You’ve gone through the request for proposal (RFP) process and landed the new client. Now what? Well, now it’s time to really put in the work if you’re a top public relations professional. You might have wowed them with your pitch meeting skills and ideas, but the next phase in the client/PR professional journey is the most difficult but rewarding one yet – building trust.  

Just because the client signed on the dotted line does not mean they will be around forever. As with every meaningful relationship, you will need to work at it constantly. This means every touch point, from emails to PR strategies, and everything else in between, will need to showcase your PR expertise in such a way that allows the client to feel at ease with your direction.

Trust, in the simplest form, means the firm belief in the reliability of someone or something. When it comes to trust in the PR world, it means having clients believe in your PR campaigns and your ability to execute on them. If you’re still reading this post, you might be thinking, well, I already won the business, so what more do I need to do? That’s the exact mentality you want to avoid, not just in PR, but in life as well. If you perceive it as a fun challenge, fostering trust can be the building block to having a long and fruitful relationship with a client.

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I’ve outlined only a few ideas you’ll want to consider right out of the gate, but when it comes to thinking about ways to build trust, the sky’s the limit!

Be Transparent

You were transparent with the goals and deliverables during the pitching process. Now, it’s time to take all of those ideas and begin to bring them to life. Before you do, and this step sometimes overlooked, make sure your strategy is in place.

To start, conduct a deep-dive kickoff session to ensure both the client and the internal PR teams are working in lock-step. Then, work on a sound PR plan that will allow the client to view those ideas with clear and actionable steps attached to them. Include a timeline for achieving those set goals as well as how you plan to track progress along the way.

Always Overcommunicate

The plan is in place, your goals are set, and the client is onboard. It’s time to rock and roll. As you work through the execution phase of your mutually agreed upon plan, make sure to communicate and, in all honesty, overcommunicate.

When it comes to new client relationships, provide as many updates and as much relevant feedback as possible. You might have met your fair share of clients that don’t want to be bothered or could care less about how the sausage is made. To them I say I hear you, but also, you’re missing the best part of this two-way street.

The most rewarding client/PR professional relationships are ones that get fired up and excited on both sides. By having an open and communicative relationship, you’ll open the door to better collaboration opportunities and new, fresh ideas.

Show Value

You are now a couple of months into your newfound relationship. You have a clear plan and have been communicating the wins and navigating the pivots along the way. Now more than ever, you need to look at each form of communication as an opportunity to show added value.

Is there a breaking news story that could be transformed into a timely thought leadership opportunity? Are there internal company shifts that your client needs help communicating? While it is essential to execute on the deliverables from the PR plan, your work should not stop there. You should strive to see opportunities for your clients and communicate them both timely and effectively. In time, your clients will trust that you have their interests at the forefront of your daily agenda.

The post How to Win a Public Relations Client’s Trust and Keep It appeared first on N6 Powered by KRMA | Fully Integrated Digital Marketing.

Although Customer Service Week may have come and gone, it’s never too late to find ways to celebrate customer service. No matter what industry you’re in, taking a year-round approach to improving how you engage with your customer is key to maintaining solid relationships and produce bottom-line outcomes.

As public relations professionals, it might seem standard to believe that securing media placements and nurturing media relationships are the only ways in which to create satisfied clients. While both are important, there are a number of other ways to keep customers engaged and happy during the course of any PR program.

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From getting off on the right foot to maintaining an agile communications strategy, it is important to create positive and transparent experiences when working with clients.  

Start Strong

During the initial engagement phase with a client, it is important to make a good first impression, and that should happen quickly. For starters, make sure the initial kickoff meeting is as efficient and productive as possible. To do this, go into the first meeting having gathered as much background on the client as is available.

Additionally, do some digging on their competitive set. It’s always great to provide a new client with potential recommendations based on any research conducted pre-meeting, to ensure you are maximizing the time you both have together. Post-kickoff, use the new insights you learned to further immerse yourself in the client’s business and, in-turn, create a strong and well-rounded strategy.

Be Transparent

Once you’ve gone through the immersion period with a client, and you’ve begun the outreach process, make sure to share status updates on progress. While it’s great to have opportunities lined up right out of the gate, some reporters might need a variety of story angles floated their way before something actually sticks, especially when working with a client that is newer to the media scene.

This means you will need time to pivot from angle to angle – a luxury that can sometimes be tough to come by when working in a fast-paced industry. In this case, sharing regular updates on an account, and the process involved, will help provide transparency for the client.

Maintain an Agile Strategy

As you move through the relationship with a client, observe what your clients like about your process, and what they don’t, and adapt.

Does the client understand your progress updates and feel things are moving in the right direction? If not, what are the ways in which you can change your communications methods to suit your client’s preferences? Additionally, are you properly articulating the time it takes to execute a strong PR strategy? Ensuring strong and transparent communications with a client, especially when a PR program is first getting off the ground, will help not only the client but also the team to land on a working style that aligns for both.

Ultimately, celebrating customers should be viewed as an ongoing exercise as delivering meaningful client service is multifaceted. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and it’s important to find the method that works best for you and the client. Then, keep improving upon the methodology. Avoid complacency. A true partnership is when a client can envision the PR team as an extension of their own. While this comes with time, there are different things you can do to get the customer appreciation process going. This process should become easier as you continue to provide regular updates and transparency to the PR program.

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