Building Long-Term Client Relationships In A Remote PR World
Remote work and communication have increased in recent years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that the American Community Survey (ACS) found that remote work increased dramatically across all major industries between 2019 and 2021, from the scientific and entertainment industries to hospitality. This shift can also be reflected in the public relations (PR) industry, for both industry professionals and clients. Clients are increasingly looking for remote PR assistance, and PR professionals must meet that need effectively.
My PR firm has been fully remote for over a decade, fostering lasting client relationships across a range of industries well before the most recent shifts. I know what it takes to create meaningful, long-lasting partnerships. So, as the PR world grows increasingly remote, it's important to understand how to build and maintain remote client relationships—even if it seems daunting. The following tips are based on my own experience and can help you cultivate strong remote partnerships.
Establish trust and credibility.
PR professionals need to establish both trust and credibility for themselves, whether they're just getting started or have been in PR for years. This is more important than ever before, especially as trust in general drops among many professions. In Gallup's 2024 honesty and ethics survey, the general American public's trust in 11 core professions, when averaged, was at a historic low. While PR professionals weren't among the professions polled, several industries we most often represent weren't perceived in a flattering light overall, such as lawyers and business executives. This shows that trust and credibility are critical to both PR clients and the general public.
Fully remote clients must be able to recognize that a PR professional is trustworthy from a distance. They don't have the benefit of meeting with you in person. This leaves much of the heavy lifting to your actions as a professional. To build trust and credibility, you can:
• Be consistent in your work—deliver high-quality results and show up for your clients regularly.
• Demonstrate your expertise clearly through your actions, online presence, testimonials and case studies.
• Prove your value through tangible results. This can be through brand mentions, engagement, reach, website traffic and earned media value, among others.
• Even if you don't have tangible results to share on a given day, contact your clients with articles they might like or ask them about their lives outside of work. A quick 'How did Saturday's event go?' text can work wonders.
Communicate proactively.
Communication is key in the PR space, especially when building remote client relationships that will last. Proactive communication ensures that you and your clients are on the same page about every detail of your work. Establish communication preferences from the get-go so you can easily get in touch. This might include instant messages, email, text or other online communication options like video calls or Slack.
Additional ways to communicate proactively include:
• Write a brief standard operating procedure (SOP) for each client. An SOP will lay out step-by-step instructions on how to best communicate with individual clients, including their communication preferences.
• Always send an agenda before meetings and follow up with notes afterwards to summarize main points and action items.
• Set more frequently recurring calls than you would if you were meeting in person. For example, a weekly 15-minute check-in call can replace a bi-weekly 30-minute in-person meeting.
Remember that proactive communication is key to building long-term client relations and that you can get creative, especially when building relationships online.
Be transparent.
Transparency is naturally baked into every facet of the PR industry—it's a key part of any PR partnership, but it's especially important for remote relationships. A transparent client relationship means you'll need to share information with your clients, including pricing, project updates and campaign metrics, on the front end. Keeping things transparent at all times will help your clients have a full understanding of where exactly you're at in your work, even if you're facing setbacks.
A lack of transparency can lead to confusion, mistrust and overall poor relationships. By consistently keeping transparency at the forefront of your PR efforts and project management, you'll build trust and longevity. PR professionals may want to consider hiring a client relationship manager. This person should be solely responsible for handling client communication, transparency and troubleshooting—their main goal is to strengthen client partnerships with trust.
Building long-term client relationships in a remote PR world is not a one-and-done process.. It's something that will require ongoing effort throughout the length of all client relationships. Take time to ensure that your foundation is strong and adaptable—this will be key to creating lasting connections.
Your approach to each client partnership may differ in the minute details. But now you have a starting point on how to effectively foster and maintain strong client relationships that last in our increasingly remote industry.
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