Which type of client are you?

Three personas that describe the client/agency relationship

In the last 17 years, Axia Public Relations has worked with many of America’s fastest-growing and most admired brands. We’ve identified three types of clients based on their needs and which of those types we work best with. When qualifying new companies as potential clients, we often ask which persona they relate to most, so we can understand how they prefer to communicate and what their priorities are.

Which one of these three personas best describes your preferred relationship with your PR agency?

1. Busy Blair – This client prioritizes the number of activities and hours the PR firm provides in the scope.

“How many hours and deliverables are we getting for our investment?”

2. Results Rory – This client prioritizes how the PR program’s results will impact the top line.

“How will we measure results and how long until we get maximum value?”

3. Trusting Terry – This client prioritizes having trusted advisers to guide the company’s PR strategy and help its senior leadership solve and communicate high-level issues.

“Does this PR agency understand our company, our values, and our culture?”

We’ve found that our PR agency works better with a Results Rory and a Trusting Terry than with a Busy Blair. We believe that's because our agency has a unique culture. We prioritize our core values of integrity, ideas, relationships, results, and improvements. In our experience, a Results Rory gets excited about ideas and results and a Trusting Terry wants integrity and trusting relationships.

If you’re currently working with a PR agency and they aren’t taking the time to understand you and what’s important to your company, maybe it’s time to part ways. Axia created an e-book to help you during this transition, including information about how to put your PR agency on notice, how to keep lawyers happy, and how to find and keep the right PR agency for you. Download Axia’s “How to Fire Your PR Firm” e-book today.

Becca McClure is a passionate public relations professional who works on various client social media accounts and public relations campaigns. Clients love her infectious positive attitude and her strong work ethic. Becca joined the Axia Public Relations team in February 2016. Learn more about Becca McClure.

Featured photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash