A couple of weeks ago my husband and I bought a car! It had been a while since I bought new wheels, but as we went through the various steps, I realized a solid vehicle purchase had a lot in common with a successful public relations campaign. Here are 5 lessons I came up with.
5 Public Relations Lessons From Buying a Car
Have you spotted any public relations lessons from purchasing a car?
1. Act quickly, but think it through. After browsing Craigslist for a while, we found our ideal car for a fantastic price about an hour away. Just like a public relations campaign necessitates responsive, well thought-out communication, a car purchase – especially from a website like Craigslist – requires thinking through the offer and making a quick decision.
2. Set realistic goals. What’s your dream car? What’s your budget? Just like you won’t find a 2015 Tesla for $5,000, your public relations efforts won’t result in millions of orders overnight. Think about your company’s resources and the campaign’s timeframe as you set realistic goals, just like you would consider your budget and the vehicles on the market as you car shop.
3. Ask questions. Buying a car is a big purchase. We asked a lot of questions, from work that had been done on the car to the type of mileage to expect. Similarly, ask a lot of questions during your public relations campaign. For example:
- Ask yourself how your various activities fit within your overall goals.
- Ask new customers how they heard about your business.
- Ask trusted advisors and/or consultants what they think of your plan.
- Ask your employees for their feedback for a fresh perspective.
- Ask colleagues what’s worked well for their business.
4. Try it out. The test drive is a standard part of any car purchase. How can you know if you like the way a vehicle handles if you never try it out? Once you’ve set realistic goals and done your homework, put your public relations plan in motion. Until you actually try it out, you won’t be able to look back and see what worked and what didn’t.
5. Follow through. After making an offer on a car, there are quite a few steps to follow through like updating the title, your car insurance and filing registration details. When it comes to public relations, follow through is vital to success. Regardless of the tactics you use – media pitching, social media management, blogging – if you don’t do everything in your plan as well as possible, you won’t know if it’s an effective strategy and you’ll end up just wasting your valuable resources.
Have you bought a car recently? Can you think of any other public relations lessons to add to the list?
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