Building Measurable PR Goals

Many comms teams continue to operate and measure outcomes tactically rather than to think long-term and strategically.

Why is that? The reality is many comms teams are lean on resource. In fact, the same Fox Agency research found that more than a quarter (26%) of B2B comms leaders are struggling with budget constraints and wearing too many hats, limiting their ability to be strategic. At the same time, senior business leaders still have a limited understanding of PR and communications. As a result, many comms leaders are brought into strategic planning conversations too late to drive real impact.

Then, when a significant funding round or M&A takes place, we are tasked with ‘pulling a rabbit out of a hat’, with comms often something that is turned on and off, rather than a strategic function that is built over time. Understandably, many comms teams are limited to more immediate results, initiated to achieve a specific goal within a few weeks, month or quarter.

Strategic comms, however, is long-term in its outlook and focused on the big picture. It requires the planning and implementation of strategies that can take months or even years to achieve its intended results. While strategic comms requires continuous optimization and measurement, it’s far more likely to drive meaningful outcomes that work towards overall business success.

In today’s climate, tactical output presented through vanity metrics won’t translate into tangible results. It’s time for more B2B comms leaders to shift from tactical doers to strategic thinkers. But how can you do so amid budget and resource constraints and a lack of C-Suite understanding?

Collaboration: As a strategic leader, it’s vital to engage with important departments like sales, marketing, HR, and finance. Collaborating with each business function will provide clarity on the key audiences you are trying to engage and influence. With this information, you will be able to identify comms objectives that create reputational value – making prospective buyers more likely to become actual buyers, and potential employees more likely to consider your company in future.

At the same time, you should align with senior leadership to get a seat at the table for conversations around strategic direction. The key point to emphasize is that even if comms is not directly involved in an initiative, visibility of the strategic direction of the business will enable you to identify how your current comms framework and measurement system does – or does not – align to these priorities, and to provide guidance on potential reputational or messaging roadblocks.

Integration: Working in lockstep with other marketing disciplines, such as ABM, SEO, media and creative  campaigns, will ensure external communications serves not only to promote the brand but also add value for the intended audience. With the acceleration of Generative AI and zero-click search, earned media plays a key role in influencing search results, and businesses that do not prioritize PR will increasingly lose out on discoverability. Laddering PR into wider marketing goals will ensure external communications both reaches and resonates with target audiences.

Measurability: Demonstrating how PR and comms drives broader business objectives is essential. The C-Suite don’t just want to know what happened; they want to know why it matters in driving forward their commercial priorities. Oftentimes, the best intelligence can be found in the ripple effects. For example, did website traffic spike after a tier one coverage hit? Did your sales team see an increase in leads following the launch of a PR-led, multi-channel thought leadership campaign? Did that campaign enable you to beat a competitor for the first time in Share of Voice and Conversation? Has there been an uptick in positive brand sentiment over the past six months – and did this surpass competitors?

Linking comms to tangible business outcomes will showcase the value of PR as an integrated part of the broader marketing function. This must be measured consistently and comprehensively, with performance observed over time to truly understand the impact of specific activities. As a comms leader, you should regularly revisit your measurement approach to ensure it’s still relevant. Your metrics should evolve as often as the commercial priorities, particularly for those working in dynamic growth fields such as Automotive, SaaS, Fintech and Industry 4.0.

Consultancy: Collaboration, measurability and integration provide the building blocks for a compelling narrative to show how comms is driving tangible business results. The key now is to continue proving value to retain a seat at the boardroom table, through strategic alignment and measurement. This access to the boardroom is an opportunity to lead, shape, and redefine the narrative of your organization’s success. As a strategic comms leader, you should have a deep understanding of customer behavior and preferences and know how company messaging will be perceived by key audiences. This knowledge should be leveraged to inform business strategy, ensuring company messaging is tailored to and understood by customers, employees and investors.