Why PR deserves a place in your business’ marketing strategy
Many owner-managed businesses and SMEs owners view PR as something that is reserved for the bigger players. But in a competitive landscape, where credibility and visibility can be the difference between winning and losing a client and growing your business, PR is a powerful part of your marketing toolkit.
Building trust
Marketing is about showing the world how good you are. PR is about getting others to say it for you. Specifically, this can include:
Media coverage from press statements you release on new appointments, contract wins, etc
Expert commentary in articles
Award wins
All of which can help to establish credibility and build better brand awareness for your business. And when these stories are shaped strategically and aligned with your brand positioning, they work hand-in-hand with your marketing efforts to build trust with your audience.
Whether you're bidding for work, entering a new market, or attracting investment, third-party endorsement through PR can give you a clear and enduring competitive edge.
Aligning PR with business growth
Good PR doesn’t happen in isolation. When planned as part of your overall strategy, PR helps amplify key messages, showcase expertise, and position your people as thought leaders in your industry.
By bringing PR into your wider marketing and business development strategy, every campaign, piece of content and announcement can work harder and reach further.
Driving results, you can measure
One of the common myths around PR is that it’s hard to measure. While it doesn’t always lead to immediate enquiries in the same way as a direct marketing campaign, the benefits are real and cumulative.
We have seen how PR can help to build brand recognition and improve client conversion, increase credibility, attract talent and improve employer brand perception and strengthen relationships with stakeholders and partners.
And when it’s aligned to your business objectives, you can measure success in terms that matter, whether that’s increased website traffic, media coverage, backlinks, award shortlists or new opportunities.
PR shouldn’t be something that sits in a silo and wheeled out when you need to fix a reputational issue or announce a milestone. When integrated into your strategy, it becomes a powerful tool for growth.
Utilising PR as part of your bid strategy
When businesses successfully secure contracts through competitive bid and tender processes, this gives them an excellent (and often underutilised) PR opportunity that can significantly amplify their brand and profile.
New contract wins represent tangible proof of your capability, credibility, experience, and competitive advantage, which is exactly the kind of third-party endorsement that publications and the media will see as ‘newsworthy’. Rather than simply filing away the good news, businesses should be using this opportunity to develop a communications plan that transforms each contract success into a broader narrative about their expertise, reliability, and market position.
It is worth noting that in the public sector, most awarding organisations will have something known as a ‘standstill period’. The standstill period is a mandatory waiting period in public sector procurement that occurs after a contracting authority has made its award decision but before the contract is formally signed. Until the standstill period has finished businesses will need to refrain from promoting the contract award.
Want to know more? Stephen Alexander can help you make the most of PR
At Stephen Alexander, we don’t just support clients with writing and distributing press releases. We help them craft a narrative that supports their goals, from improving win rates in bids to breaking into new sectors or raising their profile at industry events.
If you want to explore how PR can elevate your business and help you win new work, get in touch with Alex Footman on 07514 247 537 or email alex@stephen-alexander.com.