news organizations and industry publications.

With help from PR, you can measure the right aspects of your initiatives and see how they fit in with your overall strategic plan. You can also quickly adjust when something isn’t working or doesn’t advance your goals.

5. Hire the right PR firm.

Although major change can be hard to manage, it doesn’t have to be boring or terrifying. For example, instead of issuing press release after press release, you can get creative with a video or augmented reality campaign to capture attention.

At Axia, we have the tools to help you grow your business and make changes that can increase your profitability. We use Axia PR PRoof, our seven-step strategic planning, measurement and reporting process, to measure the results that matter most. Register for our 60-Second Impact or contact us today to start your company’s next bold adventure.

Lisa Goldsberry is a writer for Axia Public Relations with more than 15 years of public relations experience. She specializes in business, higher education and technology PR. Connect with Axia Public Relations on Twitter @axiapr.