Can't you just PR it?
Why comms is struggling to communicate its value
With misalignment with sales frequently cited as the number one complaint of B2B marketers, it can be easy to forget where we came from. The ever-closer union between marketing and sales has been one of the corporate evolutions of the last 10 years, and B2B marketers are increasingly accountable for pipeline contribution and revenue influence, in a way which wasn’t the case, and certainly wasn’t measurable, just a decade ago.
But with sales and marketing forming an uneasy entente, where does this leave comms? And how can comms leaders demonstrate value to stakeholders when ROI is key, and let’s face it – nobody really understands what they do.
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.
The challenges of measuring the impact of comms is nothing new. Anyone who cut their teeth in the early 2000s will remember the main tools of a PR Account Executive were a ruler, a rate card, and a calculator, for painstakingly measuring the size of a piece of print coverage (always print), and then multiplying it by an arbitrary figure to get the advertising equivalency value (AVE). Apples and oranges anyone?
Thankfully the inexorable rise of online content saw off the AVE (although did herald an era of ever more bonkers “opportunities to see” where some of the more optimistic PR practitioners would claim that coverage reached audiences greater than the population of the earth), but presented an altogether thornier challenge for comms teams; how to demonstrate value when marketing counterparts are able to speak the language of attribution and leads.
And as the permacrisis of the last five years shows no sign of abating, this presents a challenge. The pressure to demonstrate ROI and do more with less is real. Marketing teams can communicate their value in clear CFO-friendly dollar-in dollar-out terms. The wealth of metrics available means that marketers can demonstrate clear and tangible results directly tied to revenue.
But reporting solely on the bottom of the funnel neglects a big part of the picture. Those conversions wouldn’t happen without the work that comms teams are doing at the top of the funnel to build the brand, enhance the reputation, and grow awareness. Leads do not appear in a vacuum. As communicators and marketers, we all know this. But are comms teams selling themselves short by not working more closely with marketing to communicate upwards the collective value driven through the funnel?
It can be tempting when times are tough to cut back and double down on a pursuit of leads at all costs. But this short-termism is damaging to brands in the long-run. Yes it might look good on the balance sheet in the immediate, but with over 80% of the B2B buyer journey happening before a single interaction with sales, businesses which fail to invest building brand equity will see growth slow and stagnate.
Rather than competing with marketing for a share of the budget pie, comms leaders need to align more closely with marketing to demonstrate the collective and equally valuable contributions their functions bring, which ultimately will grow the size of the pie.
How to manage marketing misalignment
- Align on shared outcomes. If generating leads is a core marketing objective, explore how earned media will support this.
- Develop shared KPls. Shared dashboards which map results at each stage of the funnel ensure PR is not being viewed in isolation, but as a core component of the broader marketing mix. Start to analyse trends – what impact does reputation have on length of sales cycle for example? How do peaks in media coverage align with web traffic? By taking a holistic view, it is easier to course correct and focus on the tactics which drive greater business impact.
- Use storytelling to capture stakeholder attention. Don’t just bamboozle stakeholders with data – build the story and explain why it matters and how these outcomes support broader commercial.
Reputation without representation
Perhaps one of the reasons that comms struggles to demonstrate value is that comms often lacks representation at board level.
While marketing has cemented its presence on the c-suite, with around two-thirds of businesses in the Fortune 500 having a CMO, more often than not, comms typically reaches a ceiling at c-minus-one. Data is sketchy, but rough estimates suggest fewer than half of enterprise-level businesses have a Chief Communications Officer. Where comms lacks a seat at the table, reporting lines are fragmented, and comms teams will typically report into either marketing, corporate affairs, or even legal and HR, which can probably give a good indication of a business’s appetite for risk.
Part of the issue is the push-pull that comms can experience between protecting and enhancing reputation. At the more enlightened end, comms is seen as a key driver of strategic growth, building trust and influence with key internal and external stakeholders, shaping reputation and building brand equity.
But if comms does not have champions at c-level, then there is a risk the function is reduced to a simple press release machine, or a defence mechanism – only switched on in times of crisis. In situations where PR doesn’t have a seat at the table, getting internal buy-in is vital; in short, PR needs to PR itself.
Getting
C-level buy-in
- Consider individual stakeholders and their goals. Consider how comms can support each function of the business and develop bespoke goals and metrics to communicate the impact comms is having on the area each stakeholder cares.
- Align comms goals with commercial goals. Ensure any goals developed for PR ladder directly towards commercial impact. Be ruthless about dropping any tactics which don’t support your broader business objectives.
- Make your execs part of the story. Creating platforms for your execs to tell the story allows them to see the impact first-hand, as well as elevating the visibility and understanding of comms with these key stakeholders.
Outputs vs outcomes
And this all brings us back to measurement. Too often PR is measured by outputs – how much coverage did we get, how many media mentions. This is all important, but context is key. By shifting our focus to outcomes – what change did this effect, and what was the business impact, we can have more nuanced conversations, and in turn reassert PR’s value.
Upleveling measurement
- Focus on outcomes over outputs. This is a key element of shifting comms from a tactical function focused on delivery to a strategic driver of growth. The AMEC Framework offers a helpful process to ensure PR deliverables map back to commercial impact.
- Build cross-functional goals. It can be hard to shift the mindset of a business which prizes volume as a key measure of success. By setting broader and more strategic goals, you can begin to shift the dial.
- Context is everything. Peer benchmarking and share of voice are valuable metrics in measuring brand health, but can lose meaning without broader context. By looking at share of conversation, message pull-through, where you’re showing up, and even how those sources are informing Gen AI search will give a more rounded and nuanced picture of performance.
So, what does this all mean?
The corporate landscape has changed and a new approach to comms is needed. The challenges of measuring PR are nothing new; but the increased measurability of other channels has left PR on the backfoot. This has been compounded by low representation of comms professionals in board level roles. However, this should not be seen as an existential threat to the comms function.
From countering misinformation, to mitigating crises, and building trust with key internal stakeholders, comms is vital in supporting broader commercial strategy. And this is before we even consider the enhanced role earned media will play as zero-click search increases in prominence.
Where comms needs to step up is in how it communicates its value internally, and how it aligns with marketing to maximise impact.
Over the next few weeks, Fox Agency will be sharing some insights into how comms leaders can navigate the changing corporate landscape and harness the opportunity it presents – stay tuned for more information.
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