What could you learn from Bill Gates about PR?

The economy is tight and corporations tighten their belts down to that last notch, unfortunately PR is usually one of the first few items on the budget that's frozen or cut completely. If your marketing is tracked correctly, you will see the impact to your company. Companies consider it difficult to quantify PR expenditures. To the numbers guys, if something fails to leave a footprint on the spreadsheet, it is expendable.

Companies need to pay attention to how these cuts hurt sales and sales leads. These PR efforts give your company a bigger name and the opportunity for everyone to know your name. Search engines reach potential new clients worldwide. When you cut the PR budget along with the advertising budget, it's like tossing the baby, the bathwater and the bathtub.

In lean times, public relations still provides the highest value and greater return on investment than any other marketing tactic, including promotions and advertising. Performance-based agencies give clients results for their costs. Retainer-based firms operate on the principle of making their 'best efforts' to get your company press. In these economic times, you want to make sure that the money you spend on PR for your company has results. With performance-based agencies, you actually pay only for press, not for intangibles like time and effort. They are unlike retainer-based firms who track and bill for every hour of their time.

Public Relations offer the client the exposure and networking to get the publicity they deserve. The heart of PR is that clients will likely pay one-tenth or less of the cost of an advertising campaign.

PR offers you more exposure and more success. Do you have a new children's book, appear in person for a book signing. This means that readers and viewers respect the placements more than advertising because they carry the tacit credibility of the outlets that carry them. If the editors of these outlets deem the company or client worthy of news coverage, then there must be something special about them.

Gates was one of the few software geniuses of his era who also understood the differences between advertising and public relations, and was able to maximize both to his company's favor. Bill Gates acquired success by paying attention to his PR. There is no need to pay a retainer for someone's hourly efforts that do not received the same results.

At the end of the day, companies can't survive the lean times without a steady stream of customers coming to their doorsteps, and PR can deliver them without busting the bank.

Marsha Friedman is a nationally recognized publicity expert, writer, national radio personality, public speaker and CEO of EMS Incorporated, a national PR firm with a 20 year record of excellence. Every day she consults individuals and businesses about how to harness the power of publicity. Visit her online and claim your free PR video (a $100 value) for no charge today.