Limitless
Limitless Public Relations

Agile communications for a post-Covid world?

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

If you’re part of a communications team that replies on heavy planning and forward planning with messaging and calendars, you may not need to invest so much time in creating content and timing plans that often don’t come to fruition.

A changing world

The global pandemic seems to have revved up another notch with the discovery of another mutation – Omicron – a Covid variant that is suspected to be highly transmissible. In turn, this finding has cast a chaotic and unstable future for businesses, travel and planning in general.

Agile communications could be the approach that makes a constantly changing and uncertain digital world, one to your advantage.

Rooted in the IT world, Agile has migrated over to public relations and communications in recent years, lending itself well to iteration and adaption as situations – Covid being a great example – happen.

But what is it?

The Australian software company, Atlassian, offers this definition:

Agile is an iterative approach to project management and software development that helps teams deliver value to their customers faster and with fewer headaches. Instead of betting everything on a “big bang” launch, an agile team delivers work in small, but consumable, increments. Requirements, plans, and results are evaluated continuously so teams have a natural mechanism for responding to change quickly.

Atlassian

‘A waste of money and effort’

Dr Betteke van Ruler discusses agile processes as a continual adjustment, but only to reach the best results possible. Collaboration between the project owner, team members and potentially, stakeholders, work closely together, with a reduced project hierarchy to maximise flow and results.

Van Ruler states that old-style strategic planning and time-heavy administration aren’t dynamic enough for communications in a fast-paced world, with these traditional methods being “far too linear” to be helpful.

Scrumptious

Ever found yourself in a Scrum? This Scrum, whilst still team-based, is off the rugby pitch. A Scrum is just one facet in agile methodology, describing how the project team learns on the go, addresses problems dynamically together, reflects what works/what doesn’t work, and improves their process to ensure a successful project outcome. A Kanban board is often used as part of the Scrum.

Ken Schwaber, in Agile Project Management with Scrum, says:

“Most people responsible for managing projects have been taught a deterministic approach to project management that uses detailed plans, Gantt charts and work schedules. Scrum is the exact opposite.” 

Ken Schwaber

There are four main project roles within a scrum:

Scrum master = the facilitator, helping teams to self-motivate and follow the agreed process.

Project owner = the client representer

Scrum team = team members

Stakeholders = people who have an interest in the success of the project

The benefits of the scrum process are the fast-paced workflow allows for team creativity to be fostered, reduces costs and time while increasing productivity and quality.

Agile for the win

If you’re feeling a need to shake up your traditional communications methods, an Agile planning method could be something that benefits your organisation and clients. You can read more about Agile communications via this (surprisingly) good blog from DEFRA and a fuller explanation from Lucidchart, here.

It’s worth regularly revaluating your communications and messaging, using your metrics and data to assess what’s working and what isn’t working for your organisation.

Here at Limitless Public Relations, we can help you with your communications strategy.  Whether that’s creating powerful messaging from fresh, or consulting on an existing plan to ensure your words are reaching the right people. We’re your people.

Contact Michael Gregory for an informal chat on 0845 625 0820 or you can message us here.

Kiistone hands expanded campaign brief to Limitless

Posted on by Michael Gregory

Following a successful launch of its payment platform, Kiistone has handed Limitless Public Relations an extended brief which will see the agency deliver a national trade and consumer campaign comprising media relations, social media and events.

The tech start-up initially engaged Limitless to launch its mobile and desktop platform aimed at helping tradespeople run their businesses more effectively and put an end to payment disputes.

The brainchild of CEO Tim Mullock, the Kiistone platform is designed to financially protect both tradespeople and customers, who agree job specifications and budgets via the platform. Payment is then protected and held independently, by the largest Escrow provider in Europe, until both parties are satisfied that the job has been completed as agreed.

CEO of Kiistone, Tim Mullock, said: “My experience of being a British tradesperson over the last twenty years has shown me both the good and the not so good that the industry has to offer, and the biggest issue that we’ve still got today is a lack of trust between the customer and the trade.

“While it’s undeniable that there are some cowboys out there, professional tradespeople often find themselves tarred with the same brush, which doesn’t make for good customer relationships. On the flipside, tradespeople can experience a lack of understanding from customers or unrealistic expectations, which can lead to disputes over final invoices.

“Kiistone has been designed to provide absolute clarity to customers at all stages of the project and ensuring fair payment for the job delivered.”

As well as the Escrow solution, the online platform provides further functions to help tradespeople manage their projects, diary, cashflow, admin and communication. It also links to the Kiistone Community, providing industry news, guidance and support for trade businesses and homeowners.

Mullock continues: “The aim for Kiistone in the long term is to build a community of tradespeople who take pride in their profession and who understand the value for everyone in modernising the industry. Kiistone’s ultimate goal is to be a gamechanger for the industry, to reinstate pride and quality in British trades, and to represent a new benchmark in professional standards.”

For the PR launch, Limitless drew upon the profile of West Bromwich Albion and England goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, who became a shareholder of Kiistone after using the platform during his own home renovation, to secure coverage in the Daily Mail, the Sun and i-News. Further extensive coverage in trades sector press and local press has led to a significant number of enquiries about the platform and Kiistone has now rolled over the contract with Limitless to include social media.

Mr Mullock says: “For a new idea like Kiistone that is aiming to change the way tradespeople nationally work for the better, the credibility of national media coverage is absolutely crucial. Limitless smashed it out of the park for the launch and we are looking forward to working with them into the future as usage of the platform develops and grows.”

Limitless Director Greg Wilson said: “The Kiistone launch has been a great PR success. National newspaper coverage has helped us so far hit publications with online readership figures of 348 million and 2.6 million opportunities to see in print. Kiistone is a fantastic product with big ambitions to positively disrupt the status quo and improve the lives of its users so we’re really looking forward to helping support them with their long-term growth goals.”

For more information visit www.kiistone.co.uk

The wisdom of crowds and the power of ‘buzz’

Posted on by Michael Gregory

One thing that Greg Wilson learnt early in his career, even before he was in public relations, was that people follow the crowd…

As a graduate in the late 90s looking for my first marketing job, I naively came up with the idea that if I could get my mates’ band a record deal, it would look amazing on my CV. I dutifully got a whole load of CDs printed and developed a “promotional pack” to send out to record company A&Rs, inviting them to a “showcase gig” at a renowned A&R pub in Camden. I hammered the phones asking if my beautiful promo packs had been received, did they like the CD? Were they coming to the gig? Several said yes. But on the big day, to massive disappointment, all-round, not one record company showed.

When I called to ask why, I remember one particularly honest response. The promo pack was very nice, he said. He even really liked the CD, but he was only ever really interested in coming to see bands who already have some “buzz”. Put simply, “selling” a band to a record company doesn’t work. Not unless they’ve already heard that you’re one to watch.

When that happens, the direction of travel is reversed. Bands with “buzz” often ended up with record companies fighting to sign them up, to the utter dismay and disbelief of all the other bands who are pitching themselves so relentlessly.

This was an early lesson that the perceived “wisdom of crowds” trumps salesmanship and fantastic marketing every time, no matter how beautiful your sales pitch is.

But how exactly do you define “buzz”? Well following the music business example, it was hearing the band’s name from venue owners, promoters, sometimes rival artists – basically anybody who didn’t have a vested interest in the band’s success – before receiving the CD and gig date. It was about being seen to already have fans. A following, if you like.

After more than 20 years in the public relations profession, the same still goes. If your buyers can see evidence of your greatness, outside of what you are telling them directly, they will follow that crowd wisdom – and buy-in to all your empirical evidence that you are the right choice.

This is the lesson for sales and marketers who are unsure about the value of PR. Hone your marketing and your sales pitch all you like. But if you want to be a superstar, make sure you have the “buzz” to back it up. Be the one to watch before you try to sell, and selling will suddenly seem easy.

In fact, they may just come to you.

Why a strong brand is crucial if you’re thinking of selling your business

Posted on by Michael Gregory

The joys about working in the public relations industry are that we often get involved with interesting projects and people. One of the projects we enjoy most is when a client is looking to sell their business.

It’s a bit like turkeys voting for Christmas. Once we know the client has reached an agreement to sell their business, we’ll undoubtedly lose them. However, we love these projects.

The work we do helps our clients increase the value of their business. A business with a strong brand, an excellent reputation and a high media profile will undoubtedly attract more buyers than a company that, while it is very good at what it does, has a low brand profile.  

Like most things, there is a flip side to this. There are very savvy investors looking for a great business with relatively low brand profile. They acquire it and then start building the brand to achieve a higher valuation when they come to sell. And nine times out of ten, they’ll succeed. The simplest way to put it, is polishing the business and making it shiny for sale.

Strong brands always have perceived value. Think of mega-brands such as Virgin, Nike, Rolls Royce or Tesla. These businesses are worth a lot of money not just because of their products but the brand and how it has been executed. However, many organisations are now realising it’s not just the preserve of those companies to have valuable brands. Smaller businesses are just as reliant on their brand, in fact, more so as they’ll want to attract new customers.

Investing in the brand from the outset is vital if you want to grow a sustainable and attractive business. If your business has a strong brand its more likely to help increase the price paid for a business.

We aren’t saying that having a decent brand is going to be the answer to generating an excellent company valuation; a strong brand comes into being if it has a brand purpose which feeds the culture of the business and is focussed on delivering a great product or service. It’s why major companies spend millions on developing their brands and building positive brand experiences.

When selling a business, there’ll always be several factors to take into consideration that will influence the value. Generally, a company is worth anywhere between one to potentially five times net profit. Fundamentally, it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

There are various of schools of thoughts on how to value a business, but it can be argued that a recognisable and valued brand will help to drive a value up. Why? Because it shows investors that they’ll be taking over a business already primed for success.

So, if you’re a business owner that’s thinking about building your brand, drop us a line to see if we can help you achieve an increase in your company’s brand value.  

For informal chat, email Michael Gregory.

Why public relations helps remove fear

Posted on by Michael Gregory

Listening to some words of wisdom from wonderful award-winning sales training firm Sales Geek, I learnt a simple equation for sales. 

Need + Value – Fear = Sales

When you see it laid out like that, it seems so simple, like one of those things that is so obviously true when you see it, you can’t believe you’ve never heard it before.

To achieve sales, you need to establish who has a need, demonstrate the value you can provide in meeting that need, and take away the fear of going ahead.

While the beautiful logic of it looks so simple, there is, of course, a huge amount of process that goes into achieving success with those three factors. Need, as identified in the equation, can basically be translated as lead generation. Whatever you do for lead generation, be it SEO, networking, mailshotting, you’re basically establishing who has a need for what you do or sell.

Value is easily translated as sales conversion. Whatever you do to convert those leads into sales, be it your website UX, or your hotshot in a Mondeo with the awesome literature, you’re demonstrating your value and the specifics of why you are better than your competitor.

But how do you take away the fear?

You can build a process for lead generation and a follow-up process for sales conversion. But take away the fear? Where is the process for that? How can you have a process for something so ethereal?

You could argue that that’s the stuff of magic. And it is, and I do. It’s the magic of brand awareness, or to use another term, PR. Good old-fashioned PR. Being famous, sometimes seemingly for being famous’ sake. Therein lies the magic. It’s what great brands and great companies are built on. Brand awareness is about taking way the fear.

It’s about being the salesperson from the famous brand against the salesperson from the unknown quantity. It’s about being the website you’ve already heard of, not the sidebar scrabbler. It’s about being the obvious choice from the outset. It’s why big brands do it, and why they are big brands. Say hello to public relations and goodbye to buyer fear.

If you’d like to know more about how public relations can help build your brand, drop us a line