"WHY AREN'T WE DOING THIS?"

Some years back, I had a client who would always have a folder for me – stuffed with papers – each time I came to his office.

Invariably, the papers were marketing or PR campaigns done by other companies. And on every one of them were the scribbled words: “Why aren’t we doing this?”

Several times, I tried to explain to him that there were numerous reasons we weren’t doing this…among them:

* Just because that particular medium or campaign was appropriate for some other companies, didn’t necessarily mean it was appropriate for his company.

* Because the way you distinguish yourself – in both PR and marketing – is not to do what everyone else is doing. Quite often, I’ve found, it’s to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

* Because if you echo the same line as everyone else, your own voice will get lost in the crowd.

* Because you have to develop – and continually reinforce – your own specific message, and your own USP.

* And, lastly, because I – the expert whom you hired as your PR counsel – didn’t believe those particular media or strategies were best for your company.

I found it offensive to be asked, “Why aren’t we doing this?”

I tried explaining it to him on two or three different occasions. And then, rather than explain any more, I fired him. My explanation was simple: I only worked with clients who wanted original thinking, rather than just to follow the crowd.

That was about eleven years ago. And, recently, I fired another client who asked the same question. My reasoning was a bit different this time, though.

He would send me e-mails almost every day – sometimes several a day – with info about some company or campaign, and then the question: “Why aren’t we doing this?”

So – in the spirit of experimentation, and keeping an open mind – I started doing this, in addition to implementing the strategies that I had first proposed (and that he had agreed on).

Lo and behold, after about a month, he asked why his invoices were so high. I explained to him that, in addition to the strategies he and I had originally agreed upon, he was always asking me to pursue this. And that, as a professional with over twenty years of successful public relations experience…I actually expected to be paid for the work I did.

He grumbled a sort-of acceptance. Then, a week later, he e-mailed me that, unless we could lower his costs, he might not be able to afford PR counsel any more. So I e-mailed him back – “You’re fired!”

Simply put, the money wasn’t worth the aggravation.

My moral of the story(ies)?

Beware any client who says “Why aren’t we doing this?”

Steve Winston
President, WINSTON COMMUNICATIONS
(954) 575-4089
www.winstoncommunications.com
steve@winstoncommunications.com