Enterprise Nation

You run your business from home and to the world outside your home office door, you appear big, professional and playing on the same field as large rivals. Simon Corbett, managing director of Jargon Public Relations, shows how this can be achieved.

Getting noticed

Competing with the industry ‘big boys’ is an issue every small business faces. You have the experience, the resources and the contacts, and all you need is to be noticed so you can prove yourself. But with larger competitors come larger budgets and more money to spend on a sales force, the web site and marketing.

Competing on budget is only ever going to produce one winner as larger competitors invest in advertising, direct mail and other marketing tactics. As a result small businesses should compete via a medium that delivers, regardless of budget.

In its most basic form public relations is a marketing tactic designed to generate media coverage for individuals and companies within the press. A public relations campaign can target whatever media a business feels its customers read, whether an IT consultant wants to appear within the IT trade press and Computing magazine, or a business coach wants to appear within the magazine Management Today.

Profiting from PR

A public relations campaign adds value on a number of levels, one of the most important is the credibility it brings to any business. Articles written about any business within the press are written by journalists, who write independently about news and features for the magazine they work for.

A positive press article about any business not only provides a neutral and independent view of a business, adding credibility beyond what any advertisement can deliver, it is also one of the most trusted methods of reaching an audience, as research consistently shows media audiences trust what they read, see and hear in the press.

In addition to the credibility the press deliver by writing about your business, the longevity of press articles also consistently delivers value. I have worked with clients from all industries who continue to showcase press articles written about their business, some of which are several years old, in order to boost their reputation and position themselves as a major player within the industry.

While PR budgets vary depending on the program designed, a basic PR campaign can deliver media coverage that will boost the image of any business. Although this may not make your business the same size as your major competitor, it will put you on a level playing field in terms of the perception you give off through the press.

Simon Corbett is managing director of Jargon Public Relations, an independent public relations agency. Jargon Public Relations works with businesses looking to create or maintain their reputation throughout the media from all markets and with all budgets.

• Simon Corbett
• Jargon PR