10 things your competitors will be delighted you do…

In my experience, when companies are doing one (or more) of the following list, it will bring joy to the hearts of their competitors. I guarantee it.  Are you guilty of saying/doing any of these?

• Our receptionist wanted more to do, so we’ve given her the marketing role
• Our MD’s teenager is good with people, so they’re doing our PR
• We don’t want to say anything about our customers because our competitors will poach them
• We don’t want to say specifically what we do, because our competitors will be alerted
• We don’t do social media.
• We have nothing to say
• We don’t like talking to the press – they always get it wrong
• We’re too busy to do PR
• We don’t want to talk about the [delete as appropriate] massive contract/official opening /commission from abroad/ latest deal
• We don’t have an opinion on the latest industry events

Do any of these ring bells?

Let me try to shed some light on why they are counter-productive.

Firstly, it’s rarely useful to keep quiet about customers because of competitors. My view is: a) they will already know who your customers are; b) you have the relationship with them, so if you’re doing a good job, why would they change?Just have a think about what you know of your competitors. They will undoubtedly know that stuff about your business too – who your customers are, what your strengths are etc – so it’s important to realise that your PR isn’t aimed at your competitors. Good PR is aimed squarely at existing and potential customers.  Sure competitors might find out something about your company.. .but it’s unlikely to flag up any surprises.

Make sure you have the right person with the right skills doing the work. You wouldn’t give a forklift truck job to someone without training… same should be even more relevant with something as precious as your company’s reputation.

If you’ve got nothing to say, how do you convince customers that they’ve made the right choice? There’s ALWAYS something to say.

Don’t do social media? It’s now like ‘not doing’ biros, or the mobile phone. There are always new ways to reach customers… and even if you don’t want to join in the conversation, the least you should do is to listen to what’s being said. If you personally don’t want to do it – no problem.  Find someone who will.

Don’t hide your light under a bushel – it really gives your competitors chance to shine bright.

Too busy? Now is exactly the right time to do PR. You need to keep that sales funnel full.

Don’t be ‘the company none has heard of’. PR is a great way to boost your reputation. Because if people don’t know about you, they can’t buy from you.

Want to know more about making your competitors sweat? Give me a call or sign up for our newsletter which will give regular tips and tricks on how to out-PR the competition.