| Good marketing people never do anything without a | | | | against their first month's retainer. |
| plan. That's a given... | | | | In the pay-for-performance arena, strategy is a given, |
| So, it stands to reason that good PR people shouldn't | | | | and the good firms don't charge a line-item fee for it. |
| embark on a program without a plan. The question is, | | | | After all, how can an agency book media without a |
| how much should a client pay a firm for that plan? | | | | strategy? That's a key way that PFP firms represent |
| That's one of the most striking differences between | | | | a sizable advantage for their clients over their retainer |
| pay-for-performance (PFP) firms and retainer-based | | | | firm counterparts. |
| firms. The good PFP agencies don't pad their bills with | | | | I liken it to taking your car to a mechanic. Most |
| extra fees for a strategy. The reason is, they get paid | | | | reputable mechanics won't charge you to look at your |
| for media exposure and "strategy" is a requisite tool | | | | car to see what's wrong. They'll look at your car, |
| for successfully securing media. | | | | develop a strategy to fix it, and then give you an |
| Retainer firms set a standard monthly fee, and bill the | | | | estimate for the tactics they'll use to fix it. They don't |
| client's account by subtracting the hourly fees racked | | | | hold a big meeting with their owner, manager and two |
| up by their team. Just like a law firm, agencies have | | | | or three top mechanics and then charge you for it. |
| different billing rates for different team members. A | | | | They just tell you what they think you should do, and |
| junior account rep who does the grunt work might bill | | | | then give you a price on what it will cost to get it done. |
| against a retainer at $100 or $150 per hour, while a VP | | | | This is why PR agencies sometimes get a bad rap. It's |
| might bill in the $350 range. Even the administrative | | | | not just that some of them don't deliver against their |
| assistants get into the act, sometimes billing between | | | | promises-it's because they charge big money to |
| $50 and $75 per hour. Because retainer-based firms | | | | develop a strategy that in some cases doesn't even |
| have to account for each hour spent on the account, | | | | work. That's one reason why PFP firms are a better |
| sometimes the agency will even bill out for the time it | | | | bet-they generally don't mark up the strategy, and they |
| takes the administrative staff to pull together all the | | | | promise results and not just best efforts. |
| information for that report. That means that clients | | | | The bottom line is that when engaging a public relations |
| often pay between $100 and $150 just to have their | | | | firm you should expect-and insist-on a detailed |
| monthly bill and report assembled. | | | | explanation of exactly what services you will receive |
| Strategy, however, is the big ticket item, because it | | | | for monies spent. Question each item and take the |
| involves the senior staff. In many cases, they'll hold | | | | time to ensure you understand everything, including |
| hours-long strategy sessions with the client, utilizing | | | | what outcome you can expect at each step of your |
| specialists from other departments and at least one | | | | campaign. If the information doesn't add up, keep |
| VP. If you add up the billable hours, one three-hour | | | | looking for the firm that has the answers that make |
| strategy session can cost a client upwards of $3,000 | | | | sense for you! |