What are you waiting for?

Thomas Averre is a Director at Tarleton Communications, a specialist life sciences public relations agency.

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know your company. I don’t know your product. Now – what was it you wanted to sell me?”

Sound familiar? 

The most common mistake I see companies making is the decision to ‘put off’ a PR campaign until the last possible moment.

If you want someone to make a decision, you need to start influencing them long beforehand.

How people make decisions

Most decision makers are risk adverse. The fear of making the wrong decision far outweighs the benefit of making a great one. This applies to customers, investors and partners. 

So, what do you do?

Reduce the perception that you are a ‘risk’. 

If someone has seen you in the media regularly, you are a lot more credible than if you arrive out of nowhere promising a revolutionary new solution (“If it was that revolutionary, I would have heard about it wouldn’t I?”).

In healthcare, the reputational and regulatory consequences of a mistake are much higher than other industries. This leads to a bias in favour of familiar companies that are perceived to be less risky.

This is complicated by the fact that in many situations, particularly if you’re trying to sell into the NHS, there are a patchwork of different stakeholders influencing decision making. This means you need to be communicating with everyone who influences decisions, tailoring your messages accordingly. 

Clinicians want evidence, so give them clinical studies and peer reviewed publications. Commissioners want efficiencies, so show them how you’re going to save money. Policymakers want deep impact, so focus on population health messaging.

Reach wide and start early

PR is the most credible way of reaching large audiences, with a message they trust. Unlike advertising, it is not ‘tuned out’, cannot be bought and comes with a built-in credibility factor. It is a powerful tool for explaining problems, proposing new innovations and attracting investment.

If you do no marketing, or already have a comprehensive marketing strategy, PR should be part of what you do. Amid all the doom of declining readership, it is still the most effective way of reaching large audiences and getting them to pay attention.

I work with some of the most innovative start-ups to help them attract investors, and with larger organisations to help them raise their profile. Whether you’re looking to raise a Series A, gain more customers, build a personal brand for your CEO or influence government, PR is an indispensable tool in your marketing armoury.

Also, spoiler – there is no mystery to it. Most editors put their contact details on their website – the days of ‘black books’ of contacts is over. This isn’t the 80s. So why bother with a specialist PR agency?

Because I could repair my own car, but someone else is better at it than I am. I pay them to do it properly so that I can get on with doing the things I’m good at. Whether you’re running a marketing team or running the whole company, its very unlikely you have the headspace, time or skillset to do justice to the outstanding work you’re doing – so appoint someone who can.

Many of the clients I work with were once sceptical of the value and affordability of PR but became complete converts after I secured coverage for them in Sky News, Fierce Healthcare, The Engineer, Drug Discovery World, UKTN, MedTech Innovation (obviously!) and more.

This coverage, though nice for the corporate ego, has also helped them succeed. By going wide (reaching everyone involved) and going early (so they are primed before making a decision), it has directly led to new investor interest, new customer acquisition and changed the perception of others in the market in a measurable way.

I appreciate the irony of this being a ‘sponsored’ article, but frankly, what I have to say isn’t newsworthy. What you have to say probably is – that’s where I can help.

If you’re currently looking to raise investment, launch a new product or build a sales pipeline, the best time to start your PR campaign was 12 months ago.

The second-best time is now.

If you’d like to pick my brains on how you can reach and influence others through PR, email me at thomas@tarletoncomms.com.