Jimme' Peters: How an external agency can really shine and pay exponential dividends

San Madan: What are some of the challenges you have faced in your line of work? What core-competencies have benefited you the most?

Jimme' Peters:  Most corporations are very tight-lipped about their technology strategies, products used, and certainly any issues that have arisen such as website outages, customer data breaches, or litigation. Along with this secrecy, it can be challenging as a technology vendor for these corporations. Everyone always wants to share their successes with the media and the names of their customers to build credibility with sales prospects.

Finding the internal champion at the corporate customer, making this person comfortable while sharing sensitive information, and taking their input while giving final authority has allowed us to garner media attention with big name case studies. Understanding the legal department's concerns, managing the approval process, and lots of patience has given us win-win scenarios many times over the years with Fortune 100 names that have skyrocketed exposure for our small enterprise clients. It only takes one major financial institution, big retail brand, insurance company, or healthcare provider to make a small company's products appear like a big player that deserves consideration in the next report or short list of vendors.

This protective nature of customer names can also be limiting with analysts as well. It is a catch-22 - vendors have to have won big clients to attract big clients and be perceived as leaders and visionaries in a competitive market. By having long term, straightforward conversations with influential analysts, we can share our client's successes/ references in confidence without publicly disclosing their names. The 24/7 team is a trusted source. The company/ product receives the recognition it deserves (without breaching any confidentiality), which translates into sales revenue.

Reaching out personally, building trust, removing guesswork and uncertainty, and writing the desired content for the customer to approve are competencies that have been fruitful for our clients over the years.

San Madan: When does external PR versus internal PR work better? How can external and internal PR work together effectively?

Jimme' Peters:  Unfortunately, internal PR teams are perceived as biased by the media and analyst community, especially regarding product and service capabilities. Thus, internal PR gets discounted or ignored.

External PR brings long term relationships, objective perspective, and solid counsel. But, external PR is another line item in the budget. The combined internal and external teams are the ideal approach to maximize the strengths and opportunities of the company to give a balanced view to the targeted audience.

In crisis communications and M&A situations, external PR is most effective as the media spokesperson to keep the message tight and consistent.

San Madan: What are some of the benefits small and medium businesses can get from external PR?

Jimme' Peters: Most often, small and medium sized companies do not have copious staff resources and wear many hats as a result. Being spread too thin is not conducive to promotion and marketing strategy as it requires daily management and creativity. General marketing staff cannot keep up with all the various mediums, frequent editorial beat changes, short deadlines, and stories that pop up randomly.

An external agency provides media relationships, strategic counsel, candid feedback, prior expertise with similar client issues, and most importantly focus to maximize opportunities and garner available exposure. This is where an external agency can really shine and pay exponential dividends for the thriving small to medium entity.

San Madan: How does a company handle a mistake that will be seen publicly? And are crisis communications best handled by external PR?

Jimme' Peters: Unfortunately, mistakes are made in business, often unintentionally. My motto is to personally reach out and respond to the situation quickly, take responsibility for the error, apologize sincerely without making excuses, and then state the corrective action to rectify the injured parties. Whether a product issue, partnership snafu, patent misunderstanding, or financial reporting oversight, it is human nature to respond positively when the company is being proactive and accountable. Litigation is often not necessary when the parties are dealing directly and honestly together to resolve the problem.

During a crisis, the best advice usually comes from an outside expert that has encountered similar situations previously. An outside agency is not emotionally tied to the crisis and therefore can guide the proper course without the personal influence that the executive team most likely feels. The agency can offer solid experience to navigate around the hurdles with diplomacy.