Talking with Clients about Measurement
Communications professionals, whether on the client or agency side, often struggle with how to quantify the results of public relations programs. Clients sometimes don’t commit the funds for measuring programs, and when they do, they are not always satisfied with how results are communicated at the end of a program. At times, clients and agencies don’t seem to be on the same page—for instance, when a client only wants to measure AVEs (advertising equivalents, which many agency professionals would consider inadequate).
Having witnessed these discussions over the years, I’ve realized that we on the agency side can do more to facilitate communication about measurement best practices. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to educate clients about how to use metrics to demonstrate the value of PR internally to their executive team. As a guest blogger in the Firm Voice, I’d like to put forth a few concrete ideas I’ve come up with to ramp up communication about measurement.
First, we should make sure that we’re actually measuring something, regardless of the type of PR program. Even if clients request us to “build a social media program” or “develop a thought leadership platform,” and they don’t include measuring results as part of the request, take the initiative to add metrics into the project plan. Reach metrics such as traffic, readership or registrations are an initial step in the right direction, since these form the building blocks for measuring actual results.
Second, we should agree with clients about how to explicitly connect program objectives to metrics. A client may say their objective is to generate online buzz about a new product, but is that what they really want? Do they want to measure product consideration or the number of people who tell friends about the new product? We should discuss what metrics are important to their internal client; we should try to learn what metrics really matter. Measuring against what matters to our client’s client will help our client secure a budget for future work.
Third, we should aim to measure outcomes – and acknowledge the limitations of getting to true ROI. As Tim Marklein discussed in his recent Council of PR Firms blog post, we can’t calculate a genuine ROI for most PR programs. This is true for other marketing disciplines as well. Yet we can help clients connect the dots to demonstrate the relationship between PR activities and ROI. Did a consumer program change stakeholder attitudes about a product and ultimately drive stronger purchase intent? Did setting up a social media program help address customer service issues, leading to fewer customer service calls and providing cost-savings for the company? Ultimately, for all marketing functions, formulas and calculations can help us move towards ROI.
Fourth, we should measure continuously and try to map PR activities to results. Too many PR programs only measure the impact at the end of a program. To give more meaning to our results in clients’ eyes, we should calculate baseline metrics and also consider other, simultaneous communications and marketing initiatives that may affect our programs’ impact. When it comes time to communicate results, we can draw timelines that show when each PR and marketing activity was occurring and track these activities with survey data, sales data, website activity, etc.
Fifth, make use of measurement case studies in communicating with clients. Many PR agency case studies tout our great creative capabilities, but presenting cases that also employ creative measurement techniques may get clients thinking more about new, more meaningful ways to measure their own success. Does the case study show impressive metrics that helped the client secure a greater budget for PR in the following year? Metrics-focused case studies will help us develop more PR programs with clients that deliver better results.
Sixth, be patient. Maybe your client only wants you to measure reach, or maybe they are adamant about using AVEs. Don’t argue about it. Give them the metrics they want, but also try providing multiple metrics for the PR program and connecting the dots between various metrics to begin the education process about better PR measurement. Once you’ve demonstrated the results in a way that clients can easily share with their own senior managers, you will have opened the door to a more creative measurement approach.
Talking with clients about measurement of public relations programs may not be easy. But there is a lot we can do to identify what to measure and how to assess success. Let’s have productive conversations from the start!
- In: Clients, Measurement
What a great job providing ideas for getting everyone to talk about and include PR program measurement. It often is necessary to begin with small steps such as the reach metrics you suggest for social media programs (PR outputs), in order to get clients to understand the more beneficial outcomes measurement. However, I disagree with caving in to clients who wish to measure AVEs. PR professionals need to end the use of this meaningless technique. Clients must understand there are better ways to measure PR program effectiveness.
@Doug Thanks for your feedback. I see your point about avoiding AVEs completely. I’ve found that if I do provide AVE measures AND other more meaningful measures, the client realizes that the alternative measures are better, and thus they are converted. However if we only provide measures that we think are meaningful, but don’t give AVE measures, the client can’t compare the two types of measurement and realize that the non-AVEs are more valuable. That being said, every client relationship has its own nuances, and how far to push will be unique for each client. Thanks again, Ashley