5 Reasons You’ll Regret Hiring a PR Firm for Your Startup
It’s better to correct something several times and finally deliver it perfectly, rather than waste your hard-earned resources on a few hastily made petty decisions that you later regret. We know that when you start a business on your own, you have a lot of pressure and expectations to meet, but my dear friend, only the one who handles this pressure with calm and composure will lead in a better way.
Coming to the problem where most of the Indian startups lag behind is the way they handle PR as a function. It’s good to see that now, instead of experimenting with PR on their own, they are outsourcing it to PR agencies for startups. But even while you outsource them, certain things will make you regret your decision to hire a PR agency for your Startup, and here is a list of those things:
1. They are not good storytellers: Yes, storytelling is the primary art PR professionals need to be adept at because for a story to have a lasting impact, it needs to be told in a way that engages journalists almost instantly. . Most PR people fall behind in this art and often don’t reap much benefit for startups, even when they provide them with numerous innovative points to highlight.
2. They are always prattling about previous clients: It is good for PR people to talk about their previous clients to attract potential clients. But once on board, if these professionals continue to blather on about previous clients, instead of working on your project; then be careful with these people who are useless and will not reap as much media presence as they claim.
3. They consider themselves experts: Yes, they are probably the experts in the art of storytelling, but this does not mean that they have to act like one when talking to their client. Instead of acting like an expert, they should be curious and eager in the learning phase to reflect the best possible characteristics of the customer and the organization of the customer in media stories.
4. They are hungry for credit all the time – Their job is to get you news coverage, profile stories, and of course some kind of interviews as promised in the deal. But sometimes, PR agencies are seen to mislead startups by relying on the reprinted version of news coverage. Therefore, when dealing with any emerging PR agency, be very careful not to be fooled by them, only pay for the ones that are original in every way.
5. They are extremely expensive – You are a newcomer to the industry and considering your childhood in the industry, you are more likely to be cheated in terms of money. There are certain companies in this extremely broad public relations industry that will cheat you without you even realizing it. Therefore, instead of investing in these companies, take your time and do a rich research on the best players in the PR industry that specialize in the genre that you or your organization works in.
Now, after reading all this data, you might be thinking that public relations is not good for startups. But that is unless and until you and your startup are appointing a trustworthy PR firm. The company will not only provide you with everything that was promised in the deal, but will also design personalized PR strategies for you and your company that will generate much more profit than expected.
