My guess is, not many- especially since you are investing a lot in your marketing communications initiatives in an effort to gain or maintain visibility, build your brand, increase sales and ultimately get a return on your investment as well as the best service your money can buy. Budgets are tight these days and so it’s important that, when it comes to your PR initiatives, you get your money’s worth.
On average, companies spend $10,000 - $15,000 a month on basic public relations initiatives. But times are tough and companies still need to get the word out about their company, products and services without spending large sums of money on costly agencies, where despite the fact that the company may be paying a significant amount of its precious marketing budget, they are treated like “the small fish in a big pond”.
More often than not, you are competing with bigger budget corporations for the attention of your own PR representatives. An agency’s “you get what you pay for” mentality means you’re not getting the results you need so you can, in essence, grow together and develop a long-standing partnership. Big agencies typically assign junior account executives with minimal experience to allow higher paying clients to have the attention of the senior level executives.
Bottom line: you’re paying a lot of money to build brand awareness, enhance your company’s reputation, establish yourself as an expert and a “player’ so you can ultimately become profitable and the market leader. Hiring an expensive PR agency isn’t always the best solution.
Organizations should look to smaller, boutique firms that require lower retainers and operate efficiently, yet offer senior-level expertise and a personal touch so you aren’t spending a considerable amount of your budget just to be ignored and get little or no results.
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