«Return to Blog List PR Reps: Your Ally in Getting the Customer’s Buy-in
For many companies, the biggest challenge in creating customer case studies and success stories is getting customers to agree to be featured.
I’ve often found the customer’s PR team is the most valuable ally in the whole process. Here’s why:
- It’s PR’s job to help secure positive coverage/exposure. When you come to your customer’s PR group with a promotional opportunity such as a case study, it’s a chance for exposure that will involve very little of the customer’s PR group’s time.
- PR can help push the story through other channels at the customer’s organization, such as legal.
- Your customer’s PR group also knows what messages the company wants to reinforce publicly, and can communicate that upfront.
- The PR team will ultimately have to review the story anyway, so why not involve them upfront?
From the start, just make sure that you communicate to the customer’s PR group that…
…a customer story is a joint promotional opportunity
…you are interested in weaving in your customer’s key messages also
…that your company will be using this throughout sales, marketing and PR, for maximum impact
Do you have any tips or success stories from working with a client’s PR team on case studies or success stories? If so, please share!
Puh, theoretically not wrong, but the reality is different. Sadly. Most PR-People are no companions, but opponents. They try to form the case study into a Marketing-Tool for their company, which does not help your client. It is hard to serve two attendants, so better keep them out and minimize their ascendancy. They are object, not subject. Better keep them out and follow the goals of them, who pays the CS.
regards from Germany
Harry
Hi Casey,
It is also good to have a point person to act as liaison between the writer and the company. Sometimes (usually?) there are glitches in the process: securing interviews, going through the feature company’s legal and PR channels, etc.
However, as Harry mentioned above, it has to be someone who is invested in the project. Otherwise, it is just one more bit of red tape to fight through — not good for anyone!
~Graham
Although the writer can guide the process, having someone from the client company on board for the “rough patches” would make the whole project go a little smoother.
~Graham
oops – that got mangled – here is how it is supposed to read (Casey, feel free to delete the previous posts…!)
Hi Casey,
It is also good to have a point person to act as liaison between the writer and the company. Sometimes (usually?) there are glitches in the process: securing interviews, going through the feature company’s legal and PR channels, etc.
Although the writer can guide the process, having someone from the client company on board for the “rough patches” would make the whole project go a little smoother.
However, as Harry mentioned above, it has to be someone who is invested in the project. Otherwise, it is just one more bit of red tape to fight through — not good for anyone!
~Graham
Harry and Graham,
Thanks for your insightful comments. Literally, the approach may be different on a “case-by-case” basis.
Right, a PR rep can be the liaison to ease the case through the rough spots. At times, the story won’t get through otherwise.
But as Harry said, that PR involvement can transform the story too much to be any good for the initiating company.
In the post, I’m talking mostly about really big-name companies where you would not be able to write the case AT ALL without engaging the featured client’s PR group and trying to tell a story that will benefit both sides. My clients often find this is the best solution for getting a story versus no story on those companies with marquee names.
Most understand the trade-off and are willing to give the featured customer more editorial license in exchange for the chance to publically show they work together.
Thanks!
Casey