Public relations has always been misconceived as a marketing strategy that doesn’t generate tangible returns on investment; but unknown to almost everyone, this is exactly the opposite. It is now time to debunk the myth that public relations is more of an expense rather than an investment.
Most business owners believe that PR is all about changing and influencing others’ opinions. Hence, a common misconception borne from this belief is that public relations will take a lot of time to measure because its main objective is change in behavior. This in turn, has brought about another myth: PR will take even longer to show tangible results.
As a business owner, it is always important to get a return of investment for the time and money you spend in marketing and promoting your business. In running your business, it is always necessary to know how much return you will get given an X amount of marketing expenditures.
Any marketing strategy doesn’t guarantee a return every time it is employed; but PR has one of the highest returns of investment. Moreover, public relations, more often than not, generates more revenue than advertising. There are also numerous studies that have directly related public relations and tangible returns on investment. The case study below is such an example.
A recent study published by the Institute for Public Relations measured PR against other forms of marketing. In this instance, they used a case study of a beverage brand. Data showed that for each dollar spent on television advertising, a dollar and ten cents were returned thru sales. On the other hand, trade advertising delivered a return of twice as much as television advertising. Finally, public relations returned eight dollars for every dollar invested. Public relations has, by far, the best results compared to the other marketing strategies. As a matter of fact, this beverage company credits four percent of their sales to their public relations strategy. Initially, the numbers may not look that impressive; but think of this on a scale of tens of millions of dollars.
These studies are common, and their findings almost the same. We are hoping that these figures will encourage business owners like you to take another look at how public relations can be used to maximize your return of investment. Moreover, we hope that, as a business owner, you also get to consider PR when evaluating your next marketing campaigns.
Don’t forget that studies show that effective public relations is a form of marketing that can positively affect all other marketing strategies. When positive and catchy news breaks out about a business, every other marketing tactic has proven to be more effective; therefore creating a beneficial ripple effect across all marketing efforts.
It truly is great that PR has the best return of investment in terms of sales, but it will also be advisable to look into the other advantages that it can bring to your business. There is always that opportunity to make your story known. There is also that opportunity to establish yourself as a credible source to gain more customers. You can even find that getting a high-profile, publicized reputation will get you to charge higher among the competition, regardless of the business environment.