I put this section last because it should come last. Too many companies think press relations come first. They want to make a splash in the press even before they position their products. They think that a good article in Business Week or Fortune or The Wall Street Journal can create their markets and solve their problems. They believe a strong media campaign can make up for deficiencies in product quality, customer relations, and other basic marketing skills.
These ideas are totally backward. Press relations cannot change reality. Press relations do not create what you are; they reflect what you are. Press relations cannot take the place of a broad-based marketing strategy. Companies must first position themselves and establish themselves in the marketplace. Then, and only then, should they worry about getting press coverage.
Now that I have deflated the importance of press relations, I should emphasize the flip side: When handled properly, press relations can be a valuable part of a company’s marketing strategy. Indeed, a company is unlikely to succeed without good press relations. A company can lose in the press and still win in the market in the short term, but that can’t happen in the long term.
Press relations do not have to be all “fluff.” They are serious business. Once a product is positioned, press coverage can help reinforce and broaden the credibility that the product and company have already gained. The press can ease customer fears and make customers feel more secure about new technologies. In new and fast-growing industries, journalists can play the role of evangelists. They can preach the new technology.
Advertising can perform many of the same functions. But press relations is usually more effective and credible. Articles in the media are perceived as more objective than advertisements. If a company can win favorable press coverage, its message is more likely to be absorbed and believed.
Press relations serve a second purpose: They can provide a company with valuable feedback. Communications is a two-way street. Companies can learn a great deal from journalists. Like analysts and other industry observers, journalists serve as a microcosm of the world at large. By talking to the right journalists, a company can learn much about how the world views its products and the company itself. This type of feedback can be invaluable as a company attempts to fine-tune its public image.
If a company has monitored the environment and thought about positioning, it should have no difficulty figuring out what message to deliver to the press. The message should evolve naturally from the positioning process. But it is not always easy to deliver that message in an effective way. Communication seems so simple. Yet, so few companies do it well.
