Seven tips for getting more bang for your PR buck.

• Author: Hellerman, John
• Position: Recession-Proof Your Marketing

Many experts agree that if the Titanic had stayed on course and tackled the dreaded iceberg head on, the ship would have crushed through the ice and made it safely to the shores of America. By attempting to hastily change direction, though, the ocean liner lost complete control and disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic. Much like the Titanic, businesses, especially law firms, tend to dramatically abort their chartered courses during a recession, risking the loss of valuable position and momentum and ultimately sinking the entire marketing strategy for when the economy eventually rebounds.

An economic downturn is Wall Street's warning call that your marketing and PR efforts need to be more strategic and efficient. Here are seven tips for getting the most bang for your PR buck during bearish times.

(1) Measure your effectiveness and allocate resources properly.

Given the difficulty of quantifying the rationale to support many marketing initiatives, there is often tension between marketing executives and partners. Do you have an idea of the firm's "PR efficiency"--how useful your PR results are at influencing purchaser decisions and developing business? It's important to find out, because third-party "thought leadership" quotes are not as significant as they were in the past and have lost ground to more substantial, communications-based positioning strategies.

Additionally, BTI research recently published a study that found a direct, positive correlation between market differentiation and firm revenue. Use it! Share it with your CFOs and managing partners and utilize it as a tool to steer resources toward the marketing strategies that actually create market differentiation and lubricate sales.

(2) Create finite PR campaigns.

The biggest detriment to PR's effectiveness is for a firm to view it simply as an on-going monthly activity without clear goals, rather than a powerful strategic business-development tool to be applied when appropriate for achieving a specific firm objective. How many interviews, bylines and speeches are enough to credential an attorney as an expert on an issue? Typically, it is far fewer than the amount showered on them when they become the extended focus of a firm's PR activity.

Think of the money to be saved by creating a simple plan that clearly delineates when your effort will stop (e.g., when you've reached success or run out of time to try).

(3) Leverage content.

To be efficient and manage resources properly...