Chapter 17
Business-to-business public relations
Chapter Aims
Business-to-business public relations (B2B PR) is about building a favourable reputation with organisations in order to achieve strategic objectives. Organisations targeted may be suppliers, manufacturers, resellers or distributors, for example, and B2B PR may aim to achieve many things such as to influence their buying decisions, enhance loyalty, get them on board with reselling in order to hit sales targets or to build a reputation for ethical practice.
This chapter discusses the key characteristics of B2B PR, how to form a robust strategy that supports corporate goals and design a strong implementation plan including the many techniques that may be used. It also covers some important considerations and how to measure the results.
Characteristics of B2B PR
B2B PR has many crossovers with other public relations disciplines but there are a number of key characteristics that can make it distinct that are discussed in this section. It is important to remember that every organisation is unique, so these distinctions may vary between them.
Organisations are the target
Although organisations are the target, it is important not to forget that an organisation is made up of people who are buying for professional reasons rather than personal.
Key people who may be targeted through B2B PR are members of an organisation’s decision making unit and other stakeholders with influence upon it. Obtaining and maintaining this information may take significant ongoing investment as the unit is often protected by gatekeepers, and tends to be intricate and fluid as individuals move roles and organisational structures shift.
Focus on long-term relationships with specific groups
With such high rewards at stake, there is a greater focus on long-term relationship establishment as well as building and maintenance than may be the case with consumer PR.
Often the groups targeted can be easier to define, as they are industry specific, and the number of people targeted is much smaller. Therefore, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises, B2B PR may be carried out at a much more individual level.
Insider insight, a loyal network and strong recommendations can all offer a distinct advantage and B2B PR activity can give support in all of these areas. For example, knowledge of projects an organisation has in the pipeline may create the opportunity to target them with a solution before competitors have a chance and endorsements from reputable industry figures may encourage buyers in other organisations to make time to listen to propositions.
Emphasis on building trust
Trust is of great importance, as organisations doing business together are likely to have mutual interests and risks, particularly those working on long-term contracts. Therefore it’s important to be able to demonstrate a reputation for performance, a strong customer portfolio, credible endorsements and, if things have gone wrong in the past, how crises were resolved effectively.
Well-handled B2B PR can help to enhance reputation significantly and, due to the focus on relationships, garner trust.
More direct influence on the bottom line
The business sales cycle can be significantly longer and more complex than that of consumers. Some contracts can be worth millions, even billions over decades, so are highly lucrative, sometimes adding significant value to the organisations securing them. Spend and time dedicated to B2B activity are likely to reflect the potential benefits and ultimate return.
As B2B PR activity may more directly influence sales, it can sometimes be easier to justify and gain commitment for investment from the board.
Forming a Robust Strategy
With organisations’ budgets becoming increasingly tight and public relations professionals needing to prove how they add value, it is more important than ever that a B2B PR strategy be woven into that of the whole organisation, demonstrating how it will add value and help achieve strategic corporate goals including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).There are many areas KPIs may cover such as finance (for example to increase sales or cut costs), performance, customer satisfaction, reputation and growth.
A well-designed B2B PR strategy will identify the benefits, propositions and value within an organisation and have a clear plan for reaching decision makers with these. For long-term success, the focus should be on much more than price differentiation to stand out from competition.
In addition to outlining how B2B PR activity will contribute to these goals and how success can be measured, the strategy must also detail how any potential conflicts between KPIs can be managed and risks mitigated; for example, how customer satisfaction can grow as costs are cut or how reputation can be enhanced despite investment in a controversial scheme as part of expansion plans.
When forming the strategy, objectives must be set out, outlining what the business would like customers to know, feel and do as a result of a programme of B2B PR activity. These should be specific to business audiences, clearly align with corporate goals and complement the objectives of other departments.
Objectives may need to be tested for viability; for example, if there is uncertainly as to whether a costly approach will work. Competitor analyses and customer surveys are just two of the many approaches to this. Some stakeholders may need to approve objectives and it may be beneficial to secure senior sponsors for certain projects or programmes, especially when significant influence may be required to see them through.
Designing a Strong Implementation Plan
A B2B PR implementation plan outlines how the objectives set out in the strategy will be achieved. Business buyers can be notoriously hard to reach, especially as they are often constrained by time, so B2B PR techniques can complement the work of sales teams, by opening up further doors to buyers and giving them incentives for opening up their time.
The implementation plan should outline key messages, which techniques will be used, how and by whom as well as when. There are many techniques that may be used, some of which are similar to other PR disciplines, but are adjusted to fit the motivations and requirements of business audiences.
Media Relations
National media coverage can generate wide awareness of a company, its products or services but, as it is not targeted at business buyers and influencers specifically, there is a risk they may miss the messages.
Therefore coverage in trade publications should not be undervalued as there are so many niche publications, covering many business sectors, to which target audiences may turn as trusted sources of information. They are also more likely to be reading these publications as a buyer rather than for leisure as they might a national publication.
To maximise chances of coverage, it is crucial to have a good story to tell when approaching media, maybe a new product launch, business expansion or a new white paper, and be well informed as editors’ expertise should be assumed.
Repeated coverage should be gained over a short period in specific publications in order to increase the chance audiences will remember the brand name and its key messages. Securing interviews for senior or technical experts or reputable industry figures endorsing the business can add further impact. Advertorials are another option although trust in any form of advertising may be significantly lower.
Speaking engagements
Potential buyers may also attend industry events and, therefore, securing speaking engagements for thought leaders within an organisation is a great way to elevate reputation and get their attention.
There are many specific industry conferences, workshops, awards events and exhibitions, for example, that could offer great opportunities. Additionally, carrying out TED talks, in particular, can really elevate thought leaders’ profiles. However, speakers must be recommended for consideration and there is a selection process so proposals must be strong.
An organisation could also host an industry event in their own facilities, if there is something interesting to see, and invite potential buyers to benefit from the programme in return for hearing what the organisation has to say. To maximise attendance, facility events must be structured and have a worthwhile agenda.
Entering business awards
Entering sector-based industry awards is also a potential way of getting independent endorsement, being profiled at an awards ceremony that potential buyers may be attending and, of course, having great news to share afterwards through trade or even national press.
There are also opportunities to network and build more contacts at awards ceremonies although many may not be in the mood to discuss business so connections may have to be made on more leisurely levels.
Digital and social media engagement
A website can be the first impression a potential buyer gets of a business. So, it is vital this looks professional and is designed in a way that will appeal to their motivations. A good website may include an online press centre, virtual tour or demonstrations and resources (such as white papers, survey findings and toolkits) that buyers may be willing to hand over their contact details to access.
B2B PR professionals should therefore try to influence and contribute to the website design using their knowledge of potential customers’ needs. For example, a blog may be introduced to enable thought leaders to share content that may be of interest to potential buyers, encouraging them to visit often.
Social media can be used to create a buzz around a campaign and engage target audience groups as well as to draw traffic to the website and blog regularly. Social media is also a great opportunity to bring to life the personality of a company and position it as one buyers would like to deal with.
LinkedIn, in particular, is a useful B2B PR tool. It is handy for keeping plugged in to contacts within a network as they move around the industry, is a further platform for thought leaders and useful for starting discussions around industry topics. There are many groups covering different sectors and interests that can be found easily using the search facility.
Hospitality
Some organisations have stands at major events or boxes at sporting venues, for example, to which they invite potential buyers and influencers. These may have high perceived value although corporate ethics and anti-competitive behaviour policies may mean that some have to turn down opportunities worth over a specified value.
It is therefore important to be well informed of these policies in order to avoid alienating or embarrassing contacts as well as establishing any potential objections that may be overcome. Crucially, hospitality should not be seen to influence buying decisions but rather focus on building relationships, networking and sharing ideas.
Important Considerations
A decision making unit may be wide
Members of an organisation’s buying team may not be the only employees involved in the purchase decision process. So care should be taken to make sure the wider circle of influence is considered in plans.
Influencers may include budget holders, managers who initiate the buying process, end users, senior decision makers and ethics committees, for example.
Get the language right
As not all members of the target audience are likely to be experts in a field, such as members of the finance and procurement teams, information should be presented clearly, avoiding abbreviations and only using specific terminology with a clear explanation of what it means. This applies to both written content and in media interviews.
Inclusive language presented in a professional but human manner gives an organisation an accountable tone. Overuse of the passive voice can be alienating. It is possible to write even the most formal and technical resources in an engaging way and even portray passion. Usually technical detail can be saved for the sales process with PR focusing more on the benefits and the value on offer.
Effective targeting
Research pays off when it comes to targeting. In addition to the valuable customer insight that comes from networking, hospitality and other B2B PR methods that can be used to gain competitive advantage, there are many tools that can be used to assist with effective targeting.
Several databases identify media outlets, detailing their audiences and reach (such as circulation figures). They can be used for seeking out trade publications relevant to the target audience.
There are also demographic tools that give details of the profiles and behavioural patterns of people in different geographic or demographic groups. This could be useful when targeting specific business audiences such as those in a particular region.
Ensure message consistency
B2B PR campaigns are often highly targeted and sometimes products and services must be repackaged for different audiences to reflect how they use them. Despite this, it is important to ensure message consistency. A company may pride itself on being the best in terms of quality no matter the variants it sells to different sectors.
Integrate with other disciplines
Potential and existing customers are likely to see a business as a whole rather than a collective of individuals. It is crucial that the organisation is presented to them in a seamless way, duplication of effort avoided and activity brought together in a way that is greater than the sum of its parts. Good communication between departments and regular reviews are therefore crucial. It is surprising how many PR departments can actually forget to communicate among themselves.
Measuring Success
Too many PR professionals still claim that the value of PR activity is hard to measure. However if smart objectives, aligned with corporate goals, are set upfront and measures agreed at this stage, it becomes easier to report back to senior management in a way that represents the value of a whole programme of activity.
Measurement should take place on three levels
First, output can be acknowledged. This may be how many press releases were put out, how many key messages were covered in them, the number of invitations sent out for an event and details of industry awards entered.
Second, outtakes can be considered. For example, circulation figures of the media in which the business has been featured, number of people visiting a stand at a trade fair, number of speaking proposals accepted, mentions on social media and the number of sales leads generated.
Finally, and most crucially, outcomes must be measured, although to achieve them effort may need to be combined with other departments. These measures establish how well the B2B PR activity has met objectives and contributed to the organisation’s KPIs. These may include, for example, the number of sales leads that were converted to customers and the results of a survey that show that customers’ perceptions of the company’s reputation grew as a result of B2B PR activity. See Chapter 10 for a full examination of evaluation.
Holding regular reviews, where measures are used as the basis for discussing performance, allows adjustments to be made to plans to ensure expectations are achieved or exceeded. Measures can reveal what activity is a waste of time, what is working and should continue and may identify new opportunities that the organisation may want to start embracing.
Honesty and encouraging a culture of positive challenge is crucial to doing this well as, too often, professionals can become attached to projects and lack objectivity. Regular reviews also help keep everyone aligned and allow potential issues and ideas to come to the surface. This means any continual improvement activity can be paced rather than carried out in a rush at the start or end of a financial year.
Reporting to stakeholders and senior sponsors on a regular basis is important too as it serves as a regular reminder of what is being achieved, valued added and gives an opportunity for any potential risks to be addressed before they have had a chance to escalate into issues.
Summary
B2B PR is concerned with targeting organisations and influencing the individuals within them who make, influence or contribute to professional buying decisions.
The key characteristics of B2B PR activity are that organisations are the target, the focus is on long-term relationships with specific groups, there is a greater emphasis on building trust and there may be more direct influence on the bottom line.
It’s crucial to have a robust strategy that states which of the company’s goals B2B PR activities will help to achieve and what the specific objectives are.
A strong implementation plan will outline objectives and key messages as well as which techniques will be used, how and by whom as well as when. This may include a blend of media relations, speaking engagements, entering business awards, digital and social media engagement, events and hospitality.
There are several key considerations that need to be addressed to maximise success. Attention should be given to ensuring the wider decision making unit is not missed out, the language is pitched correctly, research is used to ensure effective targeting, there is message consistency even when repackaging products or services and that B2B PR activity integrates seamlessly with other disciplines.
Measures should be agreed upfront, when the objectives are set, and should demonstrate the value of activity carried out in terms of output, outtakes and outcomes. This can truly help to demonstrate the value of B2B PR activity to senior stakeholders and ensure investment is continued.
Mettis Aerospace: Forging Business Relationships at International Airshows
On any aircraft, there is a good chance some of its components were manufactured by Mettis Aerospace which is a leading, global provider of precision-forged machined components in titanium, aluminium and specialist steels such as compressor blades, slats and landing gear sections.
Mettis Aerospace has an impressive heritage, having forged parts since the 1930s for aircraft including the Spitfire and Concorde. Today, it supplies many current aircraft programmes and its respected track record gives it a competitive advantage in an industry in which quality and safety are critical. The company also has an exciting role in the future of aerospace and is part of next-generation aircraft programmes.
The market
The aerospace industry is competitive and demanding but long product life cycles and valuable contracts make it lucrative. The ultimate reputational advantage comes from matching capability to customers’ expectations and obligations, on-time delivery, exceptional customer service and forging long-term relationships with customers, suppliers and partners.
Although day-to-day interactions with customers are the most critical to the success of these relationships, general meetings tend to focus primarily on current performance or single products. International events such as the Farnborough and Paris (Le Bourget) airshows, therefore, are great opportunities to turn discussions towards the future.
Strategy and objectives
The key commercial airshows are important for enhancing presence in the industry and reinforcing relationships with senior stakeholders who are not usually part of day-to-day interactions, can be hard to reach and are often short on time. Important also is showcasing any recent accreditations, capability and new or upcoming products. In addition, airshows are a prime opportunity to get insight into future customer requirements and discuss how new or upcoming capabilities and products could help them achieve their goals. This can lead customers to later visit Mettis Aerospace’s facilities to understand more and deepen discussions. Sometimes site visits are reciprocated and further, valuable insight gained.
Implementation
International air shows are an unparalleled opportunity to see and influence many aerospace customers in a short period of time. To make the most of this, a team is pulled together from across the company who truly represent the passion, pride and partnership for which the company is renowned. The team must be able to answer a wide variety of strategic and technical questions between them. The company aims to have up to 70 per cent pre-booked appointments and make sure there is also enough capacity so that unexpected visitors get special treatment too. The team also attends evening events which extend the time for deeper discussions and relationship building.
Depending on the objectives of attending each event and what will be showcased, the company may have a full exhibit, such as at the impressive stand at the Paris Air Show in 2013 (see Figure 17.1), or may simply arrange meeting space for discussions with customers. When a high-impact stand is constructed, it adds to the team’s pride and enables the company to further stand out from the competition. There tends to be little media relations around activities in the stand as the majority of conversations are confidential although occasionally announcements are made about substantial contractual awards.
Quality customer interactions are not the only aim of attending air shows. They can, in fact, act as a 360-degree review of the market place, enabling conversations with suppliers and partners as well as the observation of competitors who are fighting for market share. Market knowledge and early insight is crucial for having an advantage.
Figure 17.1 Paris Air Show 2013, Mettis Aerospace stand
Measurement
Being present at the key air shows can be a significant investment not only in terms of producing a stand and supplementary resources but also time taken out of business. The return on this investment can be measured in many ways including the level of attendance from target customer groups, numbers of senior stakeholders engaged and leaving better informed of business developments, the quality of leads generated and follow-up sessions organised.
Success is, however, ultimately about securing, renewing or extending contracts as a result of conversations that take off at the air shows.
With thanks to Phil Thornton, Commercial and Planning Director at Mettis Aerospace
C@se Study
Lloyds TSB Autolease – A Thought Leader in Fleet Management
Background and objectives
Lloyds TSB Autolease (LTSBA) is one of the largest fleet management and funding organisations in the UK, owning one in 200 vehicles on the road.
In the highly competitive and contracting fleet market, it is essential to stay ahead of competitors by being an innovator in fleet management services and products. LTSBA used Grayling to strategise and implement an ongoing campaign that would position it as a thought leader, with the aim of gaining market share from competitors and opening up unexplored business opportunities. The team constantly refreshed its approach to come up with proactive ideas for achieving differentiation.
Strategy, planning and research
The fleet market has become much more competitive over the last five years, with large investors backing a number of competitors, allowing them to build scale through acquisition. LTSBA, however, had not made any acquisitions in the three previous years, so the campaign strategy was to maintain market presence with ongoing proactive press office activity and at the same time raise the bar in the fleet industry by creating peaks of activity around innovative initiatives. Every story issued, including contract wins or appointment releases, was always linked back to the key concepts of innovation and thought leadership.
Although LTSBA marketing function was strong, no above-the-line spend was authorised at the time. With no advertising, media relations became critical to promoting the organisation and defending its leadership position in the industry.
Grayling worked closely with key personnel at LTSBA to gain a thorough understanding of the business and its areas of expertise. The team focused on innovators within the business who could provide thought leadership on important industry issues such as environmental impact and duty of care, having regular briefings with them to keep on top of key topics.
Strong links were built with top fleet titles by offering exclusive briefings with key personnel and contributing regularly to set features with meaningful, unique content as well as suggesting proactive feature ideas to set the agenda.
Grayling also helped broaden LTSBA’s media focus from the fleet press to targeting wider media, which would be read by decision makers.
Action and implementation
Key messaging was developed to be at the core of all communications. LTSBA needed to position staff as consultants who could add value to customers’ businesses by offering advice as well as value for money.
LTSBA had some fantastic assets in their senior executive team, who had insights and opinions about current and future issues to help shape the fleet industry and fill the pages of the media that they wanted to reach.
A quarterly Executive PR Forum was set up to stimulate round-table discussion to unearth hidden gems and spark thoughts in order to access and mine opinions and knowledge.
The success of this sort of approach was easy to demonstrate. For example, a member of the board was discovered to have strong opinions about the reliability of the vehicle recall system used by manufacturers in the UK. Research was carried out into this topic and found that at the time, each year around 160,000 cars that should have been recalled were never taken in for corrective action, potentially jeopardising lives.
This issue was taken into the public domain in a way that would prompt government and industry action, as well as positioning LTSBA as thought leaders. An open letter to Dr Stephen Ladyman, Minister for Transport, was drafted and issued with the subject ‘Vehicle recall – A Legal and Moral Responsibility’. LTSBA’s expertise was turned into a news story.
National news and consumer media were targeted, enabling LTSBA to reach a much wider audience and make a huge impact. The open letter was not only the biggest single news story generated for LTSBA but other organisations backed the campaign and the Minister for Transport at the time announced a review of the manufacturer recall system.
Another example is how the company was positioned appropriately in relation to environmental issues that were topical and relevant to both LTSBA and its customers. Media stories were developed and comment opportunities secured on the subject, giving customers solutions for helping the environment such as ways to be fuel efficient.
Evaluation and results
- The number of pieces of coverage was increased year-on-year from 62 in 2004 to almost 300 in the first nine months of 2008.
- Audience reach was increased year-on-year from under 2 million in 2004 to more than 6 million in the first nine months of 2008.
- Monitoring share of voice against its top five competitors indicated that the company was consistently outperforming rivals in volume and quality of coverage.
- The open letter drafted to the Minister for Transport created a huge amount of coverage for LTSBA and generated backing from other organisations, which led to the Minister for Transport at the time reviewing the manufacturer recall system.
In a contracting and highly competitive market, LTSBA was taken out of its comfort zone and its media relations programme was challenged. Without the support of any above-the-line spend, campaigns were created that demonstrated LTSBA’s expertise in the industry and moved it up the value chain in media coverage. The firm now regularly features as providing expert comment on legislation and topical issues, increasing its share of voice, giving LTSBA the leading voice in the fleet industry.
With thanks to Paul Barnard, Associate Director at Grayling
University of the West of England – Knowledge Transfer Partnership Inspired by the Bloodhound SSC Project
The University of the West of England (UWE) is based in Bristol and is one of the UK’s fastest growing research institutions. It was founded in 1970 as Bristol Polytechnic. It gained University status and adopted its current name in 1992 as a result of the Further and Higher Education Act.
The University’s ethos is built around fostering genuine partnerships with all its stakeholders. ‘U+WE’ is used in its branding to underpin this. Its vision is ‘to be the UK’s best Knowledge and Learning Partnership University’ and its mission is ‘to make a positive difference to our students, business and society’.
UWE is a not-for-profit organisation with a key ambition to engage with the business community by forming partnerships. The University is close to many businesses supplying advanced technology industries. Through collaboration with these businesses, the University aims to encourage more students to study science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects to address the shortage of engineers and help improve competitiveness of advanced technology in the UK. UWE works with businesses in this sector to provide opportunities for undergraduates to improve their practical skills and understanding of the industry before entering the workplace.
Background
On 17 March 2010, UWE held its annual lecture during Science and Engineering Week. The event focused on the University’s involvement with the development of BLOODHOUND SSC, a car designed to take the land speed record to over 1,000mph/Mach 1.4. UWE is the lead sponsor of the project, which is led by Richard Noble. The development activity is taking place on the University’s grounds. It is an exciting project that can be used as a hook to get local business interested in being partners.
Strategy
The objectives of the event were to:
- increase visibility of UWE to businesses in the advanced technology industry;
- promote Knowledge Transfer Partnerships that give academics great opportunities to apply research to real-world business projects;
- gain more industry contacts;
- inspire future engineers at the University and to encourage youngsters at local schools and colleges to go into engineering.
The key message was that ‘great things can be achieved through partnership’.
The event format meant that a two-way approach could be facilitated. Delegates had the chance to ask questions, experience the mock-ups first-hand and network with other business people in the advanced technology industry as well as those at the University.
Implementation
- The event itself was used to build relationships with business stakeholders and deliver key messages.
- The campaign was people-focused throughout. A scale mock-up of the car, and the cockpit designed by UWE Product Design students was showcased.
- Media relations activity targeted regional TV and radio stations, national and regional press as well as technology-related websites.
- A dedicated BLOODHOUND SSC area was set up on UWE’s website where businesses (and other stakeholders) could go to find out more.
Results and evaluation
- A full house of 280 people in senior positions in the region, including many for advanced technology companies, joined the event. New relationships with local businesses were built to foster future partnerships and existing relationships were strengthened.
- Coverage was gained on regional TV and radio stations, national and regional press and on a product design website. It was also featured on the BBC’s Politics Show. The people-focused approach to the photographs offered to the media meant they were of interest and therefore used.
- On the day of Science and Engineering Week there were 138,000 hits on the UWE Bloodhound page. The page still appears in the Top 10 most hit pages of the UWE website.
- At the time of the event, the University did not use social media. However, it has since started using Twitter, Facebook and a YouTube channel to keep up the momentum of its involvement with BLOODHOUND SSC and keep businesses informed. Content is carefully targeted for use on social media, with stories that will be of interest to businesses. There are now over 900 followers on Twitter and 2,000 fans on Facebook.
With thanks to Keith Hicks Director of Marketing and Communications at UWE
Questions for Discussion
- 1 What is the main difference in the audience for B2B and consumer PR?
- 2 How are B2B and consumer public relations similar and in what ways do they differ?
- 3 Why might targeting be considered to be easier with B2B PR?
- 4 Earlier in the chapter, it was said that when dealing with trade journalists, it is important to assume expertise. If you worked for a PR agency and were selling in a story about a firm’s groundbreaking renovation project to an architectural trade publication, how would you prepare and handle the call?
- 5 If you were trying to position a senior engineer in an organisation as a thought leader in an industry, what options might you consider and how would you go about securing opportunities?
- 6 Look at the lead headline story in a national newspaper. Consider how a thought leader from a business could give a new perspective or angle on the story to generate media attention.
- 7 If you looked after the PR for an aircraft manufacturer, how would you go about organising a campaign targeted at trade journalists that involved a facility visit? How could you ensure there were enough exclusive stories or angles during the visit to maximise the breadth of coverage?
- 8 Identify the potential characteristics of members of a decision making unit responsible for purchasing a piece of high-technology machinery for a large organisation. How would you raise awareness of the product among all members of the decision making unit through PR?
- 9 If you were a food manufacturer that had just launched a new product and you wanted to gain the attention of distributors, how would you use social media to create a buzz around the campaign in order to gain the attention of potential distributors and resellers?
- 10 If the board of a fashion manufacturing firm asked you to demonstrate the value of B2B PR activity carried out by your department, how would you go about proving this to them?
Further Reading
Brennan, R., Canning, L. and Mcdowell, R. (2014) Business to Business Marketing (3rd edn), London: Sage Publications.
Kelly, D. (2009) ‘Business to business public relations’ in R. Tench and L. Yeomans (eds) Exploring Public Relations, Harlow: Prentice Hall, pp. 426–440.