We’ve created this visual to answer some of the top questions that we are asked by potential clients regarding how we measure PR & marketing results; how we learn about your business and your goals and objectives; our strategic marketing and public relations plan, called The Marshall Plan®; our website development process and SEO; content creation; and our social media presentations.
We hope you find it informative and let us know if we can answer any other questions for you.
1. What steps does your agency take to learn about my business and the leadership team?
We spend time getting to know you through a series of discovery meetings. We value building a relationship with your employee team and are committed to learning and understanding your business and industry, inside and out.
2. How do you measure results?
We create a customized monthly measurement dashboard based on what’s most important for you to measure in order to achieve your goals. We use a variety of tools and look at everything from Google Analytics to media results to social media analytics. We recommend that you measure what matters most to you and your organization based on the goals and objectives that we decide are most important for the short and long term.
3. What is The Marshall Plan®?
The Marshall Plan® is a strategic marketing and public relations plan tailored to your specific goals and vision for your organization. Each plan is developed through extensive research and collaboration with your team. We get to know your business, then craft a highly detailed plan with measurable outcomes and tools for implementation, so you can hit the ground running. With a Marshall Plan®, you’ll know that all your marketing and public relations initiatives are working together toward the same goal, giving you the best possible return on your investment. The Marshall Plan® process, from start to finish, typically takes three months. The plan itself focuses on the next one to three years.
4. Do you build websites?
We work with select web partners based on your website development needs. We have built strong relationships with companies that specialize in high-quality, search-engine-optimized websites and work with you to ensure that you’re getting exactly what you need and want. We also offer options for ongoing maintenance, content creation and search engine optimization (SEO), which are all crucial elements of any website today.
5. Do you offer social media presentations?
Yes. We can provide presentations on a variety of social media topics. Presentation formats include a seminar-style presentation, a social media boot camp that encourages attendees to participate with their laptops, and a webinar format. We can customize the length and content of presentations to meet your needs and address a wide range of topics and skill levels.
6. How do you structure your fees?
We use ‘value pricing’ to provide you with a predictable monthly or project fee based on a bundle of deliverables. That way, you don’t have to worry about getting a bill for a phone call, and you can base your annual budget on a predictable monthly amount. There are sometimes changes made that will incur a fee, but we will always discuss that change up front and make sure you have an understanding of why the change was made and how much it will be.
7. Do you help businesses and organizations handle the COVID-19 pandemic?
Since March, our agency has helped businesses, municipalities and non-profits address the challenges of COVID-19. We have presented customized webinars about how to use public relations and marketing tactics to stay top-of-mind with important target audiences. Our work also includes planning virtual events and handling media relations during the coronavirus. Download our complimentary tool kit about how to promote your business during COVID-19.
8. Do you have national media contacts, or just local and regional?
We have been pitching news media at the local, regional and national level for nearly 30 years. We believe strongly in keeping our clients’ stories at the forefront of local media because those are the outlets that will cover a certain company or organization over and over. That said, we have successfully pitched stories in such publications and outlets as:
- Wall Street Journal
- USA Today
- Washington Post
- Today Show
- Good Morning America
- CBS Morning News
- Chicago Tribune
- New York Times
- Los Angeles Times
- National Public Radio’s All Things Considered
- Food Network
- Chronicle (Boston)
- Boston Globe
- …and many more media outlets nationally and even internationally
9. Do you put out press releases for clients?
We will put out press releases as part of an ongoing monthly fee arrangement, but we do not typically take on an engagement for just one release. We believe that PR is an ongoing activity, like the heartbeat of an organization, and just one press release or just one pitch does not make a big difference. We believe in helping clients to establish an ongoing strategy of media relations, the core of which are media relationships.
10. How do you produce the best results?
We produce the best results for clients that are willing to first engage us for a Marshall Plan®, which allows us to spend three months establishing the strategic direction of the account as well as the most important messages and most wanted media outlets. Our Marshall Plan® lays the groundwork for all the PR activities and other marketing tactics that occur over the following one to three years. We can show examples of how the best results for clients were generated after taking the three months and 65 steps to build a foundation of strategy based on discussion, research and careful planning.
