Some years back, I had a client who had a folder for me – stuffed with papers – each time we met.
Invariably, the papers were about marketing or PR campaigns done by other companies. And on every one of them were the scribbled words: “Why aren’t we doing this?"
Several times, I tried to explain that there were numerous reasons we weren’t doing “this”…among them:
- Just because that particular medium or campaign was appropriate for some other company didn’t necessarily mean it was appropriate for his company.
- Because the way you distinguish yourself – in both PR and marketing – is often not to do what everyone else is doing. And sometimes, I’ve found, it’s to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. Because if you echo the same line as everyone else, your own voice will get lost in the crowd.
- Because it’s incumbent upon PR executives to develop – and continually reinforce – your own specific message, and your own Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
- And, lastly, because I – the expert whom you hired as your PR counsel – didn’t believe those particular media or strategies were best for your company.
So I find it offensive to be asked, “Why aren’t we doing this?"
I tried explaining it to this guy on a couple of occasions. And then, rather than explain any more, I fired him. My explanation was simple: I only worked with clients who wanted original thinking, rather than just following the crowd.
That was some years back. And more recently, I fired another client who asked the same question.
I wanted to try to keep an open mind – so I started doing “this” in addition to implementing the strategies I had first proposed (and he had agreed on).
Lo and behold, after about a month, he asked why his invoices from me were so high. I explained to him that, in addition to the strategies he and I had originally agreed upon, he was always asking me to pursue “this.” And that, as a professional with years of successful public relations experience…I expected to be paid for the extra work I did.
He grumbled a sort-of acceptance. Then, a week later, he e-mailed me that, unless we could lower his costs, he might not be able to afford PR counsel anymore. So I e-mailed him back saying I wasn’t going to work with him anymore.
Simply put, the money wasn’t worth the aggravation.
My moral of the story? If you decide to do business with someone who points to other ad campaigns and says, “Why aren’t we doing this?”…go into it with eyes wide open.