There are hundreds of PR agencies out there vying for your business. So how do you find the best fit for your startup?
These five questions are good starting point to frame your conversations:
1. Which similar startups have you worked with before?
You need your agency to have experience and relevant contacts in your industry (e.g. mobile video or IT security), your product type (e.g. consumer apps or Enterprise SaaS) and your target audience (e.g. b2b or b2c).
2. Who will be working on my account?
A big frustration with PR agencies is they send senior people to pitch, but the actual delivery of campaigns gets shunted down to junior account execs and recent grads. Find out exactly who’ll be working on your account, who’ll be your main point of contact, and insist on meeting them before signing on the dotted line.
3. How long do I need to commit to working with you?
Agencies will try to tie you in to long retainers, but for most startups – particularly early-stage startups – this kind of fee structure and commitment makes no sense. The agency should be comfortable working on a project basis initially, which will give you an opportunity to test their capabilities. Three months is a fair amount of time to give it a twirl.
4. Can I speak to some of your clients?
This speaks for itself. I’d be concerned if the agency is cagey about introducing you to some client referees.
5. Can you suggest some initial angles and ideas?
This a tricky one because, understandably, agencies are reluctant to give too much away at the pitching stage. However, I think it’s reasonable that agencies give prospects a handful of ideas to demonstrate they understand the client’s space and proposition, and to give a taste of their creative thinking (or lack of it).