Chris Harihar
August 30, 2023 | 12:28:45
Over the years, I’ve observed a trend with startling regularity: Many B2B tech companies, regardless of size or stature, don’t operate with a fixed marketing plan. It’s almost as if this vital blueprint for external communication is a luxury rather than a necessity.
Given this scenario, a common refrain from many PR firms is, “Give us your marketing plan, and we’ll provide you with a PR strategy.” On the surface, this seems logical, but dig a little deeper, and you’ll realize that it’s an excuse. An effective PR firm, one that’s genuinely worth its weight in gold (or billable hours!), should be adept at building a robust PR plan independent of a set marketing template. Here’s why.
At its heart, PR is about managing perceptions through effective storytelling. This demands a proactive approach rather than a reactive one. Gone are the days when PR for B2B tech was a simple equation: “Give us an asset, and we’ll pitch it to reporters.” This transactional view of PR does a disservice to the dynamic landscape of today’s tech industry.
Instead, a forward-thinking PR firm should be at the forefront of ideation. They should be regularly brainstorming and sharing potential news announcements, research projects, and other media-worthy initiatives. Their focus should be on guiding the company on what to announce and how, rather than waiting to be fed information.
Every company, especially in the tech space, has core concepts and themes they gravitate to — the narratives that shape their brand identity. These themes are the pulse of a company’s story, the recurrent motifs that your audience should associate with the brand.
An effective PR agency shouldn’t need constant hand-holding to understand these themes. Once these have been communicated, your PR team should be able to spin these core ideas into pitch angles that resonate deeply with priority audiences. If you find yourself having to repeatedly feed them perspective, it might be time to question their understanding of your industry and narrative.
The B2B tech landscape is dotted with significant events and dates that offer ripe opportunities for PR storytelling. Be it Dreamforce for sales and martech aficionados, NewFronts for the adtech enthusiasts, or the holiday season for retail tech companies, the calendar is teeming with moments to seize.
A PR agency should have an intuitive understanding of these calendar moments, pre-empting them and weaving the company’s story into these larger narratives. By doing so, they not only increase the relevance of the messaging but ensure that it reaches a wider audience, tuned into these events.
A fixed marketing plan, while beneficial, shouldn’t be the crutch that a PR agency leans on. Instead, their strategy should be shaped by proactive ideation, an innate understanding of your company’s core themes, and an ability to weave your narrative into the broader tapestry of the B2B tech industry’s calendar events.
As the tech landscape changes at breakneck speed, your PR approach must match this dynamism. By ensuring that the agency team embodies these values, you’re not just investing in external communication – you’re investing in shaping perceptions, managing narratives, and ultimately, driving your brand’s success in the marketplace.