While we will let the politicians and economists solve our nation’s productivity woes, this hotly contested topic did get us thinking about productivity in PR – the challenges, opportunities, and if there is a better way to measure the value we deliver.
The PRoblem
For too long, PR agencies have charged for their time. In trying to align ourselves to other professions, like lawyers, we badged our services as time-based.
Today, retainers and projects are based on the (guesstimate) time it will take to complete an agreed scope of activity. And, usually, the hourly rate changes depending on seniority.
By their very nature, billable hours de-emphasise the value of creativity, relationships, and strategic outcomes. In fact, when it comes to productivity, an hours-based model can make us less effective. If we deploy senior resources to deliver quality work quickly, we are paid less. It discounts the decades of experience that senior practitioners deliver, giving agencies little incentive to provide their best and brightest.
For clients, an hours-based model means there is little flexibility to pivot quickly; work is often delivered by more cost-effective, less experienced operators; and admin becomes a huge drain on retainer hours.
In the hunt for certainty – for both client cost and agency income – we have defaulted to a model that is serving no-one’s best interests. So, is there a better way?
The PRescription
To overcome the challenges of an hours-based model, the PR sector has long discussed value-based pricing as an alternative approach. This is the idea that the PR campaign, or program fee, is based on the value it delivers to clients.
But with PR’s ongoing struggle to measure effectively, how can we really assess the true value of our work?
At 3CPR we have evolved this thinking, delivering our clients with what we term, KPI-based pricing. Put simply, we scope and cost the program based on desired client outcomes and agree the deliverables needed to get us there. This gives us the agility to adapt to our clients’ evolving needs or ambitions, while providing clients with certainty of cost and activity-levels.
For both clients and our consultancy, it is a win-win. Clients benefit from senior-support and a bespoke program that suits their needs, whether that be media relations, content creation, issues management, investor relations, and beyond. We benefit from having goalposts agreed upfront, ensuring everyone is clear on what success looks like. Finally, it helps communicate our value to other stakeholders in the business – knowing they can trust they are paying for results they can measure.
It is the 3CPR promise in action. We Consult – gaining a deep understanding of clients’ business, goals, challenges, and untapped opportunities. We Create – delivering an agreed level of activities to move the dial. We Connect – ensuring our program reaches clients’ most important stakeholders, such as media, clients, staff, or regulators.
KPI-based objectives are the way of the future. If we take more or less time to achieve the outcomes, that is on us. To be honest, time-spent is not something we really consider and a conversation we never have with clients. Rather, we’re looking at what will deliver the best outcomes for our clients, while ensuring the regular drumbeat of activity that we know is critical for a successful PR program.
Our senior-led consulting model lends itself well to focusing on KPIs as we are not about being busy for busy sake but using our experience, skills, and relationships to deliver impactful PR programs.
As productivity bites, perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from this approach both in our industry and more broadly for service-based businesses. Rewarding quality outcomes, rather than who clocks the most hours at their desk, can empower greater outputs, more engaged employees, and better results for both your business and clients.
