When Should Startups Hire a PR Firm
I attended the inaugural PR 2.0 meetup this past Monday night. I find myself attending fewer and fewer meetups these days mainly because I simply do not have the time. However, my good friend Roger Wu was the one launching this new meetup so I came to lend my support. Also, there were dumplings.
Anyway, it was a good kickoff for what I believe will be a more important topic for startups. Despite the negativity around “Public Relations”, a sound PR strategy can be a difference maker for startup success. Good PR firms help startups formulate a communication strategy, hone their messaging, identify target audiences, and execute metrics-based campaigns to connect audiences with their message. That is a whole lot of stuff that most startup founders have little to no experience in, so bringing in outside professionals can only help.
The problem is that hiring a PR firm is a hefty expense for an early stage startup. The cost can range anywhere from a few thousand to well over ten thousand dollars per month depending on the firm and the services purchased. Furthermore, any tangible results take many months to materialize. With startups that are bootstrapping or running on small capital infusions, that is an expense that usually cannot be afforded among all the other expenses and priorities.
So the obvious question is when should a startup hire a PR firm? I wanted to ask that question of the excellent panel that evening, but I got distracted by the dumplings and the ten pounds of Leske’s cookies on a nearby table. But getting back to the point, it is a real struggle that many startup founders grapple with because intuitively many realize the benefits but often get caught up in the caveats. The problem is I had a mouth full of dumplings and never got my question out.
I did get the chance afterwards to ask the founder of Top Shelf Clothes however her thoughts on the subject. She was unequivocal, “As soon as you close your first round.” I was onto the cookies at that point and never got the chance to ask what round she meant. Anyway, the cookies were awesome and the answer seemed right enough at the time in my food addled mental state.
Of course, I have some thoughts on the subject and also employed my fair share of PR agencies and freelancers over the years. I had forgotten that I touched on this topic in a post nearly three years ago about startups hiring PR firms. My thoughts have not changed much. Essentially, if you do not have a firm grasp of your vision, product, and market, you are probably not ready for a PR firm. That includes many startups that manage to pull together funding.
The common mistake I have seen with startups working with PR firms is that they ask the wrong things. A PR firm cannot tell you who your audience is, what your product does, or what problem you are solving. That is the job of startup founders. A PR firm can only help refine the answers and help communicate those answers more effectively. Furthermore, PR is not the be all, end all for customer acquisition that some entrepreneurs believe it is. PR is simply one of many channels by which startups drive traffic and acquire customers. Relying on one path of execution and tossing that over the wall to some outsider is a cruising for a letdown.
If you are considering hiring a PR firm, consider where you are in the development of your startup. It is not merely a question of whether you have the money. Certainly a startup that closes a seed round or Series A has the cash on hand and a bit of traction, but it does not necessarily mean it is ready to invest in a concerted PR effort. The litany of startups that pivot or fold post-seed funding is evidence enough. The more important consideration is whether you have a product that is ready for prime time, evidence that the market exists, and you are fully convinced in your vision. Once you feel you are at the proverbial product-market fit, you are in a better position to take advantage of the benefits a quality PR firm (or internal hire) can provide.
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I am always confused about why startups look at PR as a be all end all for external marketing communications early on. I...
- cynthiaschames said: Great post, Mark. I’ve been thinking about this lately too. I think you’re exactly right about defining your own brand & using PR to refine & spread the message. Btw I didn’t know that you and Roger were friends but that totally makes sense! Cool dude.
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