Recently, we were asked the question, “What’s the benefit of having a PR team on retainer? Can’t we just use PR as and when we need it for those ‘big splashes’ of press coverage – such as a new product launch or to raise our leader’s profile?”

The short answer is yes, you can work on a project-by-project basis. However, while this is a highly effective way to generate awareness and drive traffic to your website in the moment, it does mean that you’re only reaching those customers who are ready to buy at that exact time. That’s less than 10% of your potential audience.

How do you reach the other 90%?

Today’s buyers take themselves down the sales funnel, further than ever before by conducting online research. Mostly, they only engage with businesses when they’re close to making a purchase. Yet a customer will have gone through several stages before they get to that point of contact – simply put, the awareness, consideration, and then the conversion stage. What’s more, your audience may not know they even need your product or service until you make them aware of the solutions you have available to solve their issue.

An ongoing PR strategy will capture a customers’ attention at all points of their decision making process – informing, educating and meeting their needs at every stage, building a relationship with your brand and keeping you front of mind at all times. Furthermore, being regularly endorsed by third parties in the press is a game changer for your brand credibility, building trust and confidence in your business, which not only attracts but retains existing customers.

So let’s dive a little deeper into why uninterrupted PR could help your business capture and maintain more customers:

1. Consistent brand presence and share of voice

Having your PR team on retainer guarantees a steady flow of media coverage, creating a drip-feed effect that prevents competitors from dominating the narrative and capturing a larger share of voice and, therefore, your audience’s attention.

Furthermore, the more regularly you show up in your customers’ world, the more valuable you become in their eyes, establishing brand trust and loyalty.

2. Deeper Strategic Planning and Market Awareness

An ongoing partnership enables your agency to truly get under the skin of your business, industry, and target audience and ensure that those all-important first impressions leave a lasting impression.

This means better strategy, proactive campaign planning, and the ability to anticipate market shifts before they happen – so you can stay one step ahead of the competition.

A retainer model also provides the flexibility in the budget to scale the PR efforts up or down as needed, providing agility to allocate time to when the business needs it the most.

3. Agility to respond to trends and breaking news

With your agency working as a constant extension of your team, you have the flexibility to be proactive and reactive, so your business benefits from both approaches.

Press contacts often seek expert commentary under tight deadlines – opportunities that can typically only be met when an agency is on retainer, providing the agility needed to respond swiftly.

It also allows you to move quickly enough to have a voice on topical discussions and breaking industry trends that matter to your customers, positioning your company as a thought leader and expert in your field. Take for example, the major global Crowdstrike IT outage, or when the Government introduced VAT on schools, plans for the Employment Rights Bill were announced, or when data was stolen from blood test provider, Synnovis. Being retained meant we were able to act swiftly during all of these major events, securing national press and TV opportunities for our clients – amplifying their business to an audience of millions and significantly enhancing their brand’s trust and credibility.

By providing consistent commentary, you will also become recognised by the press as a reliable, trusted go-to source of expertise, and therefore, they will more likely feature your insights over any others.

4. Stronger media relationships and better ROI

Over time, your PR agency will build strong, trusted relationships between your brand and key journalists, ensuring you gain valuable media placements.

Reporters and editors will come to you for expert commentary rather than the other way around, and this requires a structured process to respond quickly.

The combination of strategic planning and the flexibility to adapt PR efforts can make a retained model far more cost-effective in the long run, delivering a higher ROI compared to one-off PR campaigns.

5. Supporting sales and marketing

PR is more than just a steady stream of coverage – it’s an extension of marketing efforts, opening up non-commercial routes to building your brand’s visibility and credibility.

A steady PR strategy provides a constant feed of collateral that marketing and sales teams can use as third-party endorsements to help turn leads into conversions.

One-off announcements and stand-alone campaigns are great at capturing attention in the moment. However, to reap the rewards of PR in supporting long-term business growth, it needs to be consistent, keeping you visible and building a brand that people recognise, trust, and turn to when they’re ready to buy. 

Whether you’re thinking of using PR to amplify a particular project or as part of a long-term growth strategy, contact us here, and we’d be more than happy to advise on the best approach to reach your business goals.