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November 06, 2018

Team Member Renee Spurling

Renee Spurlin

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Executive Vice President

The 120-year-old PR industry is at a crossroads. In recent years, we have failed to modernize, investing less in technology than other industries and losing business to digitally native consultants. The result? Shrinking agency/client relationship tenures and a stressed-out work force.

Despite these challenges, however, there’s never been a better time to be in PR. Today, countless tools and techniques exist that the industry can adapt to effectively evolve and measure PR’s true impact on lead generation and the bottom line. To effectively make use of modern PR, however, we can no longer be siloed. We must work collaboratively with marketing and sales teams to demonstrate value.

The four steps below from our playbook on inbound marketing outline how to bridge the gap between PR, lead generation and sales. Read on to see how these teams can come together to #MakeNews, #DriveLeads and #CloseDeals:

1. Set a Common Goal

While PR, marketing and sales undoubtedly have individual metrics for success, they should share one common goal that will benefit each other’s efforts for the good of the entire organization. This common goal will ultimately be sales related, because, at the end of the day, a sale is what matters most to most organizations. PR should then tie its results back to achieving these sales goals, such as through tradeshow involvement, targeted media coverage, social media, etc.

2. Rely on Content

We can’t say this enough: content is STILL king. Strong content in the form of a press release or data report can pique a reporter’s interest, leading to editorial coverage. That editorial coverage can then drive prospects to your website, where they download a white paper and convert into a qualified lead. Sales can nurture those leads through a myriad of webinars, tip sheets and case studies that convert that lead into a sale. Each of the aforementioned steps is not possible without quality content that embodies your brand’s voice and the benefits it provides.

3. Create a Feedback Loop

Once steps 1 and 2 are in place, it is essential to maintain consistent communication between sales, PR and marketing teams. PR needs to tell marketing about the assets they’ve created, such as media coverage, bylined articles, etc., so that marketing can leverage that content in paid campaigns and email marketing. Sales needs to provide feedback to marketing and PR on what content and channels are driving the most qualified leads. Only with this feedback in place can these teams work together to achieve the goals set out in step 1.

4. Measure

Traditional PR metrics such as impressions and share of voice don’t measure the relationship between sales and marketing, and therefore don’t get to the root of ROI. Instead of using these antiquated metrics, measurement can, and should, be customized based on the team’s individual goals to better speak the language of marketing a sales teams, such as conversion rates and inbound inquiries.

Want more information on how to make your PR, marketing and sales teams align? Download our white paper today.