I recently broke an important post-COVID workplace norm: I e-mailed a big client’s point of contact over a long weekend with a non-critical recommendation.
One might expect she’d have been upset. Instead, she scheduled a meeting on the first business day back and thanked me for sending the note. Then she took the idea to her boss, which included proposing more than doubling the scope of work.
It couldn’t have happened if we hadn’t spent almost a year learning that she and her team prefer solutions over waiting for the “perfect” time to send ideas along.
Every PR practitioner knows that great headlines matter. But all the front pages in the world don’t count for much if you’re a pain to work with. That’s why client and principal communication is as important as the media coverage secured.
Here are four ways to make sure PR pros are communicating the right way for their clients, bosses, and team.
Shed Light on the Dirty Secrets of Your Process
Explain the sausage-making early and often. Results are “earned,” but viral headlines mean nothing without alignment with sales and marketing.
Clients appreciate knowing how you succeed, what you need from them, and understanding PR in their unique world.
This includes asking tough questions early. Dodging brand challenges only guarantees unpleasant surprises later. Dancing around weak stories means the nuggets are never uncovered.
“It’s critical that the agency clarifies what success looks like and what processes will achieve success,” says Rod Hughes, President at Kimball Hughes Public Relations. “A lot of B2B brands don’t know what PR is supposed to do— but they are told they should work with an agency. Others think they know what PR is…and they don’t. They may even think it’s marketing.”
A good idea could be to reveal that sausage-making on your website. You should trend more in that direction than towards secrecy and locking up information.
Build a Human Connection
People love to talk. The PR professional’s job is to listen—closely—and ask great questions.
Understanding a client’s business, pain points and goals lets you focus on meaningful results. Instead of securing a one-off placement that spikes a very short-term sugar rush, driving a sustained campaign can also drive bottom-line results. Clients will pay you more with longer retainers. Bosses will give you more budget and greater authority.
This has to start early. Unmet CNBC and Wall Street Journal expectations bring frustration when you’re only targeting the trades…and it will result in firings and cancelled contracts. Genuine curiosity combined with open-ended questions will win people over far better than argument or passive-aggressive avoidance.
Genuine curiosity also creates opportunities to remind everyone that we’re all people.
“Many clients don’t leave because of missed KPIs. They leave because they lack human connection,” says Nicole Paleologus, Senior Managing Director, Next PR. “We invest heavily in customer service, and it starts by genuinely connecting with the client’s representatives. Yes, you need to execute, but small gestures like a simple text saying, ‘Good morning, how are things going today?’ can help you be seen as a trusted partner instead of just another piece of software.”
Ask Clients to Use Their Expertise
The best partnerships include the client doing a lot of the work, including finding news hooks that only they know exist.
For example, in 2023 a client was paying close attention when Dow Jones threatened to sue OpenAI for allegedly crawling paywalls. The New York Times had recently made a similar threat against another AI company. The client flagged it—and when we asked for their narrative, the client said they spend more money each month accessing 8,000 sources than on the company’s cloud software infrastructure.
It was a great hook that resulted in three placements in U.S. and European fintech outlets.
“The strongest client relationships are true partnerships, not transactions,” says Erin Weinstein, Executive Vice President at SKDK. “Clients bring subject-matter expertise, data, credible spokespeople and knowledge of what’s happening inside their industry. We bring the strategy, the storytelling and the judgment that comes from knowing how media and stakeholders intersect. When each side leans into its strongest skill set—and trusts the other to do the same—the campaign and the work become sharper, faster and far more effective than either could achieve alone.”
In a happy marriage, each spouse brings strengths that complement each other’s weaknesses. The same is true in a PR partnership, with clients surfacing their insights while the agency handles framing and execution.
Anything else will result in a divorce.
Clear Communication Creates Success
Make the client a partner and you’re in a better position to win because they will see things you won’t—and vice-versa. This includes being able to navigate mistakes, because everyone trusts each other—and possibly turning mistakes into opportunities.
“As an in-house team, we have a lot of processes and procedures. We have to get approvals, clarify roles and timing and manage expectations across the organization,” says Alan Shoebridge, Associate Vice President of National Communications for Providence. “If we make a mistake or miss something that could have made the project work better, taking accountability for that defuses problems and improves relationships. People appreciate a ‘sorry, I messed up’—especially when you learn from that and turn it into improved outcomes next time.”
Nobody’s perfect, and trying to be so results in everyone’s egos taking the place of results.
When clients understand your process, trust your judgment and feel empowered to contribute their own expertise, the work becomes more strategic, more efficient and more impactful. It creates space for better ideas, faster execution and stronger results—not just better headlines.
Dustin Siggins is the founder of Proven Media Solutions.