The scope of PR expands - but is b2b marketing taking note?

Management Today

PR has emerged as currently being one of the most effective marketing tools, but many B2B enterprises still don't get what it is all about.

Press and Public Relations has not only changed thanks to the globalisation and immediacy of communication but there has been an increased emphasis on public relations in terms of directly communicating with the public and not primarily via the third party intermediary of the press. PR  is about managing reputation which increasingly has a wider remit than what people think about your product, but includes how the business itself behaves in terms of social accountability. Look at the backlash  companies such as Starbucks, Amazon and Google aroused recently when it was revealed that despite the scale of business conducted in the UK, financial arrangements appeared to be organised to side step corporation tax. Environmental responsibility and equitable employment policies are other banana skins  waiting to wreck the reputation of any business.

Management Today's January cover story - Spin Masters - How PR took over the world, claims that PR is booming and in 2011 was a $10billion business that grew by 8%.  Furthermore it says, "PR people are starting to make it to the top of businesses" and points out that "our prime minister was once head of comms for Carlton Television." The article is built around interviews with leading PR experts and draws out the following quote for emphasis - " Businesses are more aware than ever before of what people think and say about them, and if they don't respond - or respond wrongly - it can be disastrous."

So is this an issue that b2b companies should be concerned about? Interestingly some 10 years ago one client working in the construction industry and with a significant public sector client base offered a whole range of policies online regarded as essential to qualify for consideration for request to tender. These included Environmental Policy, Equal Opportunities Policy, Customer Charter, Safety Policy, Safety Statistics and Equality & Diversity Strategy amongst others.

It raises the question of how many b2b marketers are actually tuned in to what their customers expect from them, what they think and what they are saying in various online forum.