How can you incorporate service excellence into your PR strategy?

Build a company culture whose reputation attracts and retains top talent. Reality: People talk. A lot. The first place I tell clients to look when addressing PR issues is in the mirror. What do your employees say about their job (and your organization) to their hairdresser on a casual Saturday morning at the salon? Look within and honestly assess your internal ethics, integrity, and communication patterns. For example, do you post about your organization's accomplishments nonstop on social media but internally some of your most talented staff members are conducting a survey about workplace bullying? See the dissonance there? Address that first.

Do your best to put yourself in your customer's shoes, but realize that you are not your customer. Pretend that you know nothing about your product/service and dig deep into what your audience needs and what they are actually receiving from you. Read up on the challenges and pains they face. Think about why they should care about what you have to say and what's in it for them. Do your research and make use of the multitude of tools, services, content, forums, and everything else that will let you look inside the minds of your audience. Remember that your customer is the expert on what they need, not you.

"Our work is a Theatre, and every event is a stage" We are grateful guests at each establishment, convention, account and event. Treating everyone with respect and dignity is always identified. This also goes with the fact that our MPM Members arriving 15 minutes early to the premise well educated on the brand or service that is being represented is also considered respectful. We’ve all witnessed someone representing a brand or service and not being well versed. It is something that we never forget! ~Don’t be that experience~

Keep your ears open! Today's social listening tools are super powerful. You can scoop up info anytime, anywhere, and use it to whip up messages that hit the mark. This way, you're nailing exactly what your audience needs. Using these tools means your chats are not just on point, but they also vibe well with what your audience is digging.

An example of engagement and understanding your audience is doing some due diligent research . When looking into new territories, find the specialist in the field or someone who’s an upcoming influencer . Get to know them first , then you can grow your audience much faster !

In every corner of your PR strategy and messaging, ask yourself if it is truly aligned with your vision. Does your messaging use the right kind of language and wording? Is your event at the right place and time to reach your intended audience? Are your ambassadors acting in your best interest and are their personas aligned with your brand values? Take a close look at everything you create and share and don't leave things to chance. And first and foremost, make sure that your vision is clear, well thought through, and strictly defined.

Know your customer first before selling anything: Understanding the community/customer we operate and address the geniune requirements are the key to excell the PR startegies. To achieve it, we need to be with the target group not just for the sake of business but to hangout with them, eat with them, become one of them by earning their trust. Vishnukannan Corporate Social Responsibility Professional

Align your service excellence strategy with your brand identity and values. Your service excellence should reflect and reinforce your brand promise and personality.?

Aligning your PR goals to your service vision will enhance your overall brand message by reinforcing your commitment to your guests/ customers. Showing real life examples of how you exceed expectations, anticipate needs, and surprise and delight guests on a regular basis, will draw attention. Your service standards and PR should both have a guest centric foundation that empathizes with needs and challenges of all those you serve. By aligning them, you become known for going above and beyond.

Case studies are the best form of PR, and having your clients share and speak publicly about their experience. Doing great work for current clients is always the best marketing!

Know where your intended customers are and meet them there. If they're scrolling your Instagram feed, curate your content with customer stories and exciting feature news. If they're digesting the latest economic developments in an airport lounge, place advertorials and focus pieces in print magazines and bite-size news channels. Find out what information they consume, and how and where and when, and serve it to them the way they want it.

Regularly highlight and celebrate your service excellence successes, both internally and externally.?You can use press releases, podcasts, awards and case studies.

Absolutely. Storytelling is one of the best forms of PR, marketing, and selling. Everyone loves a good story especially when it is true and documented. I personally love video. To see and hear the story in real time makes it all the better. The best storytellers share an experience that leaves an imprint on the consumer that seals a long lasting connection to the brand.

I love this ! In my experience in research and development in the equine industry I recognized a need for education about saddle fit . It’s developed a contagious following and resources for people because of networking with clients stories . Teach people and they will be a fan , in return be a fan and watch the magic!!!!

Remember to give and take. When an employee creates a nice LinkedIn post, help them out by engaging and resharing. If you're launching a new product, give valued customers a sneak peek and ask them for support when you launch. Someone stole your content? Tag them and thank them for the support and count it as a win. Ask for favors and return them. Together you'll be stronger.

Indeed! I particularly like the example of those that represent us the most, our team members/employees/and or associates. They are actually our first customers, the ones we owe the most to, as they are the direct ambassadors of our brand. Their loyalty and praise of our brand paves the way to our success. They are our partners in ensuring our service goals to our PR messaging are cohesive and consistent.

Use qualitative and quantitative data, but listen to your heart and gut as well. Define the metrics that truly matter to you. Just because someone else uses certain KPIs, it doesn't mean that you should use them too. Focus on the most important ones that you can truly understand and use for actionable change. Don't get all caught up in only numbers though, listen to what people think and feel about what you're putting out there. The customer is always right, except for when they're not. Use all the feedback to adapt and tweak your offering, but stay true to yourself. Don't change everything because someone else said so, you'll take the joy out of it and lose the soul of what you do.

Be different, be you. Don't get bogged down in adapting to what works for everyone else. So many brands these days are standardizing and sterilizing. It's important to pay attention to trends and customer needs, but make sure that the character of your brand or you as a person shines through. No one will fault you for being genuine and unique.

I’m a strong believer in that businesses benefit by supporting a worthy cause in their community. In my business, we have a foundation for children with special needs. It is not only a wonderful foundation that does a variety of good work for the Special Needs community, it also brings all of our restaurants and corporate staff together for so many wonderful experiences that we get to share together. It’s heartwarming, beautiful, humbling, and sometimes challenging, as we witness some very tough situations sometimes. However, our cause is something we all believe in, and we view it as a gift we give each other. It puts life in perspective, and helps keep us all honest, humble, and supportive. It is an amazing part of our culture!