Every small business owner is concerned about the bottom line. How to make more sales, be more productive, cut costs and increase the ROI. That, after all, is what business is all about – profit.
In this drive to make a profit the focus tends to get stuck on marketing, sales, production and income. Of course those things have to occur. However, there is another part to the sales funnel that most small business owners either don’t understand or ignore – public relations.
What does PR do? It makes the company known, accepted and understood. That means that the people you come in contact with – in person or online – will already know who you are and have an affinity for your brand. PR fills up the top of your sales funnel. It does this with great content, brand stories and by building trust.
People today have access to a wealth of information. Most prospective customers have done 70% of their homework by the time they contact a company to make a purchase. They’ve browsed online, looked at product reviews, been to your website and read comments from your current customers.
It’s during this phase of their journey that you need to connect with them and draw them into your funnel. There are many ways to do this, as you can see in the graphic below. All these actions are PR functions. It’s immensely easier to sell to someone who already knows who you are, trusts your brand and likes your product.
