What’s the Return on You? For professional service providers, it’s imperative to speak the language of numbers to the accountants and business managers that run corporations. Many CFOs question the value of public relations, the power of a brand name, or the role of reputation management. They want to know one thing: Return on Investment.
Wired for hard costs—building and energy bills, employee health insurance, computer fees—investments in soft skills and sustaining customer relationships are difficult for them to quantify. It’s even more challenging when we add social media into the service mix. Tweeting and blogging as marketing? That’s why in every client pitch, we prepare for the CFOs in the room. As we passionately show our creative skills and share our success stories, we are careful to include real costs and deliverables.
As a business owner and the payer of our firm’s fixed costs, I understand that language. Our team knows that “Every day we wake up unemployed.” Giving 110% to every project and every client reminds us that in addition to a client expecting significant Return on Investment, they deserve significant R.O.Y.—Return on You.
Just what do we sell and what do we freely give?
Here are seven services that have no price tag, but help create long-term client relationships and significant R.O.Y.
1. Loyalty and protection.
In the 1954 TV series Lassie, a collie dog plays with and guards young Timmy night and day. His loyalty is palpable. Lassie barks when he senses impending trouble, protects Timmy from harm, and intuitively runs for help when needed. A loyal PR firm protects its clients’ trade secrets and seeks their best interests in every interaction.
2. On call.
We don’t shut off our conversations or our ears at 5 p.m. At the core of our client relationships, we truly believe in the work they do and in their business principles. At the PTO, in houses of worship, at the shopping center, we show our support for the good people we represent. We source them, refer them, and believe in them. Word-of-mouth is still the most successful marketing on the planet—and social media has given the power of a good referral a shot of adrenaline!
3. The truth.
Good executives expect to be well-informed, and a good PR firm will not act as Chiefs of Staff. “The presence of a chief of staff is completely at odds with the image of accessibility and openness that so many executives work to promote.” Our pledge is to put “one less barrier between you and your people.” (Check With My Chief of Staff, WSJ, Dec. 31, 2010).We will not shield the truth from clients however difficult or painful it may be. Our research, social monitoring, and conversations may reveal controversial or critical insight. Our job is to prepare our clients to reach and engage their customers and the media. Is the tone, message, and response time well received? What does the customer really think of your call center, your bank teller, your sales associate?
4. Respect for reputation.
We understand the power of a company’s reputation. It’s earned one customer experience at a time. Lehman Brothers learned no business is too big to fail nor too small to matter. We value your reputation as if it were our own; in fact, we believe that what is good for you is good for us. As business partners, our reputations are yoked.
5. Powerful language.
In 2011, a company’s digital image is indelible. Comments on blogs, quotes in print, and tweets about a product or service portray a company’s image and its staying power is forever. Words are powerful, and we use them deliberately in our client’s marketing messages. What flags a search engine may be different than the word that attracts a new customer; but in either case, we don’t just use any word. We use the most powerful word.
6. Creative possibilities.
As marketing budgets disappeared and entire departments were off-loaded, creativity to do more with less became currency. Talented people with fresh ideas are not a commodity; they are the lifeblood of a company. Creativity to navigate first-of-its-kind experiences is the number one trait CEOs seek in 2011. In Small Giants, author Bo Burlingham admires Dr. Edwin Land at Polaroid: “This is so fantastic, that one person can do so much in terms of creating a business, creating an enterprise, creating jobs, increasing the tax base. So much good comes out of this one person and his idea and his willingness to go ahead and start a business” (pg. 194). Whether it’s for an entrepreneur or a corporate leader, we never stop thinking of fresh opportunities and staying several creative steps ahead.
7. Your business is our business.
For 10 years, we have believed that understanding your business is our business. Before we engage your dollars in a media buy, a website redesign, or an event sponsorship, we make sure the cost/benefit ratio is advantageous. We work hard to understand the nuances and sales cycles of our clients’ businesses. If it were our print brochure, would we use four color or two color? If it was our Facebook page, wouldn’t we make sure the logo fit the profile space perfectly? We believe every detail matters.
Although these 7 R.O.Y.s won’t fit neatly in a column on the CFO’s balance sheet, we believe them to be critical for success. Sophisticated? Not necessarily. Essential for companies that wish to be great?
Absolutely.
Anne D Gallaher
This is probably the most elegant and accurate treatise for a small business owner I have ever read. This should be requited reading for every entrepreneur, or for any one thinking of being one! This is a picture-perfect blog post.