Last week, I blogged about the three reasons why companies shouldn’t cut out their PR budgets, regardless of a poor economy. After writing the post, I got to thinking about PR as a field…and how maybe, sometimes we PR pros just need to be a little better at what we do to prove that we’re worth a part of that budget.

In a world where traditional PR (media relations) is dead, we PR pros are learning that we either need to step up – or fall down. Now I can’t say I’ve been in this business forever and I know how working at a PR firm was 10 years ago (because I don’t)…but I do know that in order to succeed in a poor economy and in a changing marketplace, we need to be better PR people now than ever before.

And here’s how:

1) Understand your client and its business.

For those of us who work at agencies, we handle multiple accounts, and constantly work for a number of clients on the day-to-day. Of course, these clients all have different business models, different goals, etc, etc, etc. However, it can be easy for a PR pro to get into a routine of working for these clients without truly knowing what the client does.

However, it’s important that we stay 100% informed about everything our client does in its business. If you don’t know your client’s business 100%, how can you expect to truly sell that business to consumers?!

So get to know the ins and outs of who you’re working for. For me, a quarterly conference call with the higher-ups of the companies I do business for keeps me informed. Of course, you’re busy and so are they – but if it helps you to better do your job…it’s worth it! And if a company sees how hard you’re working to get to know them just as well as they do, they’ll greatly appreciate it!

2) Understand the Bottom Line

It’s all too easy to worry only about the PR part of the marketing plan, and then wash your hands of it all when you’re done. But it’s important to understand how your efforts contribute to the bottom line! If you know exactly what the company goals are, then you will be more motivated to do whatever it takes to help the company achieve those goals.

At Pyxl, our CEO sits in as interim Chief Marketing Officer for many of our clients. Because of this, we know exactly what our clients’ bottoms lines are, and we know that we have to do whatever it takes to reach those goals. I know personally, I work MUCH harder when I’m trying to meet a client’s goal instead of just my own personal PR goals. Plus, it’s nice to understand how my contribution connects to the company’s big picture.

3) Keep You & Your Client on the Cutting Edge

We all know that there’s some new piece of technology every other day. As good PR people, we are inundated with it – through the blogs we read, tweets we see, etc. (Tip: Make sure you’re following all relevant blogs for this information.) Of course, we sometimes feel a little information overload. However, its important to sift through the clutter to make sure we are keeping ahead of the trends and keeping our clients there as well.

Even if XYZ client already has the PR plan done for the year, if you find a new trend/technology/etc…TELL THEM ABOUT IT! It’s so important for you AND your client to stay on the cutting edge!

I like to use Pitch Engine as an example. At the time I discovered Pitch Engine in beta, my clients already had their marketing plans for Q2 taken care of. However, I knew Pitch Engine was going to be a really valuable tool, so we got it added into the plan…and my clients ended up being some of the first companies to use it. Being ahead of the competition is ALWAYS a plus!

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Of course, there are numerous things we need to do to continue being the best PR pros we can be for our clients…now and in the future, regardless of the economy.

What suggestions do you have for making sure we are being better in PR? Leave a comment!