10 Yetis Insight Blog - How To Keep Your PR Clients Smiling and Happy

Working in this industry can be incredibly rewarding, especially if your clients are happy, give you great feedback and see their businesses growing as a results of PR implementation.

Making sure clients are satisfied with your efforts means going the extra mile; but what precisely does this entail as a PR person? Companies throw around this saying all the time so I thought I’d breakdown the ins and outs of what you should be doing for your client to keep them smiling at all times.

Keep your eyes peeled

Riding the back of huge news stories can be a sure fire way to secure your client those much-desired follow links. Reading the news every day and keeping a news channel on television in the background whilst you’re working is a good way of keeping an eye out for news that your client may be able to react too.

If you have a client who specialises in sexual health for example and a story about a rise in the amount of herpes cases contracted in the UK has broken, then have someone comment on this. It’s a great way to boost the chance for your client to receive even more coverage that month, ensuring a smile won’t leave their face.

Another way to keep them clients of yours happy is to stay up to date with all journo requests (#JournoRequest on twitter should always be followed!) because you never know which journalists may be after something your client can help with.

Always keep your eyes peeled!

Hit the books

If you have multiple clients, knowing everything about their business and what it is they do can be difficult. This is when you really do need to do your research. If you get a new client, ensure you spend a good chunk of time reading about whatever it is they do, make notes and memorise. Some clients can be more complex than others but that doesn’t mean you should wing it. Try and push through the initial confusion and soon you’ll be an expert on the matter.

Not only will doing some revision impress your client, but more importantly, it will help you sound like you know what you’re talking about to journalists.

Don’t be afraid to push back!

This may seem like a weird one to include in a list discussing how to keep your clients happy, but sometimes pushing back and letting your clients know that something won’t work is the best thing for them and will leave them smiling.

If your client has told you that they want to change something in their campaign plan that won’t work or if they’ve come up with an idea that just won’t gather significant (or any!) coverage, be honest with them. Try to work with them to come up with an alternative or compromise. Once the coverage comes in from your idea, your client will be happy you stood up and voiced your concerns.

Communicate, always

Your communication skills should be on point when it comes to keeping your client happy. You’ll need to keep your client in the loop, letting them know every time there is a new development, or more coverage has come in. Sending them a weekly report, although definitely beneficial, should not be the only time you are speaking to them

It’s also a great idea to set up a fortnightly call so that any developments or problems can be discussed and solved then and there. Do let your client know you are there to help with anything, at any time of day and they will definitely appreciate that.

Communication shouldn’t just be strong between you and your clients; you should also maintain a strong relationship with journalists. If you have a client which specialises in gadgets, get in touch with technology journalists and keep the conversation flowing once it’s started. It’s easy to send email after email to a general list of journalists in the hope that one of them will write about your release, but it isn’t always going to work. Crafting a strong, tailored list of journalists for each client will increase the chances of coverage, as well as opening more opportunity to personalise your emails.

Developing strong relationships with journalists who may be interested in a campaign you are working on can be extremely beneficial for your client, which in turn will keep the smile etched on their face.

Meet up and hang out

Do remember to organise meetings with your client to revise decisions and campaign plans. These meetings are a great way to get closer to your client as well as a perfect opportunity to ask them if they believe you could be doing anything better. Work with your client, not above them and take any criticism or feedback seriously.

If you’re clients are happy, you will, without a doubt feel amazing so it’s always important to keep striving for more.