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Are you sceptical of anyone who claims they can guarantee results? It often sounds too good to be true.

But that’s what performance PR is all about; guaranteed results or your money back.

Our ‘fixed fees for fixed outcomes’ model, bolstered by robust KPIs and offer of a formal service level agreement, means if we don’t hit the targets we’ve agreed with you, you don’t pay for them. It sounds bold, wild, and perhaps even a little risky (on our part) but the truth is it offers transparency and accountability, a return on investment for you, and success for us; because your wins are also ours.

You’re waiting for a ‘but’…

Well, there is no ‘but’. There is, however, an important discussion about how we set those agreed targets; the process, working out what is achievable and understanding how they relate to your overall business objectives. But how do we go about doing that?

Working with you and for you

We specialise in collaborating with B2B tech brands, so we already have a comprehensive grasp of the tech PR landscape. The more intricate process of devising campaigns and setting outcomes goes a little like this:

We forge an intimate understanding of your business; your positioning and your commitment to your customers.
We extensively analyse your target audience; what are your customer pain points and their aspirations? Which communities do they congregate in – where can we target them?
We understand your overarching business objectives; are you interested in building brand awareness or generating brand loyalty, for example?
We look at your timelines – what do you need to achieve and by when?

All this informs the strategy and helps us craft the narratives underpinning the campaign; we want them to cut through the noise and drive meaningful results.

Why agree on outcomes?

Results can only be reported objectively and quantified if measured, which lies at the heart of performance PR. We’ve written comprehensively on our approach to measurement.

We use KPIs to measure performance against a business goal. KPIs can include traditional media coverage volume, website traffic, social media engagement, and more. We recommend tracking just a few important KPIs, and only those that are relevant to what you’re trying to achieve.

Agreeing on the campaign’s targets or its outcomes is important because it provides clarity for all parties, it defines the scope of a campaign and is important for managing expectations.

And when those KPI targets are hit – and they’ve been aligned with business objectives – demonstrating ROI becomes straightforward and makes justifying the investment in performance PR to your senior management team a piece of cake.

Deciding and reporting on targets

So how do we set KPIs targets? The slightly annoying answer is “it depends” because the truth is, of course, every client and their goals are unique.

Setting targets in PR requires a delicate balance between ambition and realism. Budget constraints and timing play significant roles in determining what is feasible within a given campaign. And it’s essential to establish clear milestones and delivery stages, allowing for iterative adjustments along the way.

For a business seeking to enhance brand awareness, our reporting would likely highlight metrics such as the volume of media coverage, total media impressions garnered by the campaign, and the audience’s association with key messages (message penetration). We could compare these statistics before and after the campaign to illustrate the impact and changes achieved.

For a business working to build brand loyalty, trust, and credibility, we’d report on metrics showing the content’s effectiveness at engaging your audience and sentiment. Agreed KPIs would include ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ on social media platforms, or clicks through to a webpage, comments, messages, and enquiries.

For a business aiming to enhance brand consideration, we could focus on measuring the percentage change in brand perception before and after a PR campaign.

Fixed fees for fixed outcomes

By understanding the nuances of each client’s business, setting realistic targets, and maintaining accountability through robust reporting, we can help tech brands cut through the noise in an increasingly competitive landscape.

At Whiteoaks, we devise campaigns aligned with those goals right from the outset. Our performance PR model is designed to deliver tangible outcomes that directly support your business objectives and deliver ROI.

We guarantee results, for a guaranteed return on investment – it’s as simple as that.

If you’re interested in finding out how investing in performance PR can help your brand get results, reach out to us today.

By Hayley Goff, CEO

If the answer to the above question is a yes (or even a maybe) you’re most likely a CEO or business leader laser focused on creating stability and driving growth. You know the value of marketing and communications in building your business – from boosting your brand awareness to supporting your sales team – but do you have the right support in place?

If you’re still reading, then I’m guessing the answer is no. That’s okay. We hear a lot of feedback from our clients and prospects when it comes to properly resourcing the marketing function. There are myriad factors that come into play here, from the struggle to recruit the right level of seniority to lacking the right expertise in the right place at the right time, to not being able to trust recommendations being made because of a lack of confidence in the marketing function. Linked to that, of course, is the challenge of not getting the (right) leads or traction in the market that you were expecting, or being pulled into tactical discussions which takes away from that laser focus.

In many companies (particularly those with a start-up mentality) employees are required to wear many hats – including the CEO. While that’s expected for a period, it’s not a long-term solution and can cause even more issues as time goes on.

It’s not all doom and gloom, and this blog is certainly not just a rant. I wanted to provide some insights and suggestions around those challenges, because they are not insurmountable.

Here goes:

Align to business objectives – marketing needs to be in the loop when it comes to the overall business goals so that they can ensure all of their plans are created with reaching those goals in mind.

Focus on your role – it’s easy to fall into the trap of getting involved in tactical discussions (I’ve done it!) but you need to maintain focus on building your business. Rather, ensure the marketing team is clear on their roles and responsibilities, and is held accountable or measured against their plan.

Be clear on your brand purpose – brands need to move away from the hard sell approaches that have characterised the B2B space for the last decades. Rather, create authentic and consistent narratives that articulate your brand’s purpose and address the needs of your audiences. These help cultivate trust and in turn create positive perceptions and change behaviours. This doesn’t need to be tackled alone – an agency can support and take on the heavy lifting of articulating your brand purpose.

Think about PR – as a PR professional, I believe it has a key role to play within the marketing function. It’s about creating positive perceptions of your brand amongst your target audiences with the ultimate goal of driving behaviour change. Leading with an earned strategy, for example, again helps create trust and has the potential to reach a much wider audience than marketing alone. Yes, sometimes it’s seen as a dark art, but if you use an agency, be clear on the KPIs they are working to.

Don’t skimp on measurement – marketing needs to be measuring performance across campaigns and reporting back against the agreed objectives. This is how success becomes standard; learn from failures and don’t keep doing the same things if they aren’t working.

Work with a partner – there will always be gaps in your marketing skill set. You can’t know everything about everything. That’s a fact. But working with an agency partner can have a quick and positive impact. Thinking about an agency like Whiteoaks, there’s speed of delivery, access to senior strategic consultancy, and specialists across different disciplines. Again, make sure you’re getting clarity on what you’re getting and what you’re measuring them against.

Of course this list isn’t the be all and end all – but we are always happy to chat. Get in touch if you’d like to find out more, or subscribe to keeping receiving our content.